Previously, we completely reimagined Functions to be more flexible and innovative yet familiar to developers. Now, Appwrite expands and updates the runtime ecosystem available on Appwrite with Bun 1.0.29, Node 21, Ruby 3.3, Deno 1.40, PHP 8.3, Python 3.12, Kotlin 1.9, Java 18, Swift 5.9 and Dart 3.3 support.
We’re excited to have updated versions so you can build with your preferred tech stack and Appwrite. Let’s dive into some of these runtimes and why they are a great addition to the runtime ecosystem.
Bun, blazing fast and built for web
Bun is an amazingly fast runtime, dependency manager, test runner, and web server for JavaScript with unique features that make it a perfect fit for Appwrite Functions. Bun is fast, like really fast. The runtime performance, dependency manager, and test runners are noticeably faster than its many Node.js counterparts. This is a topic well discussed in benchmarks.
Bun also boasts a robust standard library. It enables TypeScript and JSX out of the box without a build step, implements standard Web APIs like fetch(), and comes with a built-in test runner. All this reduces build times and dependencies needed. Our Bun 1.0.29 runtime brings improved compatibility with the NPM ecosystem and countless bug fixes.
Dart 3.3, sound null safety
Dart is one of Appwrite’s fastest runtimes being a compiled language, with impressive cold-start performance and millisecond response times when warm. For Flutter developers, you can write your app and Appwrite Functions code in Dart, track them in the same repository, and deploy your app and function together when you PR to your production branch.
For Dart developers, Dart 3 introduces many exciting features like records for structured data, patterns, more verbose OOP concepts, and more. For Appwrite Functions developers, however, sound null safety is a stand-out.
Sound null safety means unless you specify a variable can be null, it will never be null. At compile time, not accessing nullable values safely or assigning potentially null values to non-nullable variables will throw errors.
This means you’ll see fewer runtime errors in your Appwrite Functions, especially when Appwrite Functions often integrate with third-party APIs you don’t control or receive user input.
The getter 'age' was called on null.
Receiver: null
Tried calling: type
Ruby 3.3, faster, leaner, and safer
Ruby 3.3 brings some noteworthy upgrades to the table. First off, there’s YJIT, a brand-new Just-In-Time compiler that’s all about boosting Ruby's speed for certain tasks. This means your Ruby apps could run smoother and faster, which is always a win. Then, there's the garbage collection game, which got more precise, helping to reduce memory usage and keep things running efficiently. On the security front, Ruby 3.3 has beefed up with updated gems and libraries, plus clearer error messages to make debugging a breeze. In short, Ruby 3.3 is making Ruby faster, leaner, and safer, making it a solid update.
Updated runtimes for Appwrite
For better dependency compatibility and to reduce vulnerabilities, we've also updated many other runtimes with new versions:
Node 21
Deno 1.40
PHP 8.3
Python 3.12
Kotlin 1.9
Java 18
Swift 5.8
Try the new runtimes
Try the new runtimes on Appwrite with zero lines of new code using function templates. Appwrite will clone a template repository to your GitHub profile and set up automatic deployments so you can start building with these runtimes immediately.
Visit our documentation to learn more about the runtimes, join us on Discord to be part of the discussion, view our blog and YouTube channel, or visit our GitHub repository to see our open-source code.
