AWS First Steps
New feature

AWS Lambda now supports SnapStart for container image functions

AWS Lambda adds SnapStart for container image functions, reducing startup times from seconds to sub-seconds and enabling more responsive applications.

Starting today, AWS Lambda supports SnapStart for functions packaged as container images, reducing invocation latency from seconds to sub-seconds. SnapStart caches runtime snapshots at function deployment and resumes from these snapshots on invocation. Previously limited to managed runtimes (Python, .NET, Java), SnapStart is now available for container images. This improves startup times for latency-sensitive workloads like ML inference and interactive APIs. SnapStart can be enabled for new and existing container image functions. For AWS-based container images (Java 11+, Python 3.12+, .NET 8+), it provides experiences similar to .zip archive functions. Other base or custom images require consulting the developer guide. SnapStart is available in all commercial AWS regions except Asia Pacific (New Zealand) and Asia Pacific (Taipei). For details, see Lambda documentation, and visit the AWS Lambda pricing page for cost information.

Why it matters

AWS Lambda SnapStart helps build more responsive applications, especially useful for container-based deployments and functions with large dependencies.

Read the original AWS announcement

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