Deploy a Static Website on Alibaba Cloud Function Compute Using a Custom Runtime

Overview

Alibaba Cloud Function Compute (FC) provides 500 MB built‑in storage, sufficient for static assets. The article describes how to package a static site built in the dist directory and run it on FC using a custom runtime.

Step 1 – Create a simple HTTP server

Install Express and create app.js that serves the dist folder and redirects any unknown request to the site root.

let Express = require("express");
let app = new Express();
app.use(Express.static('dist'));
// redirect unmatched requests to the site root
app.use((req, res) => { res.redirect("/"); });
let port = 9000;
app.listen(port, () => { console.log(`App started on port ${port}`); });

Run node app.js locally and verify that http://localhost:9000/dist/index.html is reachable.

Step 2 – Add a bootstrap script for the custom runtime

FC custom runtime requires a bootstrap file that starts the process. Create a file named bootstrap with the following content (the shebang line is mandatory):

#! /bin/bash
node app.js

On Windows convert line endings from \r\n to \n to avoid start‑up timeouts.

Step 3 – Install Serverless Devs CLI and define s.yaml

Install the CLI as a development dependency: yarn add @serverless-devs/s -D Create s.yaml with the minimal configuration required to deploy the function:

edition: 1.0.0
name: my-awesome-website-project
services:
  my-service:
    component: devsapp/fc
    props:
      region: cn-shenzhen
      service:
        name: my-awesome-websites
      function:
        name: www-example-com
        runtime: custom
        handler: dummy-handler   # placeholder for custom runtime
        codeUri: ./               # deploy the current directory
      triggers:
        - name: http
          type: http
          config:
            authType: anonymous
            methods: [ HEAD, GET ]

Step 4 – Deploy the site

Configure your Alibaba Cloud AccessKey and AccessSecret (see Alibaba Cloud documentation). Then execute: s deploy The function is created, the bootstrap script launches the Express server, and the static files in dist become accessible via the HTTP trigger.

Step 5 – Bind a custom domain

Add a CNAME record that points to ${UID}.${REGION}.fc.aliyuncs.com (for the example region cn-shenzhen the target is xxxxx.cn-shenzhen.fc.aliyuncs.com). In the FC console create a custom domain, bind it to the HTTP trigger, and wait for DNS propagation. After that the site can be accessed with the custom domain, e.g. http://deploy-static-website-to-fc.example.dengchao.fun.

Sample project

The complete example is available on GitHub:

https://github.com/DevDengChao/deploy-static-website-to-fc-example

Reference images

Additional references

FC resource limits: https://help.aliyun.com/document_detail/51907.html

Configure AccessKey/Secret: https://www.serverless-devs.com/serverless-devs/command/config

FC product overview: https://help.aliyun.com/document_detail/52895.html

Custom runtime documentation: https://help.aliyun.com/document_detail/132044.html

Custom domain setup guide: https://help.aliyun.com/document_detail/90763.html