Learn SERVERLESS-STACK with Real Code Examples

Updated Nov 27, 2025

Explain

SST simplifies serverless development by pairing CDK infrastructure with a high-productivity local dev environment.

Live Lambda Reloading lets developers instantly test Lambda changes without redeploying.

Provides opinionated yet extensible constructs for API, storage, queues, auth, and more.

Works seamlessly with React, Next.js, SvelteKit, Astro, and static frontends.

Ideal for modern cloud-native, scalable, pay-per-use applications.

Core Features

Infrastructure as code (CDK)

Lambda-based backend services

DynamoDB/Postgres guides and helpers

Auth constructs (Cognito, Auth0, custom)

Static site + Next.js deployments

Basic Concepts Overview

Stacks and constructs

Live Lambda Reloading environment

Function, API, Table, Bucket constructs

Cross-stack linking

Deployment stages

Project Structure

sst.config.ts (entry point)

packages/functions (Lambda code)

packages/core (shared utilities)

stacks/ (infrastructure)

frontend/ for UI frameworks

Building Workflow

Define infrastructure via stacks

Implement Lambda functions

Connect resources using SST constructs

Test with `sst dev`

Deploy with `sst deploy`

Difficulty Use Cases

Beginner: simple REST API with Lambda + DynamoDB

Intermediate: multi-stack app with auth and frontend

Advanced: event-driven workflow using SQS/EventBridge

Expert: microservices with multiple environments

Architect: full multi-stage CI/CD pipeline + observability

Comparisons

SST vs AWS SAM - SST offers richer full-stack features

SST vs Serverless Framework - SST has Live Lambda + CDK power

SST vs Pulumi - SST is optimized for AWS serverless

SST vs CDK alone - SST provides higher-level constructs

SST vs Amplify - SST is more flexible and backend-centric

Versioning Timeline

2020 - SST initial release

2021 - Live Lambda Reloading introduced

2022 - Next.js & StaticSite constructs

2023 - SST Console launched

2024–2025 - Wider CDK v2 integration + multi-stage enhancements

Glossary

Construct - CDK building block

Stack - deployable unit of infrastructure

Live Lambda - local lambda hot reload

Stage - environment like dev/staging/prod

Function URL - direct Lambda HTTP endpoint