AWS Lambda
AWS LabsOfficialPublished by AWS Labs
- Skill
- Tool integration
- Cloud and DevOps
- Apache-2.0
- Low risk
AutoGineer summary
Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author
This skill provides comprehensive support for developing serverless applications on AWS. It integrates with the AWS Serverless MCP Server to assist with project initialization, infrastructure-as-code (IaC) generation, deployment, and debugging. It covers event-driven architectures, web application deployment via Lambda Web Adapter, and performance optimization, while enforcing best practices for security, idempotency, and observability.
What it does
- Initializes and builds serverless projects using SAM CLI or CDK.
- Configures event source mappings for services like DynamoDB, SQS, and Kinesis.
- Deploys full-stack web applications using the Lambda Web Adapter.
- Implements event-driven architectures with EventBridge and schema management.
- Provides troubleshooting guidance for common deployment and runtime errors.
- Enforces security best practices including least-privilege IAM and secret management.
When to use it
- When starting a new serverless project on AWS.
- When configuring event-driven triggers for Lambda functions.
- When deploying web APIs or full-stack applications to AWS Lambda.
- When optimizing Lambda performance, cost, or cold-start times.
- When debugging deployment failures or runtime errors in serverless stacks.
Advantages
- Automated validation of IaC templates via SAM CLI integration.
- Built-in support for AWS Lambda Powertools for logging and idempotency.
- Clear guidance on choosing between choreography and orchestration patterns.
- Comprehensive troubleshooting and limit references for rapid debugging.
- Standardized project setup using industry-recognized frameworks.
Usage examples
- “Create a new serverless API project using TypeScript and CDK.”
- The agent will initialize a new project structure, generate the necessary CDK constructs for an API Gateway and Lambda function, and set up the project configuration.
- “How do I configure my Lambda to process messages from an SQS queue?”
- The agent will provide the configuration steps for an Event Source Mapping, including best practices for batch sizes and partial failure handling.
- “My Lambda function is failing with a timeout error, how can I debug it?”
- The agent will guide you through checking CloudWatch logs, reviewing memory settings, and potentially using X-Ray tracing to identify the bottleneck.
Install
Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/awslabs/aws-lambda/downloadUnzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:
mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip aws-lambda.zip -d .agents/skills
Documentation by AWS Labs
AWS Lambda Serverless Development
Design, build, deploy, and debug serverless applications with AWS serverless services. This skill provides access to serverless development guidance through the AWS Serverless MCP Server, helping you to build production-ready serverless applications with best practices built-in.
Use SAM CLI for project initialization and deployment, Lambda Web Adapter for web applications, or Event Source Mappings for event-driven architectures. AWS handles infrastructure provisioning, scaling, and monitoring automatically.
Key capabilities:
SAM CLI Integration: Initialize, build, deploy, and test serverless applications
Web Application Deployment: Deploy full-stack applications with Lambda Web Adapter
Event Source Mappings: Configure Lambda triggers for DynamoDB, Kinesis, SQS, Kafka
Lambda durable functions: Resilient multi-step applications with checkpointing — see the durable-functions skill for guidance
Lambda Managed Instances: Run Lambda on dedicated EC2 instances with managed lifecycle — see the managed-instances skill for evaluation, configuration, and migration guidance
Schema Management: Type-safe EventBridge integration with schema registry
Observability: CloudWatch logs, metrics, and X-Ray tracing
Performance Optimization: Right-sizing, cost optimization, and troubleshooting
When to Load Reference Files
Load the appropriate reference file based on what the user is working on:
Getting started, what to build, project type decision, or working with existing projects -> see references/getting-started.md
SAM, CDK, deployment, IaC templates, CDK constructs, or CI/CD pipelines -> see the aws-serverless-deployment skill (separate skill in this plugin)
Web app deployment, Lambda Web Adapter, API endpoints, CORS, authentication, custom domains, or sam local start-api -> see references/web-app-deployment.md
Event sources, DynamoDB Streams, Kinesis, SQS, Kafka, S3 notifications, or SNS -> see references/event-sources.md
EventBridge, event bus, event patterns, event design, Pipes, or schema registry -> see references/event-driven-architecture.md
Durable functions, checkpointing, replay model, saga pattern, or long-running Lambda workflows -> see the durable-functions skill (separate skill in this plugin with full SDK reference, testing, and deployment guides)
Lambda Managed Instances, LMI, capacity providers, multi-concurrency, EC2-backed Lambda, cold start elimination, or Lambda cost optimization with Reserved Instances -> see the managed-instances skill (separate skill in this plugin for evaluation, configuration, and migration)
Orchestration, workflows, or Durable Functions vs Step Functions -> see references/orchestration-and-workflows.md
Step Functions, ASL, state machines, JSONata, Distributed Map, SDK integrations, TestState API, mocking service integrations, or state machine unit tests -> see the aws-step-functions skill for comprehensive guidance
Observability, logging, tracing, metrics, alarms, or dashboards -> see references/observability.md
Optimization, cold starts, memory tuning, cost, or streaming -> see references/optimization.md
Powertools, idempotency, feature flags, parameters, parser, batch processing, or data masking -> see references/powertools.md
Troubleshooting, errors, debugging, or deployment failures -> see references/troubleshooting.md
Best Practices
Project Setup
Do: Use
sam_initorcdk initwith an appropriate template for your use caseDo: Set global defaults for timeout, memory, runtime, and tracing (
Globalsin SAM, construct props in CDK)Do: Use AWS Lambda Powertools for structured logging, tracing, metrics (EMF), idempotency, and batch processing — available for Python, TypeScript, Java, and .NET
Don't: Copy-paste templates from the internet without understanding the resource configuration
Don't: Use the same memory and timeout values for all functions regardless of workload
Security
Do: Follow least-privilege IAM policies scoped to specific resources and actions
Do: Use
secure_esm_*tools to generate correct IAM policies for event source mappingsDo: Store secrets in AWS Secrets Manager or SSM Parameter Store, never in environment variables
Do: Use VPC endpoints instead of NAT Gateways for AWS service access when possible
Do: Enable Amazon GuardDuty Lambda Protection to monitor function network activity for threats (cryptocurrency mining, data exfiltration, C2 callbacks)
Don't: Use wildcard (
*) resource ARNs or actions in IAM policiesDon't: Hardcode credentials or secrets in application code or templates
Don't: Store user data or sensitive information in module-level variables — execution environments can be reused across different callers
Idempotency
Do: Write idempotent function code — Lambda delivers events at least once, so duplicate invocations must be safe
Do: Use the AWS Lambda Powertools Idempotency utility (backed by DynamoDB) for critical operations
Do: Validate and deduplicate events at the start of the handler before performing side effects
Don't: Assume an event will only ever be processed once
For topic-specific best practices, see the dedicated guide files in the reference table above.
Lambda Limits Quick Reference
Limits that developers commonly hit:
| Resource | Limit |
|---|---|
| Function timeout | 900 seconds (15 minutes) |
| Memory | 128 MB – 10,240 MB |
| 1 vCPU equivalent | 1,769 MB memory |
| Synchronous payload (request + response) | 6 MB each |
| Async invocation payload | 1 MB |
| Streamed response | 200 MB |
| Deployment package (.zip, uncompressed) | 250 MB |
| Deployment package (.zip upload, compressed) | 50 MB |
| Container image | 10 GB |
| Layers per function | 5 |
| Environment variables (aggregate) | 4 KB |
/tmp ephemeral storage | 512 MB – 10,240 MB |
| Account concurrent executions (default) | 1,000 (requestable increase) |
| Burst scaling rate | 1,000 new executions per 10 seconds |
Check Service Quotas for your account limits: aws lambda get-account-settings
Troubleshooting Quick Reference
| Error | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
Build Failed | Missing dependencies | Run sam_build with use_container: true |
Stack is in ROLLBACK_COMPLETE | Previous deploy failed | Delete stack with aws cloudformation delete-stack, redeploy |
IteratorAge increasing | Stream consumer falling behind | Increase ParallelizationFactor and BatchSize. Use esm_optimize |
| EventBridge events silently dropped | No DLQ, retries exhausted | Add RetryPolicy + DeadLetterConfig to rule target |
| Step Functions failing silently | No retry on Task state | Add Retry with Lambda.ServiceException, Lambda.AWSLambdaException |
| Durable Function not resuming | Missing IAM permissions | Add lambda:CheckpointDurableExecution and lambda:GetDurableExecutionState — see durable-functions skill |
For detailed troubleshooting, see references/troubleshooting.md.
Configuration
AWS CLI Setup
This skill requires that AWS credentials are configured on the host machine:
Verify access: Run aws sts get-caller-identity to confirm credentials are valid
SAM CLI Setup
Install SAM CLI: Follow the SAM CLI installation guide
Verify: Run
sam --version
Container Runtime Setup
Install a Docker compatible container runtime: Required for
sam_local_invokeand container-based buildsVerify: Use an appropriate command such as
docker --versionorfinch --version
MCP Server Configuration
Write access is enabled by default. The plugin ships with --allow-write in .mcp.json, so the MCP server can create projects, generate IaC, and deploy on behalf of the user.
Access to sensitive data (like Lambda and API Gateway logs) is not enabled by default. To grant it, add --allow-sensitive-data-access to .mcp.json.
SAM Template Validation Hook
This plugin includes a PostToolUse hook that runs sam validate automatically after any edit to template.yaml or template.yml. If validation fails, the error is returned as a system message so you can fix it immediately. The hook requires SAM CLI and jq to be installed; if either is missing, validation is skipped with a system message. Users can disable it via /hooks.
Verify: Run jq --version
Language selection
Default: TypeScript
Override syntax:
"use Python" → Generate Python code
"use JavaScript" → Generate JavaScript code
When not specified, ALWAYS use TypeScript
IaC framework selection
Default: CDK
Override syntax:
"use CloudFormation" → Generate YAML templates
"use SAM" → Generate YAML templates
When not specified, ALWAYS use CDK
Serverless MCP Server Unavailable
Inform user: "AWS Serverless MCP not responding"
Ask: "Proceed without MCP support?"
DO NOT continue without user confirmation
Resources
Files
- ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer906 B
- LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer9.9 KiB
- NOTICELicence file added by AutoGineer89 B
- SKILL.md12.1 KiB
- references/event-driven-architecture.md15.6 KiB
- references/event-sources.md16.3 KiB
- references/getting-started.md6.0 KiB
- references/observability.md22.7 KiB
- references/optimization.md14.5 KiB
- references/orchestration-and-workflows.md6.2 KiB
- references/powertools.md10.2 KiB
- references/troubleshooting.md11.3 KiB
- references/web-app-deployment.md10.6 KiB
references/event-driven-architecture.md
Event-Driven Architecture Guide
Choreography vs Orchestration
The most important architectural decision in an event-driven system is whether services coordinate through choreography or orchestration.
| Choreography | Orchestration | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Services emit events; other services react independently | A central coordinator (Step Functions, Durable Functions) directs each step |
| Coupling | Loose — publisher doesn't know about consumers | Tighter — coordinator knows about each step |
| Visibility | Distributed; hard to see the full flow | Centralized; execution history in one place |
| Failure handling | Each service handles its own failures | Central error handling and retry logic |
| Best for | Independent services reacting to facts about the world | Business-critical workflows requiring audit trails, visibility, and reliable sequencing |
Use choreography (EventBridge + Lambda) when services are genuinely independent and don't need to know the outcome of each other's processing.
Use orchestration (Step Functions / Lambda durable functions) when you need reliable sequencing, compensating transactions, human approval steps, or the ability to visualize and debug the full workflow.
In practice, most systems use both: orchestration within a bounded context, choreography between bounded contexts.
EventBridge Concepts
Event Bus Types
| Type | Use Case |
|---|---|
| Default bus | Receives AWS service events (EC2 state changes, S3 events, CodePipeline, etc.) |
| Custom bus | Your application events; recommended for all custom event routing |
| Partner bus | Receives events from SaaS partners (Datadog, Zendesk, Stripe, etc.) |
Always use a custom event bus for application events — keeps your events separate from AWS service noise and simplifies IAM and monitoring.
Standard EventBridge Event Structure
Every event on the bus has this envelope (added automatically by EventBridge):
{
"version": "0",
"id": "12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012",
"source": "com.mycompany.orders",
"detail-type": "OrderPlaced",
"account": "123456789012",
"time": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z",
"region": "us-east-1",
"resources": [],
"detail": {
"orderId": "ord-987",
"userId": "usr-123",
"total": 49.99
}
}source— identifies the publishing service (com.mycompany.orders)detail-type— identifies the event type (OrderPlaced)detail— your business payload (up to 1 MB per event entry)
SAM Configuration
Custom event bus:
OrderEventBus:
Type: AWS::Events::EventBus
Properties:
Name: order-events
OrderEventBusArn:
Type: AWS::SSM::Parameter
Properties:
Name: /myapp/order-event-bus-arn
Value: !GetAtt OrderEventBus.Arn
Type: StringLambda publishing events:
MyFunction:
Type: AWS::Serverless::Function
Properties:
Policies:
- Statement:
- Effect: Allow
Action: events:PutEvents
Resource: !GetAtt OrderEventBus.Arn
Environment:
Variables:
EVENT_BUS_ARN: !GetAtt OrderEventBus.ArnLambda subscribing via rule:
ProcessOrderFunction:
Type: AWS::Serverless::Function
Properties:
Events:
OrderPlaced:
Type: EventBridgeRule
Properties:
EventBusName: !Ref OrderEventBus
Pattern:
source:
- com.mycompany.orders
detail-type:
- OrderPlaced
RetryPolicy:
MaximumRetryAttempts: 3
MaximumEventAgeInSeconds: 3600
DeadLetterConfig:
Type: SQS
QueueLogicalId: ProcessOrderDLQ
ProcessOrderDLQ:
Type: AWS::SQS::Queue
Properties:
MessageRetentionPeriod: 1209600 # 14 daysPublishing Events from Lambda
Python:
import json
import os
from datetime import datetime, timezone
import uuid
import boto3
from aws_lambda_powertools import Logger
logger = Logger()
events_client = boto3.client("events")
event_bus_arn = os.environ["EVENT_BUS_ARN"]
def publish_order_placed(order: dict):
events_client.put_events(
Entries=[{
"EventBusName": event_bus_arn,
"Source": "com.mycompany.orders",
"DetailType": "OrderPlaced",
"Detail": json.dumps({
"metadata": {
"id": str(uuid.uuid4()),
"version": "1",
"timestamp": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(),
"correlationId": logger.get_correlation_id(),
"service": "order-service",
},
"data": order,
}),
}]
)TypeScript:
import { EventBridgeClient, PutEventsCommand } from '@aws-sdk/client-eventbridge';
import { randomUUID } from 'crypto';
const client = new EventBridgeClient({});
const eventBusArn = process.env.EVENT_BUS_ARN!;
async function publishOrderPlaced(order: Record<string, unknown>): Promise<void> {
await client.send(new PutEventsCommand({
Entries: [{
EventBusName: eventBusArn,
Source: 'com.mycompany.orders',
DetailType: 'OrderPlaced',
Detail: JSON.stringify({
metadata: {
id: randomUUID(),
version: '1',
timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
service: 'order-service',
},
data: order,
}),
}],
}));
}Event Patterns (Content-Based Routing)
EventBridge rules use event patterns to filter which events reach a target. Patterns match against the standard envelope fields and anything inside detail.
All values are arrays — a field matches if the event value equals any element in the array:
{
"source": ["com.mycompany.orders"],
"detail-type": ["OrderPlaced", "OrderUpdated"],
"detail": {
"status": ["CONFIRMED"],
"total": [{ "numeric": [">", 100] }]
}
}Common pattern operators:
| Operator | Example | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Exact match | "status": ["ACTIVE"] | status equals "ACTIVE" |
| Multiple values | "status": ["ACTIVE", "PENDING"] | status is either |
| Prefix | "id": [{"prefix": "ord-"}] | id starts with "ord-" |
| Anything-but | "status": [{"anything-but": ["CANCELLED"]}] | status is not "CANCELLED" |
| Exists | "refundId": [{"exists": true}] | refundId field is present |
| Numeric range | "amount": [{"numeric": [">=", 0, "<", 1000]}] | 0 ≤ amount < 1000 |
| Null | "coupon": [null] | coupon field is null |
Up to 5 targets per rule. If you need to fan out to more consumers, route to an SNS topic or use the rule to fan out via SQS.
Event Design
Event Envelopes
Wrap your business payload in a custom metadata layer inside detail. This provides consistent fields for filtering, deduplication, and observability across all events regardless of the transport (EventBridge, SNS, SQS, Kinesis):
{
"metadata": {
"id": "01HXHMF28A94NS7NSHC5GM80F4",
"version": "1",
"timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z",
"domain": "orders",
"service": "order-service",
"correlationId": "req-abc123"
},
"data": {
"orderId": "ord-987",
"userId": "usr-123",
"total": 49.99
}
}Key metadata fields:
id— unique event identifier; use for idempotency deduplicationversion— schema version of thedatapayloadtimestamp— when the event occurred (not when it was received)correlationId— trace ID that flows through the entire request chaindomain/service— for filtering and observability
Light Events vs Rich Events
Light events carry only IDs and directly relevant fields. Consumers fetch additional data they need.
Rich events include expanded entities — the complete state of the object at the time of the event.
| Light events | Rich events | |
|---|---|---|
| Payload size | Small | Large |
| Subscriber complexity | Higher (must hydrate) | Lower (self-contained) |
| Race conditions | Risk between event publish and data fetch | None |
| Coupling | Consumer coupled to publisher's API | Consumer coupled to event schema only |
Guidance:
Within a bounded context (same team, same domain): light events are fine — you control both sides
Across bounded contexts (different teams, different domains): prefer rich events — unknown consumers shouldn't need to call back into your service to understand what happened
Event Versioning
Prefer the no-breaking-changes policy: always add new fields, never remove or rename existing fields, never change a field's type. Consumers that ignore unknown fields continue working without any changes.
When a breaking change is unavoidable, the cleanest approach is versioning in the detail-type:
OrderPlaced.v1 → OrderPlaced.v2Consumers subscribe to specific versions. The publisher emits both versions during the migration window, then retires v1 once all consumers have migrated.
Avoid: using Lambda versions/aliases or API Gateway stages to version event-driven integrations — IAM roles don't version alongside function versions, which creates subtle permission bugs.
Retry Policy and Dead-Letter Queues
EventBridge retries failed Lambda invocations with exponential backoff. Configure both RetryPolicy and a DLQ on every rule target that processes important events:
Events:
OrderEvent:
Type: EventBridgeRule
Properties:
Pattern:
source: [com.mycompany.orders]
RetryPolicy:
MaximumRetryAttempts: 3 # 0–185; default 185
MaximumEventAgeInSeconds: 3600 # 60–86400; default 86400 (24h)
DeadLetterConfig:
Type: SQS
QueueLogicalId: MyDLQMaximumRetryAttempts— how many times EventBridge retries before sending to DLQMaximumEventAgeInSeconds— EventBridge stops retrying after this age, even if retries remainWithout a DLQ, events that exhaust retries are silently dropped
Process your DLQ actively. Set a CloudWatch alarm on ApproximateNumberOfMessagesVisible and reprocess events by replaying them back to the event bus.
Archive and Replay
EventBridge can archive all events (or a filtered subset) and replay them at any time. This is invaluable for:
Reprocessing events after deploying a bug fix
Bootstrapping new consumers with historical events
Disaster recovery
Create an archive in SAM:
OrderEventArchive:
Type: AWS::Events::Archive
Properties:
SourceArn: !GetAtt OrderEventBus.Arn
EventPattern:
source:
- com.mycompany.orders
RetentionDays: 30Replay from the console, CLI, or API by specifying the archive, a time range, and optionally a different target bus.
EventBridge Pipes
Pipes provide point-to-point integrations following a Source → Filter → Enrich → Target pattern. Use Pipes when you need to:
Connect a stream/queue source to a target with enrichment (e.g., add customer data before sending to Step Functions)
Filter events before they reach the target (you only pay for events that pass the filter)
Transform payloads without writing a Lambda function
OrderPipe:
Type: AWS::Pipes::Pipe
Properties:
Source: !GetAtt OrderQueue.Arn
SourceParameters:
SqsQueueParameters:
BatchSize: 10
Filter:
Filters:
- Pattern: '{"body": {"eventType": ["ORDER_CREATED"]}}'
Enrichment: !GetAtt EnrichOrderFunction.Arn
Target: !Ref OrderProcessingStateMachine
TargetParameters:
StepFunctionStateMachineParameters:
InvocationType: FIRE_AND_FORGET
RoleArn: !GetAtt PipeRole.ArnPipes vs Rules:
Use Pipes for point-to-point (one source → one target) with enrichment or transformation
Use Rules for fan-out (one event → multiple targets) or when the source is the event bus itself
Schema Registry
The EventBridge Schema Registry discovers and stores schemas for events on your bus. Use it to generate typed code bindings and enforce contracts.
Discover schemas automatically by enabling schema discovery on your event bus:
OrderBusDiscovery:
Type: AWS::EventSchemas::Discoverer
Properties:
SourceArn: !GetAtt OrderEventBus.ArnOnce events flow through the bus, schemas appear in the registry. Then use the MCP tools to work with them:
list_registries— browse available registriessearch_schemawith keywords (e.g.,"order") — find relevant schemasdescribe_schema— get the full schema definitionDownload code bindings from the console (Java, Python, TypeScript) — generates typed event classes
Use schemas as contracts: consumer teams reference a specific schema version. The publisher must not make breaking changes to a versioned schema without bumping the version.
Push vs Poll
| Pattern | Services | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Push | EventBridge, SNS | Low latency; event delivered as soon as it occurs; minimal compute waste at low volume |
| Poll | SQS+ESM, Kinesis, DynamoDB Streams | Full throughput control; ordered processing; higher latency; better for batching |
Choose push (EventBridge) when:
You need real-time fan-out to multiple independent consumers
Services are loosely coupled and don't need ordering guarantees
You want content-based routing without consumer-side filtering code
Choose poll (SQS/Kinesis) when:
You need strict ordering within a partition or message group
Consumer needs to control throughput (e.g., protect a downstream database)
You need large batch sizes for cost efficiency (e.g., bulk database writes)
Observability
For EventBridge metrics to alarm on, CloudWatch Logs Insights queries, and correlation ID propagation patterns, see observability.md.
Key principle: X-Ray traces Lambda execution but does not automatically connect publisher to consumer across the event bus. Propagate correlationId in the event metadata envelope (see Event Envelopes above) and use CloudWatch Logs Insights to reconstruct cross-service request chains.
Requirements and compatibility
Written for: Claude Code
Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta
“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.
Needs: Claude Code frontmatter, Needs an MCP server
Security
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Attribution and licence
- Published by
- AWS Labs
- Publisher
- AWS Labs (Official)
- Source
- awslabs/agent-plugins · plugins/aws-serverless/skills/aws-lambda · commit fbefb37
- Licence
- Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
- LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
- NOTICE (added by AutoGineer from NOTICE)
- ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
- Synced
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