How to Deploy Cloud Functions with Node.js

About Cloud Functions

Google's Cloud Functions let you run code and deploy to the cloud GCP with no servers or containers you need to maintain. In this blog we'll write our first cloud functions and deploy to the cloud.

GCP Account

First, you'll need GCP account, once you have already should be able to process the below steps.

Create Node.js function for Cloud Functions

This command will create package.json file.

npm init -y

Then run this command to install the package @google-cloud/functions-framework for testing cloud function locally.

npm install --save-dev @google-cloud/functions-framework

Create our first Node.js function index.js, in side the index.js file we'll add following code, simply just return the message hello.

exports.main = (req, res) => {
    res
    .status(200)
    .send('hello');
}

How to Test Cloud Function in local

Add following section to the package.json file's script section and run the npm run start. Now, should be see the URL: http://localhost:8080, so that will host the code to our code exist at index.js, since we specify the method is main, so will run our first main function and you should be see the hello from the browser

"scripts": {
    "start": "npx functions-framework --target=main [--signature-type=http]"
},

How to Deploy Cloud Function to the Cloud

After tested on your local, you're ready and want to deploy the function to the cloud, this section will show how to run the gcloud command at the local environment and deploy to the cloud.

Config gcloud

Now, to run gcloud command at local, you'll need to configure first. If you already config before, you can run the gcloud config list to verify the account and project is point to the correct one, cause you don't want to accidentally deploy to the wrong GCP account.

If you have not setup before, you can run the gcloud init to authenticate with GCP account. Once confirmed you have config to the correct environment, you can run below command at the root folder your index.js.

gcloud functions deploy my-first-function --trigger-http --region=us-central1 --runtime=nodejs16 --gen2 --allow-unauthenticated --entry-point=main

So, these options are pretty straightforward setting, gcloud functions deploy is the command to deploy, my-first-function will be the name of the functions shows on the Cloud Functions alter, trigger-http mean this will works as HTTP(S) request, runtime specify what's the version of the app during the build, entry-point is the main function cloud function will run. Also, gen2 is next version of the Cloud Functions, provide longer request processing and handler more regions and fast rollback.

At this point, if the above gloud functions deploy successfully run, you should see the message on your console as done along with other information, such as build,label or the options you specified.

Also, the url will provide HTTP(S) endpoint, so if you run the URL, it will execute the cloud function we just deployed and return 'hello'.

glcoud function deploy options

For all the other options for deploy cloud function, you can reference the official document at here.gcloud functions deploy

Conclusion

This blog covered how to setup fireStore, and how to use Node.js to interact with fireStore with different operations.