Fastlike

Fastlike is a local development server for Fastly Compute (previously known as Compute@Edge) applications. It allows you to run and test your Fastly Compute WebAssembly programs locally without deploying to Fastly, making development faster and more efficient.

What is Fastlike?

Fastlike is a complete Go implementation of the Fastly Compute XQD ABI that runs locally using WebAssembly. It emulates Fastly's runtime environment, allowing you to:

• Test Fastly Compute programs locally before deployment
• Debug issues without the deployment cycle
• Develop with hot-reloading capabilities
• Simulate backend services and configurations

Features

• Full ABI Compatibility: Implements 100% of the Fastly Compute XQD ABI
• Local Development: Run Fastly Compute programs without deploying
• Multiple Backend Support: Configure multiple named backends
• Hot Reloading: Automatically reload WASM modules on file changes
• Dictionaries & Config Stores: Support for key-value lookups
• Caching: Full HTTP caching with surrogate keys
• ACL & Rate Limiting: Access control and rate limiting support
• Secure Secret Handling: Secure credential management
• KV Store Support: Object storage with async operations
• Image Optimization Hooks: Transform images on-the-fly

Installation

Prerequisites

• Go 1.23 or later

Install via Go

go install fastlike.dev/cmd/fastlike@latest

Build from Source

# Clone the repository (if you have the source code)
# If you just want to install, use: go install fastlike.dev/cmd/fastlike@latest
git clone https://github.com/fastlike/fastlike.git
cd fastlike

# Build and install
make build
# Binary will be available at ./bin/fastlike

# Or install to GOPATH/bin
make install

Getting Started

1. Get a Fastly Compute WASM Program

You'll need a Fastly Compute compatible WebAssembly program. The easiest way is using Fastly CLI:

# Create a new project
fastly compute init my-project
cd my-project

# Build the WASM binary
fastly compute build
# WASM file will be at bin/main.wasm

2. Run with a Backend

Start Fastlike with your WASM program and a backend service:

# Run with a local backend on port 8000
fastlike -wasm bin/main.wasm -backend localhost:8000

# Or with a named backend
fastlike -wasm bin/main.wasm -backend api=localhost:8000 -bind localhost:5000

3. Test Your Application

Once running, make requests to your local Fastlike server:

curl http://localhost:5000/

Configuration Options

Basic Options

# Specify custom bind address
fastlike -wasm my-program.wasm -backend localhost:8000 -bind localhost:8080

# Enable verbose logging (0, 1, or 2 levels)
fastlike -wasm my-program.wasm -backend localhost:8000 -v 2

# Enable hot reloading on SIGHUP
fastlike -wasm my-program.wasm -backend localhost:8000 -reload

Multiple Backends

Configure multiple named backends for complex routing:

fastlike -wasm my-program.wasm \
  -backend api=localhost:8000 \
  -backend static=localhost:8080 \
  -backend images=localhost:9000

Dictionaries

Use JSON files for key-value lookups:

# Create a dictionary file
echo '{"api_key": "secret123", "version": "1.0.0"}' > config.json

# Use the dictionary in your program
fastlike -wasm my-program.wasm -backend localhost:8000 -dictionary config=config.json

The dictionary file should contain a JSON object with string keys and values:

{
  "key1": "value1",
  "key2": "value2",
  "api_endpoint": "https://api.example.com"
}

Hot Reloading

Enable hot reloading to automatically reload your WASM module when you make changes:

# Start with reload enabled
fastlike -wasm my-program.wasm -backend localhost:8000 -reload

# In another terminal, send SIGHUP to reload
kill -SIGHUP $(pgrep fastlike)
# Or if you know the process ID: kill -SIGHUP <pid>

Testing and Development

Make Commands

The project includes a Makefile with helpful commands:

# Build the binary
make build

# Run all tests
make test

# Build test WASM programs (for development)
make build-test-wasm

# Run with Make (requires WASM and BACKEND variables)
make run WASM=my-program.wasm BACKEND=localhost:8000

# Run with arguments
make run WASM=my-program.wasm BACKEND=localhost:8000 ARGS='-v 2'

Verbose Mode per Request

For debugging specific requests, add the fastlike-verbose header:

curl -H "fastlike-verbose: 1" http://localhost:5000/

This enables verbose logging for just that request.

Example Usage

Simple Setup

# Start a simple backend server
python3 -m http.server 8000 &

# Run Fastlike with your WASM program
fastlike -wasm my-program.wasm -backend localhost:8000 -bind localhost:5000

# Test it
curl http://localhost:5000/

Complex Multi-Backend Setup

# Start multiple backend services
python3 -m http.server 8000 &  # Static files
node app.js 8080 &             # API server
npx serve public/ 9000 &       # Another service

# Run Fastlike with multiple backends
fastlike -wasm my-program.wasm \
  -backend static=localhost:8000 \
  -backend api=localhost:8080 \
  -backend images=localhost:9000 \
  -dictionary config=config.json \
  -bind localhost:5000

# Now your WASM program can route to any of these backends by name

Development Workflow with Hot Reloading

# Terminal 1: Start Fastlike with hot reload
fastlike -wasm my-program.wasm -backend localhost:8000 -reload

# Terminal 2: Build and reload when changes occur
while inotifywait -e modify my-project/src/*; do
  cd my-project && fastly compute build
  kill -SIGHUP $(pgrep fastlike)
done

# Terminal 3: Test continuously
watch -n 1 curl -s http://localhost:5000/

Advanced Features

Custom Logging

Enable verbose logging to see all ABI calls:

# Persistent verbose logging
fastlike -wasm my-program.wasm -backend localhost:8000 -v 2

# Per-request verbose logging
curl -H "fastlike-verbose: 1" http://localhost:5000/

Backend Configuration

Support for named backend configurations. Complex backend configurations with timeouts, SSL, and more are available through the Go API but not through the CLI.

Cache Support

Full HTTP caching support with request collapsing and surrogate key management - all working locally.

Request Loops Prevention

Fastlike adds "Fastlike" to the cdn-loop header to prevent infinite request loops. If a loop is detected, it returns a 508 Loop Detected error.