Learn FASTLY-COMPUTE-EDGE with Real Code Examples

Compute@Edge lets you run custom code at Fastly's edge locations globally.

Supports multiple languages and WebAssembly runtimes.

Optimizes content delivery by reducing latency and offloading work from origin servers.

Ideal for real-time personalization, security enforcement, and dynamic content generation.

Provides deep integration with Fastly's CDN and caching infrastructure.

HTTP request/response handling at the edge

Custom logic execution in Wasm runtimes

Cache manipulation and content optimization

Routing, redirects, and header transformations

Logging and metrics collection for monitoring

Edge Function – serverless code executed at edge nodes

Service – collection of edge functions and configurations

Version – versioned deployment of services

Cache – content stored at edge for fast delivery

Fastly VCL – domain-specific language for advanced routing and caching

src/ - source code for edge function

Cargo.toml / package.json - project dependencies

fastly.toml - Fastly service configuration

dist/ - compiled WebAssembly modules

scripts/ - build/deploy scripts

Write function in supported language (Rust, AssemblyScript, C, etc.)

Compile to WebAssembly module

Configure service, routes, and triggers via Fastly CLI

Deploy module to global edge network

Monitor execution, logs, and cache performance

Beginner: modify HTTP headers at the edge

Intermediate: cache API responses for faster delivery

Advanced: build edge-based personalization logic

Expert: implement multi-edge A/B testing and feature flags

Auditor: monitor edge performance and logging analytics

Compute@Edge vs Google Cloud Functions: runs at edge nodes, lower latency, CDN integrated

Compute@Edge vs AWS Lambda@Edge: similar edge serverless paradigm, Fastly emphasizes speed and developer ergonomics

Compute@Edge vs FunctionX: FX is blockchain smart contracts, Compute@Edge is serverless CDN-edge compute

Compute@Edge vs Cloudflare Workers: both edge compute, differences in platform, performance, and language support

Compute@Edge vs traditional serverless: edge deployed, globally distributed vs centralized cloud functions

2019 – Initial release of Compute@Edge

2020 – Added WebAssembly runtime and Rust support

2021 – Expanded global edge locations and logging integrations

2022 – Improved developer CLI and local testing tools

2023–2025 – Expanded language support, performance optimizations, and advanced edge integrations

Edge Function - serverless code executed at Fastly edge

Service - collection of functions and configurations

VCL - Fastly domain-specific language for routing/cache

Wasm - WebAssembly runtime for edge execution

Cache - content stored at edge for low-latency delivery