Free online courseServerless Framework on AWS

Course Description

Build modern cloud backends without babysitting servers. In this free online course, you will learn how to develop, test, and deploy serverless applications on AWS using the Serverless Framework, a toolset that streamlines infrastructure setup and makes AWS Lambda projects easier to maintain as they grow. Instead of wiring services manually in the console, you will work with configuration-driven deployments that encourage repeatability, cleaner environments, and quicker iteration.

You will start by setting up the essentials the right way: creating AWS credentials for programmatic access, configuring the AWS CLI with profiles, and installing the Serverless Framework to bootstrap projects quickly. From there, you will move from a first Lambda function to a complete workflow that includes running functions locally, invoking them on demand, emulating HTTP endpoints with offline tooling, and validating behavior before pushing changes to the cloud. This approach helps you reduce deployment friction, spot errors earlier, and keep your feedback loop fast.

As you advance, the course connects your functions to API Gateway so you can build real endpoints and test them using common tools such as Postman. You will also learn how deployments are managed through CloudFormation and how to cleanly remove stacks when environments are no longer needed, a practical skill for controlling costs and keeping AWS accounts organized. Along the way, you will gain clarity on HTTP APIs versus REST APIs and how handler patterns affect the way your Lambda functions respond.

A major focus is configuration and secrets management. You will work with variables and nested variables in serverless YAML, reference values from JSON config files, and pull sensitive settings from AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store. By learning environment variable strategies, including safe type conversion, you can ship the same code across dev, staging, and production with minimal changes and fewer surprises.

Finally, you will integrate AWS DynamoDB to implement CRUD-style serverless backends. You will explore how tables are structured with partition and sort keys, how secondary indexes change access patterns, and why query operations differ from scan operations when performance matters. You will also touch on DynamoDB Streams to react to data changes and connect serverless events to downstream actions. By the end, you will have the confidence to build deployable, scalable AWS serverless APIs using real-world patterns and workflows.