Apache OpenWhisk

Spec sheet

What it does

Apache OpenWhisk is an open-source, distributed serverless platform that runs functions in response to events at any scale.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Intended users

The documentation organizes resources for developers building functions, contributors working on platform components, and operators deploying and hosting the platform.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Deployment

The site lists Kubernetes, OpenShift, and Compose as deployment options and says the community endorses Kubernetes deployments using Helm charts.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Integrations

Packages include integrations for Kafka, Cloudant, push notifications, Slack, RSS feeds, GitHub, JIRA, and custom data services.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Support

The developer mailing list is for project design and development, not technical support; the project points users to documentation and community channels for help.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Actions and triggers

Actions are stateless functions, and triggers and rules connect event sources to actions for automated execution.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Credential handling

Parameter binding lets users avoid hardcoding service credentials in their code.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Custom runtimes

Users can package custom executables as Zip Actions and run them on the Docker runtime.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Downloads

Official releases are source code TAR.GZ archives, and release artifacts are signed by a project Release Manager for verification.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Event driven

Events can come from sources such as datastores, message queues, mobile and web apps, sensors, chatbots, and scheduled tasks.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Event model

Developers write Actions that can be scheduled to run in response to Triggers from external Feeds or HTTP requests.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Function composition

Actions written in different languages can be composed into a sequence that can be created and invoked as a single action.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Infrastructure

The platform manages infrastructure, servers, and scaling using Docker containers.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Language runtimes

The site lists Go, Java, Node.js, .NET, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, Scala, and Swift support, plus an experimental Deno runtime.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Operator configurable limits

The documentation says system limits are imposed on actions and are configurable by the operator.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Release status

The downloads page lists unified release 20.11, released November 29, 2020, and says GitHub releases are not official project releases.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Release verification

Official release artifacts are signed by a project Release Manager and can be verified using the project’s verification instructions and release keys.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Scaling

Action instances scale to demand and disappear afterward; the site says users do not pay for idle resources.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Security reporting

Suspected undisclosed vulnerabilities should be reported to the Apache Security team at [email protected] rather than disclosed publicly.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Support channels

The project directs users to its documentation and social channels for help; its developer mailing list is for design and development, not technical support.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Tools and API

The project provides a REST API, a command-line interface, deployment tooling, and client libraries.Read 9 Oct 2026 · openwhisk.apache.org

Where Specifiction places it

• Serverless Platforms#8 of 287.9