Functions v1

Functions let you run code or use integrations without running your own servers or adding latency from external callouts. Your code runs in PubNub's environment for low-latency, real-time processing.

PubNub offers Functions in two versions (v1 and v2) that differ in terms of scope, terminology, UI flow on the Admin Portal, and library or REST API access.

Function versions

This document details the UI for Functions v1 that are accessible for PubNub users who created Functions before v2 was introduced. To learn about the differences between both versions, refer to the Functions v1 vs. v2 comparison.

The steps for creating a Function also differ depending on the version. For details, refer to Development Guidelines v2 and Development Guidelines v1.

Modules

To create a Function, first create a Module.

To create a Module:

1. Choose an app with a corresponding keyset.

2. Click + Create New Module.

3. Fill in the mandatory Name field and the optional Description field.

For information on how to create Functions, refer to the Development Guide.

Statistics

Select the Module to view all Functions created in it.

You can see whether a Module is Running or Stopped, and key metrics for its Functions:

Name	Description
Total	The number of created functions inside the module.
Running	All functions in the module are running and operational.
Stopped	None of the functions in the module are running. Messages will pass through the PubNub network without triggering your saved Functions.
Pending	Functions in the module are being started. This is a transient state and the module may remain in this state for up to 20 seconds.

Module states:

State	Definition
Stopped	None of the Functions in the Module are running. Messages will pass through the PubNub network without triggering your saved Functions.
Running	All Functions in the Module are running and operational.
Pending	The Functions in the Module are being started. This is a transient state, and the Module may remain in this state for up to 20 seconds.
Stopping	The Module is being stopped. Like the Pending state, this is a transient state, and the Module may remain in the Stopping state for few seconds.
Failed	One or more Functions in the Module failed to run because of an error, and all Functions are stopped. Check the logs for more information.

Functions overview

This section shows all Functions available in a Module:

Name	Description
Function	Name of your function.
Event	Event type tied to your function.
Channels/Path/Interval	Configuration parameters of your function.
State	State of your function. Refer to the previous table to view available states.

Third-party services integration

You can also use third-party integrations, such as language translation, sentiment analysis, SMS, text-to-speech, and content moderation.

Click Explore Templates in a Module to open the Functions integrations catalog in the Admin Portal.

If you can't find a service that fits, browse the full Integrations catalog outside the Admin Portal. When you choose an integration, click Use template and follow the wizard.

Function configuration view

Click a Function in the Module to open the configuration view. There you can configure the Function, edit code, rename it, choose the channel, and test. The view has these sections:

• Function parameters
• Code editor
• Console view

Function parameters

You can configure these parts of your Function:

Name	Configurable items
Function name	Current name of the function.
Event type	Event type of the currently selected function.
Channel	Channel the function runs on.
URI path	A suffix added to the full URL where your On Request Function is triggered. For example, if you set the URI path to hello, your Function triggers on https://ps.pndsn.com/v1/blocks/sub-key/{your-sub-key}/hello. Only for the On Request event type. (URI = Uniform Resource Identifier)
Test Payload	Test message payload. Its initial structure changes based on the event type of the selected function. You can change the payload to suit your needs.
Add REST parameters	Additional REST parameters. Only available in the On Request event type.
Add headers	Additional headers. Only available in the On Request event type.
Interval	Interval for the function to trigger. Can be set between 10000 and 3600000 milliseconds. Only available in the On Interval event type.
My Secrets	Credentials configuration. You can store secrets and use them in the function body.

Code editor

Use this editor to create or modify your Function's code. The example code depends on the Function's event type you chose when creating it. If you change the event type later, the example code doesn't refresh.

For details on creating Functions, see Creating a function.

Wildcard channels

In the code editor, use a specific channel. Wildcards aren't supported there.

Console view

Displays debug information about your Module and Function. You can show all filters, clear the console, or filter by selecting one or more of the following:

Filter name	Displayed information
Channel status	The channel your function runs on.
Module status	The deployment status and deployment regions.
Test messages	Type and body of published messages set in the Test payload section.
Console output	The output logged to the console from within your function body.

Export logs through Events & Actions

Any running Function publishes logs to an internal blocks-output-* channel, like blocks-output-NSPiAuYKsWSxJl4yBn30.

You can find this channel name in the Console output:

The channel keeps the last 250 lines; new logs overwrite older ones.

To retain logs longer, use Events & Actions to export logs to an external service with the Webhook or S3 action.

To do that, follow these steps:

1. Set up an event listener to listen for events on the internal channel. Provide the following configuration and enter the correct blocks-output-* channel from the Console output in the Condition value field.

   

2. Create either a Webhook or S3 action and add the created event listener to it.

   When configuring this action, you can use the Batching feature to send multiple events in a single request.