What is Cloudflare Workers?

Cloudflare Workers Explained

Cloudflare Workers are serverless functions that execute on Cloudflare's global edge network. Unlike traditional serverless functions that run in centralized data centers, Workers run at the network edge - the physical location closest to your users.

If you're new to serverless computing, you might want to compare Cloudflare Workers vs AWS Lambda to understand the key differences. For a comprehensive guide on building with Workers, check out our complete Cloudflare Workers guide.

How Cloudflare Workers Work

When a user makes a request to your application:

1. The request is routed to the nearest Cloudflare edge server
2. Your Worker code executes instantly on the V8 JavaScript engine
3. The response is generated and sent back to the user
4. The entire process happens in milliseconds, often under 50ms

Key Benefits

• Global Performance: Code runs at 200+ edge locations worldwide
• Zero Cold Starts: Functions are always ready to execute
• Cost Effective: Pay only for execution time, not idle resources
• Developer Friendly: Write in JavaScript/TypeScript you already know

These benefits become even more apparent when you compare Workers to traditional serverless platforms like AWS Lambda, where cold starts can add significant latency.

Use Cases

Getting Started

Ready to build with Cloudflare Workers? Clodo Framework makes it easy to get started:

// Simple Cloudflare Worker with Clodo
export async function handleRequest(request) {
  return new Response('Hello from the edge!', {
    headers: { 'content-type': 'text/plain' }
  });
}