Vercel Edge Functions

Overview

Edge Functions run on Vercel's Edge Network (V8 isolates) close to the user with no cold starts. They use Web Standard APIs (Request, Response, fetch) instead of Node.js APIs. Ideal for authentication, A/B testing, geolocation routing, and low-latency API responses.

Prerequisites

• Completed

  vercel-install-auth

  setup
• Familiarity with Web APIs (Request/Response)
• Node.js 18+ for local development

Instructions

Step 1: Create an Edge Function

// api/edge-hello.ts
// Export `runtime = 'edge'` to run on the Edge Runtime
export const config = { runtime: 'edge' };

export default function handler(request: Request): Response {
  return new Response(
    JSON.stringify({
      message: 'Hello from the Edge!',
      region: request.headers.get('x-vercel-ip-city') ?? 'unknown',
      timestamp: Date.now(),
    }),
    {
      status: 200,
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    }
  );
}

Step 2: Edge Function with Geolocation

Vercel injects geolocation headers into every edge request:

// api/geo.ts
export const config = { runtime: 'edge' };

export default function handler(request: Request): Response {
  const city = request.headers.get('x-vercel-ip-city') ?? 'unknown';
  const country = request.headers.get('x-vercel-ip-country') ?? 'unknown';
  const region = request.headers.get('x-vercel-ip-country-region') ?? 'unknown';
  const latitude = request.headers.get('x-vercel-ip-latitude');
  const longitude = request.headers.get('x-vercel-ip-longitude');

  return Response.json({
    city: decodeURIComponent(city),
    country,
    region,
    coordinates: latitude && longitude ? { lat: latitude, lng: longitude } : null,
  });
}

Step 3: Edge Middleware (middleware.ts)

Middleware runs before every request and can rewrite, redirect, or add headers:

// middleware.ts (must be at project root or src/)
import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server';

export function middleware(request: NextRequest) {
  // Example 1: Redirect based on country
  const country = request.geo?.country ?? 'US';
  if (country === 'DE') {
    return NextResponse.redirect(new URL('/de', request.url));
  }

  // Example 2: A/B testing with cookies
  const bucket = request.cookies.get('ab-bucket')?.value;
  if (!bucket) {
    const response = NextResponse.next();
    response.cookies.set('ab-bucket', Math.random() > 0.5 ? 'a' : 'b');
    return response;
  }

  // Example 3: Add security headers
  const response = NextResponse.next();
  response.headers.set('X-Frame-Options', 'DENY');
  response.headers.set('X-Content-Type-Options', 'nosniff');
  response.headers.set('Referrer-Policy', 'strict-origin-when-cross-origin');
  return response;
}

// Only run on specific paths — skip static assets
export const config = {
  matcher: ['/((?!_next/static|_next/image|favicon.ico).*)'],
};

Step 4: Edge Function with Streaming

// api/stream.ts
export const config = { runtime: 'edge' };

export default function handler(): Response {
  const encoder = new TextEncoder();
  const stream = new ReadableStream({
    async start(controller) {
      for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
        controller.enqueue(encoder.encode(`data: chunk ${i}\n\n`));
        await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 500));
      }
      controller.enqueue(encoder.encode('data: [DONE]\n\n'));
      controller.close();
    },
  });

  return new Response(stream, {
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': 'text/event-stream',
      'Cache-Control': 'no-cache',
      Connection: 'keep-alive',
    },
  });
}

Step 5: Edge Config (Key-Value Store)

// api/feature-flags.ts
import { get } from '@vercel/edge-config';

export const config = { runtime: 'edge' };

export default async function handler(): Promise<Response> {
  // Read from Edge Config — sub-millisecond reads at the edge
  const maintenanceMode = await get<boolean>('maintenance_mode');
  const featureFlags = await get<Record<string, boolean>>('feature_flags');

  if (maintenanceMode) {
    return Response.json({ status: 'maintenance' }, { status: 503 });
  }

  return Response.json({ features: featureFlags });
}

Install:

npm install @vercel/edge-config

Edge vs Serverless Comparison

Available Web APIs in Edge Runtime

fetch

Request

Response

Headers

URL

URLSearchParams

TextEncoder

TextDecoder

ReadableStream

WritableStream

TransformStream

crypto

atob

btoa

structuredClone

setTimeout

setInterval

AbortController

NOT available:

fs

path

child_process

net

http

dns

Output

• Edge Function deployed globally with zero cold starts
• Geolocation-based routing using Vercel's injected headers
• Middleware running authentication and A/B tests at the edge
• Streaming responses for real-time data delivery

Error Handling

EDGE_FUNCTION_INVOCATION_FAILED

try/catch

Dynamic Code Evaluation not allowed

eval()

new Function()

Module not found

FUNCTION_PAYLOAD_TOO_LARGE

TypeError: x is not a function

Resources

• Edge Functions Documentation
• Edge Middleware
• Edge Config
• Edge Runtime API
• Vercel Geolocation Headers

Next Steps

For common errors, see

vercel-common-errors