plugin functions v8

Functions V8 Plugin

Edge Functions runtime using a V8/Deno isolate pool with TypeScript support, HTTP triggers, and strict SSRF protection. Pro plugin, requires license.

Requires: Pro license or higher. nself license set nself_pro_...

Install

nself license set nself_pro_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
nself plugin install functions-v8
nself build

The license is validated against ping.nself.org/license/validate. An insufficient tier returns an error and the purchase URL.

What It Does

The functions-v8 plugin runs short-lived TypeScript functions in isolated Deno subprocess pools. Each function invocation gets a fresh Deno process, an allowlist-only environment (no OS env inheritance), a configurable memory ceiling, and a hard execution timeout. Functions are deployed as TypeScript source code, stored in Postgres, and invoked over HTTP.

Capabilities:

• TypeScript + Deno standard library support
• Per-function environment variables (stored encrypted in Postgres)
• Configurable isolate pool size for concurrency control
• Hard wall-clock execution timeout (returns HTTP 504 on breach)
• Prometheus metrics at /metrics
• Structured JSON logs with per-function log retention
• SSRF protection enforced at the runtime level (see below)

Deploy a Function

# Deploy function source code
curl -X POST http://your-nself-host:3088/functions/v1 \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'X-Internal-Secret: $PLUGIN_INTERNAL_SECRET' \
  -d '{
    "name": "hello-world",
    "source_code": "export default async function handler(req) { return new Response(JSON.stringify({hello: \"world\"})); }"
  }'

Invoke a Function

curl -X POST http://your-nself-host:3088/functions/v1/hello-world/invoke \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"name":"nSelf"}'

The function receives the request body via Deno.stdin and writes its response to stdout. The HTTP status code is determined by the exit code and output format.

TypeScript Runtime

Functions run under Deno with access to the Deno standard library (https://deno.land/std@0.208.0/). Example function:

// Read request body from stdin
const body = await new Response(Deno.stdin.readable).text()
const input = JSON.parse(body || '{}')

const result = {
  message: `Hello, ${input.name || 'world'}!`,
  timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
}

console.log(JSON.stringify(result))

SSRF Protection

Outbound network access is deny-by-default. The plugin does NOT pass --allow-net unrestricted to Deno. Instead:

1. By default, --deny-net is set — user functions have no outbound network access.
2. Operators may set NSELF_ALLOW_NET to a comma-separated list of specific external hostnames to permit.
3. RFC-1918 and loopback addresses are always blocked, even if listed in NSELF_ALLOW_NET. The Go runtime filters them before constructing the Deno command.

This satisfies the Security-Always-Free Doctrine: no SSRF vector is exposed by default, and no paywall blocks the protection.

# Allow only a specific external API
NSELF_ALLOW_NET=api.openai.com,hooks.slack.com nself start

Attempting fetch('http://192.168.1.1/') from user code will fail with a Deno permission error. This is verified by the test suite (TestIsPrivateHost_RFC1918).

Function Isolation

Each invocation runs in a separate Deno subprocess:

• No shared memory between invocations
• OS environment is NOT inherited — only explicitly permitted env vars are injected
• Memory ceiling enforced via --v8-flags=--max-old-space-size=<MB>
• --no-npm prevents npm: specifiers from downloading packages at runtime
• --no-config prevents deno.json from the host filesystem from being loaded

Configuration

Env Var	Required	Default	Description
DATABASE_URL	Yes	—	Postgres connection string
FUNCTIONS_EDGE_PORT	No	3088	HTTP server port
FUNCTIONS_EDGE_POOL_SIZE	No	5	Max concurrent function invocations
FUNCTIONS_EDGE_MAX_DURATION_MS	No	30000	Max execution time per invocation (ms)
FUNCTIONS_EDGE_MAX_MEMORY_MB	No	128	V8 heap limit per isolate (MB)
FUNCTIONS_EDGE_LOG_RETENTION_DAYS	No	7	Function log retention (days)
DENO_BINARY_PATH	No	/usr/bin/deno	Path to the Deno binary
PLUGIN_INTERNAL_SECRET	No	—	Shared secret for internal API calls
NSELF_ALLOW_NET	No	—	Comma-separated external hostname allowlist

Postgres Schema

Table	Purpose
np_edge_functions	Function metadata (name, status, invoke/error counts)
np_edge_function_versions	Versioned source code; one active version per function
np_edge_function_env	Per-function environment key/value pairs
np_function_logs	Structured execution logs with TTL-based retention

np_edge_functions includes source_account_id TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT 'primary' for multi-app isolation (Convention A).

HTTP Routes

Method	Path	Auth	Description
GET	/health	none	Health check
GET	/metrics	internal	Prometheus metrics
GET	/functions/v1	internal	List functions
POST	/functions/v1	internal	Deploy a function
GET	/functions/v1/:name	internal	Get function metadata
DELETE	/functions/v1/:name	internal	Delete a function
POST	/functions/v1/:name/invoke	internal	Invoke a function
GET	/functions/v1/:name/logs	internal	Fetch function logs

Internal routes require the X-Internal-Secret header matching PLUGIN_INTERNAL_SECRET.

Port

This plugin runs on port 3088 (CS_7 slot per the nSelf port registry).

Bundle

This plugin is not included in a named bundle. Access is granted with any Pro license tier or ɳSelf+.

See Also

• Architecture: Microkernel
• Security
• Plugin Reference