SlimFaasGet Started with SlimFaas
Choose where your functions will run. Each guide opens the same live dashboard and leads into a shared, hands-on tour of functions, queues, events, jobs and data.
- Get Started with Kubernetes Deploy SlimFaas alongside your workloads. Start here to evaluate Kubernetes operations and a persistent three-node cluster.
- Get Started in Local Download the complete local demo, or build a Git branch with npm and dotnet. Run real processes without Docker or Kubernetes.
- Get Started with Docker Compose Run a container-based demonstration with the Docker orchestrator.
Choose your environment
| Kubernetes | Local | Docker Compose | |
|---|---|---|---|
| You need | A cluster, kubectl, a default StorageClass | Bundle and extraction tools, or Git + .NET 10 SDK + Node.js 24/npm | Docker Engine and Compose v2, or Podman with Compose |
| Functions run as | Kubernetes workloads | Native processes | Containers managed through the Docker API |
| SlimFaas nodes in this demo | 3, persistent volumes | 3, persistent local directory | 1, persistent Docker volumes |
| Dashboard | http://127.0.0.1:30021 with port-forward |
http://127.0.0.1:30020 |
http://127.0.0.1:30021 |
| Typical use | Cluster evaluation and deployment | Application development and debugging | Container-based local evaluation |
Use one demo at a time: the local cluster's direct node ports overlap with the other demos. The local entrypoint distributes requests among real SlimFaas/Raft nodes; it is not a simulated Kubernetes cluster.
What you will discover
After installation, keep the SlimFaas UI open while following the Guided Tour. Send requests with cURL or the downloadable Bruno collection. Watch functions wake, traffic move through queues, and jobs appear.
The tour includes API responses and cleanup commands. It explains which effects are visible in the dashboard and which must be checked through the API. Find every route, including aliases and internal interfaces, in the API Reference.
Bring your own application
A function is an HTTP application. On Kubernetes, add SlimFaas annotations to its workload; locally, declare its command and health check in a manifest; with Docker, use container labels. See Functions for routing and visibility, Local Mode for manifests and IDE routing, and How It Works for the architecture.
Go further
Explore WebSocket clients, the Kafka connector, and Planet Saver when your application needs them. These integrations have their own prerequisites and are not required for the introductory tour.
Dashboard metadata visibility
The dashboard uses the SlimFaasSite visual theme and provides Overview plus Live Stream → Traffic / Data. Data metadata follows the data API's visibility policy by default. Operators may set SlimFaas__ExposeDataMetadata=true to expose only keys, expiry and file sizes to dashboard visitors while leaving the values private. The native local demo already exposes /data for its tutorial. See the user interface.
The demo configurations also enable SlimFaas__ExposeLogs=true for the dashboard's instance log viewer. Production defaults keep log exposure disabled. Enabling it permits dashboard visitors to read application output as written; see instance logs. Native manifests use cluster.exposeLogs, with an explicit SlimFaas__ExposeLogs environment value taking precedence.