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AWS Lambda Durable Functions

AWSOfficialPublished by AWS

  • Skill
  • Tool integration
  • Cloud and DevOps
  • Apache-2.0
  • Low risk

From the author

Builds resilient, long-running, multi-step applications with AWS Lambda durable functions with automatic state persistence, retry logic, and orchestration for long-running executions. Covers the critical replay model, step operations, wait/callback patterns, error handling with saga pattern, testing with LocalDurableTestRunner. Triggers on phrases like lambda durable functions, durable execution, workflow orchestration, state machines, retry/checkpoint patterns, long-running stateful Lambda functions, saga pattern, human-in-the-loop callbacks, reliable serverless applications, context.step, context.wait, context.invoke, context.runInChildContext, withDurableExecution, DurableContext, UnrecoverableInvocationError, durable-execution-sdk, qualified ARN invocation, and durable handler replay.
— the description by AWS

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

This skill provides guidance and patterns for implementing durable, multi-step applications on AWS Lambda. It focuses on the replay model, which allows functions to maintain state across long-running executions—up to one year—by automatically checkpointing progress. The skill covers essential architectural patterns such as the saga pattern for error handling, wait/callback mechanisms for external system integration, and testing strategies using the local test runner. It emphasizes strict adherence to deterministic coding practices required by the replay model to ensure reliable execution.

What it does

  • Enables state persistence for long-running Lambda functions.
  • Provides patterns for implementing the saga pattern and compensating transactions.
  • Supports wait/callback patterns for integrating with external systems.
  • Offers guidance on testing durable functions locally and in the cloud.
  • Defines rules for deterministic code to prevent state corruption during replays.
  • Outlines requirements for qualified ARN invocation and IAM permissions.

When to use it

  • When building workflows that require execution times longer than standard Lambda timeouts.
  • When orchestrating multi-step processes that need to maintain state across interruptions.
  • When implementing reliable, fault-tolerant serverless integrations.
  • When managing complex state machines or human-in-the-loop approval processes.
  • When you need automatic retry logic and checkpointing for critical business processes.

Advantages

  • Resilient execution that survives infrastructure interruptions.
  • Simplified state management without external databases for simple workflows.
  • Native support for complex orchestration patterns like sagas and parallel execution.
  • Built-in replay-aware logging and error handling.
  • Local testing capabilities to validate complex workflow logic.

Usage examples

“How do I implement a multi-step workflow with a wait period in AWS Lambda?”
The agent provides a code example using context.step for logic and context.wait for the delay, ensuring the execution state is persisted correctly.
“Why is my durable function failing during replay?”
The agent helps diagnose non-deterministic code (like Date.now() or Math.random()) placed outside of steps, which causes state corruption.
“How do I handle errors in a long-running durable function?”
The agent explains the saga pattern and how to implement compensating transactions within steps to roll back state if a step fails.
“What are the requirements for invoking a durable Lambda function?”
The agent clarifies that durable functions must be invoked using a qualified ARN (version, alias, or $LATEST) and provides the corresponding AWS CLI command.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/aws/aws-lambda-durable-functions/download
  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip aws-lambda-durable-functions.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by AWS

AWS Lambda durable functions

Build resilient multi-step applications and AI workflows that can execute for up to 1 year while maintaining reliable progress despite interruptions.

Works best with the AWS MCP server but is not required. All AWS interactions in this skill use standard AWS CLI commands that work in any environment with configured AWS credentials.

Critical Rules

Read these before writing any code. Each one is a constraint that will silently break a function if violated.

  1. Durable execution must be enabled at function creation time — it cannot be retrofitted. A new Lambda function must be created with durable execution turned on. Migrate the logic into the new function; do not attempt to install the SDK and wrap the handler of the existing function and expect it to work.

  2. Durable functions must be invoked with a qualified ARN — a specific version, an alias, or the literal $LATEST suffix. An unqualified function name will fail. See the Invocation Requirements section below for examples.

  3. Durable operations cannot be nested. You cannot call context.step(), context.wait(), or context.invoke() from inside another step's callback. Use context.runInChildContext() to group operations instead.

  4. All non-deterministic code must run inside steps. Date.now(), Math.random(), UUID generation, API calls, and database queries outside a step will produce different values on replay and corrupt execution state.

  5. Closure mutations are lost on replay - return values from steps

  6. Side effects outside steps repeat - use context.logger (replay-aware)

When to Load Reference Files

Load the appropriate reference file based on what the user is working on:

  • Getting started, basic setup, example, ESLint, or Jest setup -> see getting-started.md

  • Understanding replay model, determinism, or non-deterministic errors -> see replay-model-rules.md

  • Creating steps, atomic operations, or retry logic -> see step-operations.md

  • Waiting, delays, callbacks, external systems, or polling -> see wait-operations.md

  • Parallel execution, map operations, batch processing, or concurrency -> see concurrent-operations.md

  • Error handling, retry strategies, saga pattern, or compensating transactions -> see error-handling.md

  • Advanced error handling, timeout handling, circuit breakers, or conditional retries -> see advanced-error-handling.md

  • Testing, local testing, cloud testing, test runner, or flaky tests -> see testing-patterns.md

  • Deployment, CloudFormation, CDK, SAM, log groups, deploy, or infrastructure -> see deployment-iac.md

  • Advanced patterns, GenAI agents, completion policies, step semantics, or custom serialization -> see advanced-patterns.md

  • troubleshooting, stuck execution, failed execution, debug execution ID, execution history, execution error, why did my execution fail, execution timed out, callback not received, diagnose execution, or root cause execution -> see troubleshooting-executions.md

Quick Reference

Basic Handler Pattern

TypeScript:

import { withDurableExecution, DurableContext } from '@aws/durable-execution-sdk-js';

export const handler = withDurableExecution(async (event, context: DurableContext) => {
  const result = await context.step('process', async () => processData(event));
  return result;
});

Python:

from aws_durable_execution_sdk_python import durable_execution, DurableContext

@durable_execution
def handler(event: dict, context: DurableContext) -> dict:
    result = context.step(lambda _: process_data(event), name='process')
    return result
Python API Differences

The Python SDK differs from TypeScript in several key areas:

  • Steps: Use @durable_step decorator + context.step(my_step(args)), or inline context.step(lambda _: ..., name='...'). Prefer the decorator for automatic step naming.

  • Wait: context.wait(duration=Duration.from_seconds(n), name='...')

  • Exceptions: ExecutionError (permanent), InvocationError (transient), CallbackError (callback failures)

  • Testing: Use DurableFunctionTestRunner class directly - instantiate with handler, use context manager, call run(input=...)

Invocation Requirements

Durable functions require qualified ARNs (version, alias, or $LATEST):

# Valid
aws lambda invoke --function-name my-function:1 output.json
aws lambda invoke --function-name my-function:live output.json

# Invalid - will fail
aws lambda invoke --function-name my-function output.json

IAM Permissions

Your Lambda execution role MUST have the AWSLambdaBasicDurableExecutionRolePolicy managed policy attached. This includes:

  • lambda:CheckpointDurableExecution - Persist execution state

  • lambda:GetDurableExecutionState - Retrieve execution state

  • CloudWatch Logs permissions

Additional permissions needed for:

  • Durable invokes: lambda:InvokeFunction on target function ARNs

  • External callbacks: Systems need lambda:SendDurableExecutionCallbackSuccess and lambda:SendDurableExecutionCallbackFailure

Validation Guidelines

When writing or reviewing durable function code, ALWAYS check for these replay model violations:

  1. Non-deterministic code outside steps: Date.now(), Math.random(), UUID generation, API calls, database queries must all be inside steps

  2. Nested durable operations in step functions: Cannot call context.step(), context.wait(), or context.invoke() inside a step function — use context.runInChildContext() instead

  3. Closure mutations that won't persist: Variables mutated inside steps are NOT preserved across replays — return values from steps instead

  4. Side effects outside steps that repeat on replay: Use context.logger for logging (it is replay-aware and deduplicates automatically)

When implementing or modifying tests for durable functions, ALWAYS verify:

  1. All operations have descriptive names

  2. Tests get operations by NAME, never by index

  3. Replay behavior is tested with multiple invocations

  4. Use LocalDurableTestRunner for local testing

Security Considerations

  • Checkpoint data encryption: Execution state is persisted automatically. Enable KMS encryption on associated CloudWatch Log Groups to protect checkpointed data at rest.

  • Sensitive data in step results: Step return values are checkpointed and persisted. Do not return secrets, raw credentials, or PII from steps — store sensitive data in Secrets Manager or SSM Parameter Store and return references instead.

  • Input validation: Validate and sanitize event payloads at the handler entry point before passing data to steps.

  • Credential management: Retrieve secrets from AWS Secrets Manager or SSM Parameter Store within steps.

  • Callback payload validation: Data received via waitForCallback originates from external systems — validate and sanitize before processing.

  • Logging: Avoid DEBUG log level in non-development environments as it may expose step results and execution state. Enable CloudWatch Logs encryption with KMS.

Resources

Files

references/error-handling.md

Error Handling and Retry Strategies

Comprehensive error handling patterns for durable functions.

TypeScript:

import { createRetryStrategy, JitterStrategy } from '@aws/durable-execution-sdk-js';

// Exponential backoff with jitter
const result = await context.step(
  'api-call',
  async () => callAPI(),
  {
    retryStrategy: createRetryStrategy({
      maxAttempts: 5,
      initialDelay: { seconds: 1 },
      maxDelay: { seconds: 60 },
      backoffRate: 2.0,
      jitter: JitterStrategy.FULL
    })
  }
);

// Fixed delay
const result = await context.step(
  'simple-retry',
  async () => operation(),
  {
    retryStrategy: createRetryStrategy({
      maxAttempts: 3,
      delay: { seconds: 5 },
      backoffRate: 1
    })
  }
);

Python:

from aws_durable_execution_sdk_python.retries import RetryStrategyConfig, create_retry_strategy, JitterStrategy

retry_config = RetryStrategyConfig(
    max_attempts=5,
    initial_delay=Duration.from_seconds(1),
    max_delay=Duration.from_seconds(60),
    backoff_rate=2.0,
    jitter_strategy=JitterStrategy.FULL
)

result = context.step(
    func=api_call(),
    config=StepConfig(retry_strategy=create_retry_strategy(retry_config))
)

Custom Retry Logic

TypeScript:

const result = await context.step(
  'custom-retry',
  async () => riskyOperation(),
  {
    retryStrategy: (error, attemptCount) => {
      // Don't retry client errors
      if (error.statusCode >= 400 && error.statusCode < 500) {
        return { shouldRetry: false };
      }
      
      // Retry server errors with exponential backoff
      if (attemptCount < 5) {
        return {
          shouldRetry: true,
          delay: { seconds: Math.pow(2, attemptCount) }
        };
      }
      
      return { shouldRetry: false };
    }
  }
);

Python:

def custom_retry(error: Exception, attempt: int) -> RetryDecision:
    if hasattr(error, 'status_code') and 400 <= error.status_code < 500:
        return RetryDecision.no_retry()
    
    if attempt < 5:
        return RetryDecision(
            should_retry=True,
            delay=Duration.from_seconds(2 ** attempt)
        )
    
    return RetryDecision.no_retry()

Error Classification

Retryable vs Non-Retryable

TypeScript:

class ValidationError extends Error {
  name = 'ValidationError';
}

class NetworkError extends Error {
  name = 'NetworkError';
}

const result = await context.step(
  'selective-retry',
  async () => operation(),
  {
    retryStrategy: createRetryStrategy({
      maxAttempts: 3,
      retryableErrorTypes: [NetworkError],
      // ValidationError won't be retried
    })
  }
);

Python:

retry_config = RetryStrategyConfig(
    max_attempts=3,
    retryable_error_types=[NetworkError, TimeoutError]
)

Saga Pattern

Implement compensating transactions for distributed workflows:

TypeScript:

export const handler = withDurableExecution(async (event, context: DurableContext) => {
  const compensations: Array<{
    name: string;
    fn: () => Promise<void>;
  }> = [];

  try {
    // Step 1: Reserve inventory
    const reservation = await context.step('reserve-inventory', async () =>
      inventoryService.reserve(event.items)
    );
    compensations.push({
      name: 'cancel-reservation',
      fn: () => inventoryService.cancelReservation(reservation.id)
    });

    // Step 2: Charge payment
    const payment = await context.step('charge-payment', async () =>
      paymentService.charge(event.paymentMethod, event.amount)
    );
    compensations.push({
      name: 'refund-payment',
      fn: () => paymentService.refund(payment.id)
    });

    // Step 3: Create shipment
    const shipment = await context.step('create-shipment', async () =>
      shippingService.createShipment(event.address, event.items)
    );
    compensations.push({
      name: 'cancel-shipment',
      fn: () => shippingService.cancelShipment(shipment.id)
    });

    return { success: true, orderId: shipment.orderId };

  } catch (error) {
    context.logger.error('Order failed, executing compensations', error);
    
    // Execute compensations in reverse order
    for (const comp of compensations.reverse()) {
      try {
        await context.step(comp.name, async () => comp.fn());
      } catch (compError) {
        context.logger.error(`Compensation ${comp.name} failed`, compError);
        // Continue with other compensations
      }
    }
    
    throw error;
  }
});

Python:

# Note: All service methods are decorated with @durable_step
@durable_execution
def handler(event: dict, context: DurableContext) -> dict:
    compensations = []

    try:
        # Step 1: Reserve inventory
        reservation = context.step(reserve_inventory(event['items']))
        compensations.append(('cancel-reservation', cancel_reservation, reservation['id']))

        # Step 2: Charge payment
        payment = context.step(charge_payment(event['payment_method'], event['amount']))
        compensations.append(('refund-payment', refund_payment, payment['id']))

        # Step 3: Create shipment
        shipment = context.step(create_shipment(event['address'], event['items']))

        return {'success': True, 'order_id': shipment['order_id']}

    except Exception as error:
        context.logger.error(f'Order failed, executing compensations: {error}')
        
        for name, comp_step, resource_id in reversed(compensations):
            try:
                context.step(comp_step(resource_id))
            except Exception as comp_error:
                context.logger.error(f'Compensation {name} failed: {comp_error}')
        
        raise error

Unrecoverable Errors

Mark errors as unrecoverable to stop execution immediately:

TypeScript:

export const handler = withDurableExecution(async (event, context: DurableContext) => {
  const user = await context.step(
    'fetch-user',
    async () => {
      const user = await fetchUser(event.userId);
      
      if (!user) {
        throw new Error('User not found');
      }
      
      return user;
    },
    { retryStrategy: () => ({ shouldRetry: false }) }
  );
  
  // Continue processing...
});

Python:

from aws_durable_execution_sdk_python.exceptions import ExecutionError

@durable_execution
def handler(event: dict, context: DurableContext) -> dict:
    @durable_step
    def fetch_user_step(step_ctx: StepContext):
        user = fetch_user(event['user_id'])
        if not user:
            # Stop execution immediately — permanent failure, no retry
            raise ExecutionError('User not found')
        return user
    
    user = context.step(fetch_user_step())
    # Continue processing...

The SDK provides these exception types for different failure scenarios:

ExceptionRetryableUse case
ExecutionErrorNoPermanent business logic failures (returns FAILED status)
InvocationErrorYes (by Lambda)Transient infrastructure issues (Lambda retries invocation)
CallbackErrorNoCallback handling failures
DurableExecutionsError—Base class for all SDK exceptions

Error Determinism

Ensure errors are deterministic across replays:

TypeScript:

class CustomBusinessError extends Error {
  constructor(
    message: string,
    public readonly code: string,
    public readonly details: any
  ) {
    super(message);
    this.name = 'CustomBusinessError';
  }
}

const result = await context.step('validate', async () => {
  if (!isValid(data)) {
    // ✅ Deterministic error
    throw new CustomBusinessError(
      'Validation failed',
      'INVALID_DATA',
      { field: 'email', reason: 'invalid format' }
    );
  }
  
  return processData(data);
});

Circuit Breaker Pattern

TypeScript:

class CircuitBreaker {
  private failures = 0;
  private lastFailureTime = 0;
  private readonly threshold = 5;
  private readonly timeout = 60000; // 1 minute

  async execute<T>(fn: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
    if (this.isOpen()) {
      throw new Error('Circuit breaker is open');
    }

    try {
      const result = await fn();
      this.onSuccess();
      return result;
    } catch (error) {
      this.onFailure();
      throw error;
    }
  }

  private isOpen(): boolean {
    if (this.failures >= this.threshold) {
      const elapsed = Date.now() - this.lastFailureTime;
      return elapsed < this.timeout;
    }
    return false;
  }

  private onSuccess() {
    this.failures = 0;
  }

  private onFailure() {
    this.failures++;
    this.lastFailureTime = Date.now();
  }
}

// Use in handler
const breaker = new CircuitBreaker();

export const handler = withDurableExecution(async (event, context: DurableContext) => {
  const result = await context.step('api-call', async () => {
    return await breaker.execute(() => callExternalAPI());
  });
  
  return result;
});

Partial Failure Handling

TypeScript:

export const handler = withDurableExecution(async (event, context: DurableContext) => {
  const results = await context.map(
    'process-items',
    event.items,
    async (ctx, item, index) => {
      return await ctx.step(async () => processItem(item));
    },
    {
      completionConfig: {
        toleratedFailurePercentage: 10  // Allow 10% failures
      }
    }
  );

  if (results.hasFailure) {
    // Log failures but continue
    context.logger.warn('Some items failed', {
      failureCount: results.failureCount,
      failures: results.failed().map(f => ({
        index: f.index,
        error: f.error?.message
      }))
    });

    // Store failed items for later retry
    await context.step('store-failures', async () => {
      const failedItems = results.failed().map(f => event.items[f.index]);
      return await storeFailedItems(failedItems);
    });
  }

  return {
    totalProcessed: results.successCount,
    failed: results.failureCount
  };
});

Best Practices

  1. Use appropriate retry strategies - exponential backoff for most cases

  2. Classify errors correctly - distinguish retryable from non-retryable

  3. Implement compensating transactions for distributed workflows

  4. Make errors deterministic - same input produces same error

  5. Use unrecoverable errors to stop execution early when appropriate

  6. Log errors with context using context.logger

  7. Handle partial failures gracefully in batch operations

  8. Implement circuit breakers for external service calls

  9. Test error scenarios thoroughly with test runners

  10. Monitor error rates and adjust retry strategies accordingly

Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Needs: Needs an MCP server, Needs a command-line tool, Needs Python

Security

What our scanner noticed· Low risk

  • Instructions that use the network

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Attribution and licence

Published by
AWS
Publisher
AWS (Official)
Source
aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws · skills/specialized-skills/serverless-skills/aws-lambda-durable-functions · commit 0a218f8
Licence
Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
  • NOTICE (added by AutoGineer from NOTICE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
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