hyperframes/docs/deploy/aws-lambda.mdx

---
title: AWS Lambda
description: "Deploy distributed HyperFrames rendering to AWS Lambda and drive renders from a laptop or CI."
---

HyperFrames ships a first-class AWS Lambda deployment: one Lambda function fronts a Step Functions standard workflow that fans renders out across many parallel chunk workers, with intermediate artifacts in S3. End-to-end is three commands once your AWS credentials are configured.

```bash
hyperframes lambda deploy
hyperframes lambda render ./my-project --width 1920 --height 1080 --wait
hyperframes lambda destroy
```

Templates with [variables](/concepts/variables) work on the same Lambda stack — declare `data-composition-variables` on the composition, then pass values per render with `--variables` or fan a whole batch out with `lambda render-batch`. See the [Templates on Lambda](/deploy/templates-on-lambda) guide for the personalised-render pipeline (single render, batch from JSONL, programmatic SDK) and the 256 KiB Step Functions execution-input cap.

## Architecture

```
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Step Functions state machine                                     │
│   Plan → Map(N) RenderChunk → Assemble                           │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │ dispatches by event.Action
                              ▼
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ One Lambda function (packages/aws-lambda/dist/handler.zip)       │
│   handler.mjs                                                    │
│     ├─ Action="plan"        → @hyperframes/producer/distributed  │
│     ├─ Action="renderChunk" → @hyperframes/producer/distributed  │
│     └─ Action="assemble"    → @hyperframes/producer/distributed  │
│   bin/ffmpeg                — ffmpeg-static                      │
│   node_modules/@sparticuz/chromium/ — Lambda-optimised Chromium  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │ pure functions over local paths
                              ▼
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ S3 bucket — plan tarball + per-chunk outputs + final mp4         │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

The Lambda handler is a thin dispatch: parse the Step Functions event, download inputs from S3 into `/tmp`, call the OSS primitive from `@hyperframes/producer/distributed`, upload outputs back, return a small JSON result. Everything heavy — capture, encode, audio mix — happens inside the OSS primitives.

## Prerequisites

| Tool | Why | Install |
|------|-----|---------|
| AWS credentials | The CLI and the deploy step both call AWS APIs. | Env vars, `~/.aws/credentials`, SSO, or IMDS — any chain the AWS SDK for JavaScript v3 would resolve. |
| AWS SAM CLI | `hyperframes lambda deploy/destroy` shells out to `sam deploy`/`sam delete`. | [Install guide](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/serverless-application-model/latest/developerguide/install-sam-cli.html) |
| Lambda adapter | The published CLI loads the AWS adapter only for Lambda commands. Each release pins a prebuilt Lambda handler ZIP (a GitHub release asset); `lambda deploy` downloads it, checks its SHA-256 and deploys it with the adapter's SAM template. No repo checkout needed. | `npm install -g @hyperframes/aws-lambda` alongside the CLI, at the same version |
| HyperFrames repo checkout (optional) | Inside a checkout, or with `HYPERFRAMES_REPO_ROOT` pointing at one, `lambda deploy` builds the handler ZIP from source instead (needs `bun`). Use it to deploy unreleased changes, `--chrome-source=chrome-headless-shell`, or an adapter release older than the prebuilt handler. A checkout deploy on arm64 also needs the video image built from that checkout (`HYPERFRAMES_LAMBDA_VIDEO_IMAGE`), or `--video-arch x86_64`. | `git clone https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes`, and `npm install -g bun` or [bun.sh](https://bun.sh) |

## Three deployment paths

### Path 1 — `hyperframes lambda` CLI (recommended)

The CLI is a thin wrapper around the SAM template + the `@hyperframes/aws-lambda` SDK. For most adopters this is the right starting point.

```bash
hyperframes lambda deploy \
  --stack-name=hyperframes-prod \
  --region=us-east-1 \
  --memory=10240
```

By default the stack reserves no concurrency. Each render reads the account's
unreserved Lambda concurrency when it plans, and runs up to 90% of it at once
(at most 256 chunks), leaving the rest for other functions in the account. The
plan logs the number it chose. Pass `--concurrency=N` to reserve `N` executions
for the function instead; every render then runs at most `N` chunks at once.

Upgrading: redeploying an existing stack without `--concurrency` keeps the
reservation it already has, and `deploy` prints it. Stacks deployed by earlier
CLI versions reserved 8 by default, so they stay at 8 until you pass
`--concurrency=N`. Pass `--concurrency=none` to remove the reservation so each
render sizes itself to the account.

`deploy` records the stack's bucket and state machine in `.hyperframes/lambda-stack-<stack-name>.json` under the current directory. Every other `lambda` command reads that file, so run them from the same directory with the same `--stack-name`, or they stop with "no stack state". Redeploying to upgrade rewrites the same file.

After `deploy`, render anything with:

```bash
hyperframes lambda render ./my-project --width 1920 --height 1080 --wait
```

The `--wait` flag blocks and streams per-chunk progress + accrued cost; drop it to fire-and-forget, then poll with `hyperframes lambda progress <renderId>` on your own cadence.

See the [CLI reference](/packages/cli#hyperframes-lambda) for full flag documentation.

#### Pre-staging a project with `sites create`

Every `lambda render` call without `--site-id` hashes the project tree and checks each file against the bucket. For tight inner loops (CI smoke jobs, prompt iteration in a demo flow), pre-stage the project once and reuse the upload:

```bash
hyperframes lambda sites create ./my-project
# → Site ID: a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8 (content-addressed)

hyperframes lambda render ./my-project --site-id=a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8 \
  --width 1920 --height 1080 --wait
```

The `siteId` is content-addressed via a SHA-256 of the project tree. A site is a small `sites/<siteId>/files.json` that lists each file's path and SHA-256. The files themselves live once per bucket under `cas/sha256/`, shared by every site and render, so a file another project already uploaded is never uploaded again. Pass the same `--site-id` to as many `lambda render` calls as you like.

The stack's bucket expires objects under `cas/sha256/` 30 days after they were last written (the `ExpireSharedContent` lifecycle rule). Each render or `sites create` that reuses a file at least 7 days old rewrites it in place, so files in use never expire. If a site's files did expire, `lambda render --site-id` re-uploads them from the project directory, if its copies still match. Otherwise, or when `renderToLambda` gets a `siteHandle` but no `projectDir`, the render stops with `SITE_FILES_MISSING` before starting; run `sites create` again to restore them.

#### Upgrading from a version that deployed x86 only

`lambda deploy` now runs the plan and the render chunks on an arm64 container-image function by default; audio and assemble stay on the x86 function. Redeploying an existing stack without `--video-arch` moves it to arm64 and adds the `<stack>-video` ECR repository. To keep a stack on x86, pass `--video-arch x86_64` on every deploy. `--chrome-source chrome-headless-shell` also needs `--video-arch x86_64`, because the arm64 image bundles sparticuz Chrome only.

#### Upgrading from a version before shared content storage

- **Redeploy the stack before upgrading the CLI or SDK that starts renders.** A stack from an earlier version cannot read `files.json` sites. The CLI and `renderToLambda` check the state machine first and stop with `STACK_TOO_OLD` before uploading anything; run `hyperframes lambda deploy` (or redeploy your SAM template or CDK construct from the same version) and render again.
- **Existing site ids keep working.** When `sites/<siteId>/files.json` is missing, the render uses that site's `project.tar.gz` from the earlier version. If neither exists the render stops with `SITE_NOT_FOUND`, naming both keys; run `sites create` again.
- **Every project uploads once more.** The site id scheme changed (it now also covers symlinked files), so `sites create` or the first `lambda render` of each project after the upgrade returns a new site id and uploads its files once.

### Path 2 — Direct SAM deploy

If you want to read the CloudFormation before you deploy, or you need to customise the topology (extra alarms, SNS subscribers, KMS keys, …), invoke SAM directly against the template at `examples/aws-lambda/template.yaml`:

```bash
cd packages/aws-lambda
bun run build:zip                     # produces dist/handler.zip
cd ../../examples/aws-lambda
sam deploy \
  --stack-name=hyperframes-prod \
  --region=us-east-1 \
  --resolve-s3 \
  --capabilities CAPABILITY_IAM \
  --no-confirm-changeset \
  --parameter-overrides ChromeSource=sparticuz ReservedConcurrency=8
```

The template emits three CloudFormation outputs you'll need to invoke renders:

- `RenderBucketName` — S3 bucket for plan tarballs + per-chunk outputs + final renders.
- `RenderStateMachineArn` — the Step Functions standard workflow that orchestrates Plan → Map → Assemble.
- `RenderFunctionArn` — the single Lambda function the state machine dispatches against.

<Warning>
The SAM template's default for `ReservedConcurrency` is `-1` (unreserved), the same as the Path 1 CLI: each render runs up to 90% of the account's unreserved concurrency. Set it to bound how many chunks run at once.
</Warning>

### Path 3 — CDK construct

For users already running CDK, the `@hyperframes/aws-lambda` package exports a `HyperframesRenderStack` L2 construct that emits the same topology as the SAM template:

```ts
import { App, CfnOutput, Stack } from "aws-cdk-lib";
import { HyperframesRenderStack } from "@hyperframes/aws-lambda/cdk";

const app = new App();
const stack = new Stack(app, "MyApp");
const render = new HyperframesRenderStack(stack, "Render", {
  projectName: "hyperframes",
  lambdaMemoryMb: 10240,
  reservedConcurrency: 8,
  chromeSource: "sparticuz",
});

new CfnOutput(stack, "RenderBucketName", { value: render.bucket.bucketName });
new CfnOutput(stack, "StateMachineArn", { value: render.stateMachine.stateMachineArn });
```

`aws-cdk-lib` and `constructs` are declared as **optional peer dependencies** of `@hyperframes/aws-lambda`, so consumers who only need the SDK don't pay the CDK import cost.

The construct exposes `.bucket`, `.renderFunction`, and `.stateMachine` so you can wire dashboards, SNS topics, or other AWS resources alongside it without re-deriving ARNs.

## IAM permissions

The CLI ships a built-in IAM bootstrap to avoid the "User is not authorized to perform iam:CreateRole" first-deploy trap:

```bash
# Print an inline policy doc to attach to the IAM user that runs the CLI.
hyperframes lambda policies user

# Print { TrustRelationship, InlinePolicy } for a CloudFormation service role.
hyperframes lambda policies role

# Validate a checked-in policy still covers the CLI's needs (exit non-zero on missing).
hyperframes lambda policies validate ./infra/iam/hyperframes-deploy.json
```

Code that calls the SDK's `renderToLambda` with its own role needs `states:DescribeStateMachine` on the state machine besides `states:StartExecution` and S3 read/write on the bucket: each render reads the definition to confirm the stack is new enough.

The generated documents grant `Resource: "*"` for the CLI's required action set. After your first successful deploy you can narrow `Resource` to the deployed ARNs — predictable per the CloudFormation outputs above. Adopters running the CLI in CI typically check the policy doc into source control and run `policies validate` as a pre-deploy step to catch drift.

## Cost shape

Lambda renders are billed by GB-seconds (Lambda billed duration × configured memory) plus a tiny per-state-transition fee for Step Functions standard workflows. `hyperframes lambda progress` exposes the running tally:

```bash
hyperframes lambda progress my-render-id
# Status:    SUCCEEDED
# Progress:  100%
# Frames:    480 / 480
# Lambdas:   5
# Cost:      $0.0214 (Lambda $0.0210 + SFN $0.0004)
# Output:    s3://hyperframes-renders/.../output.mp4
```

The cost number is an estimate: Lambda duration comes from the handler result,
and S3 transfer is not included. Use AWS billing data for actual spend.

## Troubleshooting

### `sam deploy` fails with "Stack already exists"

Pass the same `--stack-name` you used the first time. SAM is idempotent — re-running on an existing stack resolves to a no-op or an in-place update.

### `User is not authorized to perform iam:CreateRole`

The IAM credential running `lambda deploy` doesn't have permission to create the service role CloudFormation needs. Run `hyperframes lambda policies user` and attach the printed policy to your IAM user (or take the `policies role` output and have your admin create a deploy role).

### `Lambda function failed: PLAN_HASH_MISMATCH`

Step Functions invoked a `renderChunk` with a plan hash that didn't match the planDir on S3. Almost always means the producer version differs between the local `plan()` build and the deployed Lambda ZIP. Re-run `hyperframes lambda deploy` (which rebuilds the ZIP) and re-render.

### `Lambda function failed: BROWSER_GPU_NOT_SOFTWARE`

The handler launched Chromium but the runtime probe found a non-SwiftShader GL backend. Hardware GL is non-deterministic across chunk boundaries, so distributed renders refuse it at the runtime-image / launch-flags layer (not at the composition layer). Rebuild the handler ZIP and redeploy:

```bash
bun run --cwd packages/aws-lambda build:zip
hyperframes lambda deploy --stack-name=<your-stack>
```

The build pipeline pins `@sparticuz/chromium` + the Chrome flags (`--use-gl=swiftshader --use-angle=swiftshader`) so a fresh deploy almost always resolves this. If it persists, your stack's Lambda function is pointing at a stale handler ZIP from a previous deploy — `lambda deploy` always rebuilds, so re-running unsticks it.

### Render seems stuck at `RUNNING`

Most often a Lambda cold-start chain on a many-chunk render. The Map state's reserved concurrency caps how many chunks can run in parallel — if you set `--concurrency=4` and your render has 16 chunks, the state machine processes them in batches of 4. `hyperframes lambda progress <id>` shows how many invocations are in flight.

If progress doesn't advance for >10 minutes, check the Step Functions execution in the AWS console — failed Lambda invocations include the typed error name (`FONT_FETCH_FAILED`, `FFMPEG_VERSION_MISMATCH`, etc.) which short-circuits the state machine.

### Tearing down doesn't reclaim S3 storage

The render bucket is created with CloudFormation `Retain` on delete — `hyperframes lambda destroy` (or `sam delete`) tears the function + state machine down but the bucket survives. This is intentional: it protects final-rendered MP4s from being lost when you re-deploy. To fully reclaim storage, empty + delete the bucket via the AWS console / `aws s3 rb`.

A stack deployed on arm64 (the default) also has an ECR repository, `<stack>-video`, holding the video function's image. `hyperframes lambda destroy` deletes it after the stack.

### `STACK_TOO_OLD`

The stack was deployed by an earlier version that cannot read this version's sites. Redeploy it (`hyperframes lambda deploy`), then render again. See [Upgrading](#upgrading-from-a-version-before-shared-content-storage).

### `SITE_FILES_MISSING` or `SITE_NOT_FOUND`

`SITE_FILES_MISSING`: some of the site's files expired from `cas/sha256/` after 30 days unused. Render from the project directory the site was created from, or run `sites create` again. `SITE_NOT_FOUND`: the bucket has no site under that id in either format; run `sites create` again and use the id it prints.

## Current limits

- There is no completion webhook. Poll with `hyperframes lambda progress` or
  watch the Step Functions execution.
- There is no Lambda-specific composition-discovery verb. Point
  `lambda render` at the project directory containing `index.html`.
- Each `--region` is an independent stack. Cross-region failover is not built
  in.
- The distributed AWS path is SDR-only.
- Each render chunk extracts only the video frames it shows, so the plan step
  no longer grows with video length. On a 10,240 MB function, a 26-minute
  576×1024 24 fps H.264 clip plans in about 20 seconds. Each chunk reads
  only the byte ranges of each video it shows, straight from the bucket. Variable-frame-rate and HDR
  sources are the exception: the plan step still extracts every frame of those,
  inside Lambda's 15-minute limit, in 2-minute segments, so
  `FFMPEG_PROCESS_TIMEOUT_MS` applies to each segment, not to the whole clip.
- A chunk must also finish inside 15 minutes. For long renders, raise
  `--max-parallel-chunks` (`maxParallelChunks` in the SDK) so each chunk covers
  fewer frames.

## Related topics

- [Render variable-driven templates on Lambda](/deploy/templates-on-lambda)
- [Use the AWS Lambda package](/packages/aws-lambda)
- [Choose another rendering path](/deploy/overview)