Installation Methods

Review all installation methods for using Sentry in AWS Lambda functions

Choosing the right installation method for using Sentry in your AWS Lambda functions depends on a couple of factors.

Lambda functions can be written and executed either in CommonJS, using require syntax, or EcmaScript Modules (ESM), using import syntax. For Sentry to work correctly, you need to follow the guide for the format in which your functions are executed.

If you're using TypeScript, your lambda function is likely transpiled to CommonJS before running it. In this case, you should follow the CommonJS instructions. Note that TypeScript can also be configured to output ESM, in which case you should follow the ESM instructions.

If you are using require() in your function, you should follow the CommonJS instructions. You can choose between manually setting up Sentry or using the Lambda Layer.

If you're using import syntax in your function and you're not transpiling the code to CommonJS, you should follow the ESM instructions.

At this time, the Lambda Layer is only available for CommonJS functions. If you're using ESM, you'll need to set up Sentry manually. We're working on an ESM lambda layer but need to solve several OpenTelemetry-related limitations first.

First off, at this time, you can only use the layer in CommonJS functions. If you're using ESM, you'll need to set up Sentry manually with the NPM package.

We generally recommend to use the Lambda layer as it doesn't require you to deploy any Sentry dependency alongside your function. With using the layer, you can achieve the same level of customization as with the NPM package. There are two reasons why you still might want to use the NPM package instead:

  1. You want to minimize lambda function size and tree-shake parts of the SDK code that you don't need. A related reason might be because you're transpiling your code and want to transpile your dependencies as well.
  2. You already use NPM packages and deploy node_modules with your function and you don't want to add a (or another) Lambda layer to your functions.
Help improve this content
Our documentation is open source and available on GitHub. Your contributions are welcome, whether fixing a typo (drat!) or suggesting an update ("yeah, this would be better").