What it is

Architect is an open-source JavaScript project for building a functional web app on AWS serverless infrastructure. It lives in the AWS serverless ecosystem, with topics including arc, aws, aws-apigateway, aws-dynamodb, aws-lambda, fwa, infrastructure-as-code, and serverless. The project uses Apache-2.0 and appears in Infrastructure and Operations, Cloud Infrastructure Management.

Architect addresses the problem of taking a database-backed web app from a local workspace to deployed AWS stacks. The README says users can build database-backed web apps on AWS serverless infrastructure with full local, offline workflows. It provides commands to create an app, start a local sandbox, deploy staging, create additional staging stacks, and ship to production.

Key capabilities

• It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows and requires Node.js 18 or newer for the Architect runtime.
• It installs through npm with npm i @architect/architect --save-dev and can be checked with npx arc version.
• It supports local work with npx arc init to create an app and npx arc sandbox to start a dev server, exiting with Cmd or Ctrl plus c.
• It deploys to AWS with npx arc deploy for staging, --name for extra staging stacks, and --production for production.
• It supports optional function runtimes and package managers, including Node.js with npm or yarn, Python with pip3, Ruby with bundle, and Java, .NET, Golang, or Lambda runtime layers.
• It names AWS serverless services in its topics, including API Gateway, DynamoDB, and Lambda, and offers editor syntax for VS Code, Sublime Text, and Vim.

Who uses it and how

• Developers use it when they want to build a database-backed web app on AWS serverless infrastructure while keeping a local, offline workflow.
• Teams use it to deploy staging with npx arc deploy, add more staging stacks with --name, and ship to production with --production.
• Polyglot function teams use it when their AWS Lambda functions use Node.js, Python, Ruby, Java, .NET, Golang, or Lambda runtime layers.
• Editor users use it when they want Architect syntax in VS Code, Sublime Text, or Vim.

Getting started

Install the package with npm i @architect/architect --save-dev, then check the version with npx arc version. Run npx arc init to create a project, npx arc sandbox to work locally, and npx arc deploy or npx arc deploy --production to deploy to AWS.

When to use it — and when not to

Architect fits teams that want to build functional web apps on AWS serverless infrastructure and need local sandboxing plus staging and production deploy commands. It is less suitable for projects that must avoid AWS, lack Node.js 18 or newer, or need a hosted option, because the README lists only local npm installation and AWS deployment commands. The facts also show 61 open issues, so teams should account for operating the AWS Lambda, API Gateway, and DynamoDB resources named in the topics.

npm i @architect/architect --save-dev

npx arc version

mkdir testapp
cd testapp
npx arc init

npx arc sandbox

npx arc deploy

npx arc deploy --production