AWS SAM (Serverless Application Model)
An open-source framework for building serverless applications.
Overview
The AWS Serverless Application Model (AWS SAM) is an open-source framework that you can use to build serverless applications on AWS. A serverless application is a combination of Lambda functions, event sources, and other resources that work together to perform tasks. SAM consists of a template specification to define your application and a command line interface (SAM CLI) to build, test, and deploy it.
✨ Key Features
- Simplified syntax for defining serverless resources (shorthand for CloudFormation)
- Local testing and debugging of Lambda functions and APIs
- Built-in best practices for serverless deployments
- CI/CD integration with AWS CodePipeline and other tools
- Policy templates for managing permissions
- Deep integration with AWS services
🎯 Key Differentiators
- Official AWS open-source framework, ensuring tight integration and support.
- Simplified, serverless-focused syntax on top of the power of CloudFormation.
- Excellent local testing and debugging capabilities with the SAM CLI.
Unique Value: Accelerate your serverless development on AWS with a simplified IaC framework, powerful local testing tools, and built-in best practices.
🎯 Use Cases (5)
✅ Best For
- Creating a new serverless API with a Lambda function and API Gateway endpoint in minutes
- Locally testing a Lambda function that interacts with DynamoDB
- Deploying a multi-stage serverless application (dev/prod) using a single template
💡 Check With Vendor
Verify these considerations match your specific requirements:
- Multi-cloud applications (it's AWS-specific)
- Managing non-serverless AWS resources (CloudFormation or Terraform are better)
- Users who prefer a graphical interface over a CLI and IaC
🏆 Alternatives
Simpler and more focused on serverless than Terraform or raw CloudFormation. Less abstract than AWS CDK, which may appeal to those who prefer declarative YAML. It is AWS-only, unlike the multi-cloud Serverless Framework.
💻 Platforms
✅ Offline Mode Available
🔌 Integrations
💰 Pricing
Free tier: The framework itself is free and open-source. You only pay for the AWS resources it provisions.
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