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AWS Lambda MicroVM Provider

Read when:

  • choosing provider: aws-lambda-microvm;
  • building the Crabbox runner image;
  • changing internal/providers/awslambdamicrovm or its live smoke.

AWS Lambda MicroVM is a delegated Linux run provider. Crabbox launches an isolated Firecracker MicroVM through the Lambda MicroVM API, uploads the checkout as a portable archive, and streams commands through the bundled HTTP runner. It does not expose SSH, VNC, browser/code access, or coordinator brokering.

AWS documents Lambda MicroVMs as ARM64-only at launch, available in us-east-1, us-east-2, us-west-2, eu-west-1, and ap-northeast-1, with an eight-hour maximum lifetime. Check the AWS launch announcement and developer guide for current limits and Region availability.

Build the runner image

The image source is runtimes/aws-lambda-microvm. Package its Dockerfile and Go source, upload the artifact to S3, then create an image with the managed Amazon Linux 2023 MicroVM base image:

cd runtimes/aws-lambda-microvm
zip -r /tmp/crabbox-lambda-microvm.zip Dockerfile *.go
aws s3 cp /tmp/crabbox-lambda-microvm.zip s3://my-bucket/crabbox-lambda-microvm.zip

aws lambda-microvms create-microvm-image \
  --name crabbox-runner \
  --code-artifact uri=s3://my-bucket/crabbox-lambda-microvm.zip \
  --base-image-arn arn:aws:lambda:eu-west-1:aws:microvm-image:al2023-1 \
  --build-role-arn arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/MicrovmBuildRole

The build role must trust lambda.amazonaws.com, read the S3 artifact, and write its CloudWatch build logs. AWS provides the exact trust and permissions policies in Create your first Lambda MicroVM. Wait until the image state is CREATED and its version is successful and active before using it.

The local AWS identity used by Crabbox needs permission for RunMicrovm, GetMicrovm, ListMicrovms, CreateMicrovmAuthToken, SuspendMicrovm, ResumeMicrovm, and TerminateMicrovm. Add iam:PassRole only when using an execution role.

Config

provider: aws-lambda-microvm
aws:
  region: eu-west-1
awsLambdaMicroVM:
  image: arn:aws:lambda:eu-west-1:123456789012:microvm-image:crabbox-runner
  imageVersion: "1.0"
  executionRoleArn: arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/MicrovmRuntime
  workdir: /workspace/crabbox
  ingressConnectors: []
  egressConnectors: []
  forgetMissing: false

image is required. Empty connector lists use AWS-managed ALL_INGRESS and INTERNET_EGRESS connectors. Set explicit connector ARNs to replace those defaults. The image ARN and every connector must match aws.region.

Environment overrides:

CRABBOX_AWS_LAMBDA_MICROVM_IMAGE
CRABBOX_AWS_LAMBDA_MICROVM_IMAGE_VERSION
CRABBOX_AWS_LAMBDA_MICROVM_EXECUTION_ROLE_ARN
CRABBOX_AWS_LAMBDA_MICROVM_WORKDIR
CRABBOX_AWS_LAMBDA_MICROVM_INGRESS_CONNECTORS
CRABBOX_AWS_LAMBDA_MICROVM_EGRESS_CONNECTORS
CRABBOX_AWS_LAMBDA_MICROVM_FORGET_MISSING

Matching command flags use the --aws-lambda-microvm- prefix. AWS credentials and profiles use the standard AWS SDK credential chain; never put credentials in Crabbox config or command arguments.

Commands and lifecycle

crabbox doctor --provider aws-lambda-microvm --json
crabbox warmup --provider aws-lambda-microvm --slug lambda-test
crabbox run --provider aws-lambda-microvm -- go test ./...
crabbox run --provider aws-lambda-microvm --keep --slug lambda-test -- true
crabbox run --provider aws-lambda-microvm --id lambda-test --shell 'make test'
crabbox pause --provider aws-lambda-microvm lambda-test
crabbox resume --provider aws-lambda-microvm lambda-test
crabbox status --provider aws-lambda-microvm --id lambda-test --json
crabbox stop --provider aws-lambda-microvm lambda-test
crabbox cleanup --provider aws-lambda-microvm --dry-run

A fresh run is one-shot unless --keep or --keep-on-failure retains the MicroVM. warmup always creates a retained lease. The provider sets Lambda's maximum duration from Crabbox TTL, capped at eight hours, and maps the idle timeout to Lambda auto-suspend/auto-resume. Explicit pause and resume call the Lambda lifecycle APIs.

Each data-plane request gets a short-lived, port-8080-scoped JWE token through CreateMicrovmAuthToken. Crabbox accepts only the Region-bound *.lambda-microvm.<region>.on.aws endpoint returned by AWS and refuses cross-origin redirects. See Running and using MicroVMs and Networking.

Capabilities

  • Target: Linux ARM64.
  • Sync: portable archive upload and extraction.
  • Command transport: streamed HTTP on port 8080.
  • Retained reuse: yes, until explicit stop or Lambda lifetime expiry.
  • Pause/resume and cleanup: yes.
  • SSH, Actions hydration, checkpoints, desktop/browser/code/VNC: no.
  • Coordinator: no; AWS SDK calls run directly from the CLI.

doctor is read-only: it loads AWS credentials, calls ListMicrovms for the configured image/version, and reports the local claim count. It does not prove that the custom runner is healthy; the first warmup or run performs that check and rolls back an unhealthy MicroVM.

Live smoke

The guarded smoke creates one retained MicroVM, proves archive sync and streamed execution, reuses it, pauses and resumes it, then terminates it and verifies local inventory cleanup:

CRABBOX_LIVE=1 \
CRABBOX_LIVE_PROVIDERS=aws-lambda-microvm \
CRABBOX_AWS_LAMBDA_MICROVM_IMAGE=arn:aws:lambda:eu-west-1:123456789012:microvm-image:crabbox-runner \
scripts/live-smoke.sh

The script always attempts stop after a lease is created. Missing credentials, image configuration, Region availability, or quota produce an explicit blocked classification rather than a false pass.