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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsUse Lambda@Edge with CloudFront when a video request needs to be changed, routed, authorized, or answered at the edge. Choose one of CloudFront’s four event points—viewer request, origin request, origin response, or viewer response—based on whether the decision must happen before cache lookup, only when CloudFront contacts the origin, or after a response exists. Lambda@Edge customizes delivery; it does not encode or package video.
What Lambda@Edge changes in a video delivery workflow
CloudFront serves packaged video over HTTP. A player requests a manifest, which describes playback order and available media, then requests the referenced segments. Common packaging formats include HLS, MPEG-DASH, Microsoft Smooth Streaming, and CMAF. In a typical VOD workflow, an encoder such as MediaConvert prepares the assets, which are stored on a server or S3 and delivered through CloudFront. Live workflows can use MediaLive for encoding and MediaStore or MediaPackage for origin or delivery formats. See AWS’s CloudFront video guide.
Lambda@Edge is the customization layer in this path: a function attached to a CloudFront behavior can inspect or modify a request or response when its configured event occurs. AWS describes CloudFront as delivering the packaged content and Lambda@Edge as the extension point for customizing that delivery. The function runs synchronously in the request path, so its work and any downstream calls must complete before CloudFront continues.
Choose the CloudFront event that matches the job
| Event | When it runs | Video use that fits | Important consequence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viewer request | When CloudFront receives a viewer request, before cache lookup. | Apply request-level logic that must run for viewer requests, such as an early routing or access decision. | Because it precedes cache lookup, the function can affect whether the request reaches a cached object. Keep any variation in the response consistent with the cache design. |
| Origin request | When CloudFront is about to forward a request to the origin, after a cache miss. | Select or construct an origin dynamically, or run logic that should happen only when the requested object is not already cached. | Cache hits do not invoke this function. A cache hit therefore will not repeat origin-selection or validation logic placed only here. |
| Origin response | After CloudFront receives a response from the origin. | Change a response on its way back from the origin when that is the required decision point. | This event is tied to origin responses, not every viewer request served from cache. |
| Viewer response | As CloudFront returns a response to the viewer. | Apply a response change at the viewer-facing stage. | Choose it only when the change belongs on the response path; it is not an origin-selection event. |
The event names and timing are defined in AWS’s Lambda@Edge event reference. Treat event choice as a correctness decision, not merely a deployment detail: ask whether the logic must run on cache hits, whether it needs to choose an origin, and whether it is changing an incoming request or outgoing response.
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Plan the implementation before creating a function
- Describe the viewer request. Identify the path, query-string values, headers, or authorization context that determine what the viewer should receive. Distinguish manifest requests from segment requests; they may need different routing or cache treatment.
- Choose the decision point. Use a viewer event if logic must run before cache lookup. Use an origin-request event for origin selection on cache misses. Use a response event only when modifying the response is the actual requirement.
- Set the cache behavior and forwarding rules. Decide which request values must be included in the cache key and which must be forwarded to the origin or function. If origin-request code reads query strings, AWS requires the cache policy or origin request policy to forward all query strings. Do not allow requests that should produce different results to collapse onto an indistinguishable cached object.
- Keep synchronous work small. The function blocks CloudFront from continuing that request until it finishes. Avoid treating an edge function as a place for slow media processing or heavy downstream orchestration.
- Check service restrictions and deployment prerequisites. Lambda@Edge functions are created in US East (N. Virginia), published as numbered versions, and associated with a CloudFront distribution and cache behavior. Review the current AWS restrictions and quotas before choosing dependencies: AWS documents limitations including no VPC access, layers, X-Ray, provisioned concurrency, or ordinary environment variables. Consult Getting started with Lambda@Edge and the current Lambda@Edge restrictions.
- Test cache-hit and cache-miss paths separately. Verify the behavior for manifests and segments, for each relevant authorization state, and for requests with different routing values. A test that reaches the origin every time will not reveal a logic error hidden by cached responses.
Pattern: route requests to dynamic MediaPackage endpoints
AWS’s Media & Entertainment walkthrough addresses MediaPackage endpoints whose randomized prefix cannot be registered as one fixed origin. Its example puts the changing prefix in the viewer URL path and uses an origin-request Lambda@Edge function to reconstruct the origin domain and route the request. Because an origin-request function runs on cache misses, the mapping is evaluated for requested manifests or segments that are not already cached; it is not invoked again for a cache hit.
- Design a viewer-facing path that carries the endpoint identifier needed to select the MediaPackage destination.
- Attach the routing function to the relevant CloudFront behavior at the origin-request event.
- Have the function use the request’s routing information to construct the intended origin domain and forward the request there.
- Ensure the CloudFront behavior, cache policy, origin request policy, and origin access configuration agree with that routing scheme.
- Validate both manifest and segment requests through cache misses and cache hits. Confirm that the selected origin is correct and that cached content cannot be served across requests that should remain distinct.
AWS’s dynamic MediaPackage origin mapping walkthrough, published August 23, 2023, demonstrates this pattern for HLS and says the same process applies to DASH or Smooth Streaming manifests. Treat it as an architectural example, not a drop-in configuration: confirm current endpoint details and security settings for your account and deployment.
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Pattern: generate or locate an HLS manifest on demand
An AWS sample architecture uses an origin-request function to check whether a generated HLS manifest exists in S3. If it does not, the function invokes MediaConvert and returns a temporary manifest that references an intro segment; a subsequent player manifest request can retrieve the generated output. This can be useful to study for infrequently viewed or on-demand conversion workflows, but it is not a promise that conversion completes instantly or a general recommendation to run video processing synchronously at the edge.
Keep the responsibilities separate: MediaConvert performs conversion, storage holds the resulting assets, CloudFront delivers them, and Lambda@Edge coordinates request behavior in the sample. Before adopting the pattern, design what the viewer receives while conversion is pending, how later requests find the finished output, and how cache behavior interacts with the temporary response. The AWS on-the-fly conversion walkthrough describes the example architecture.
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Pattern: protect private streams and media assets
For private content, authorization must be enforced as part of the complete delivery path. CloudFront supports signed URLs or signed cookies, and AWS’s use-case guidance discusses restricting direct access to the origin. AWS’s Secure Media Delivery implementation guide describes token validation using viewer-specific attributes for HLS, DASH, and CMAF.
- Decide what credential or viewer-specific context authorizes access and where it should be validated.
- Ensure the origin cannot be accessed directly in a way that bypasses the CloudFront policy.
- Make cache behavior compatible with authorization. Do not serve a protected response to a request that is not entitled to it merely because an earlier request populated a shared cache entry.
- Test expired, missing, malformed, and valid credentials against both cached and uncached content paths.
Adding Lambda@Edge alone does not secure an origin. The access policy, cache configuration, origin restrictions, and validation logic must work together. See AWS’s CloudFront use cases and Secure Media Delivery at the Edge on AWS guide.
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Cache keys, query strings, and live manifests
Cache configuration is part of the application logic whenever a request’s route, authorization, or media representation varies. CloudFront’s origin-request event runs only when the request is forwarded to an origin; it does not run on a cache hit. Therefore, origin-request code cannot be relied on to re-evaluate a decision for every viewer.
- Forward inputs the function reads. If an origin-request Lambda@Edge function reads query strings, AWS requires all query strings to be forwarded using the cache policy or origin request policy.
- Key on meaningful variations. If different request values can lead to different manifests or segments, configure the cache key so one variant is not incorrectly reused for another. Forwarding a value and including it in the cache key serve related but distinct purposes; decide both deliberately.
- Account for live freshness. Manifest freshness and segment caching need format- and workflow-aware policies. AWS’s live-streaming guidance recommends a minimum TTL of five seconds or less for the MediaPackage live workflow it describes. That recommendation is scoped to that documented setup, not a universal TTL for every live stream.
- Check every object type. HLS manifests and segments, and their equivalents in other formats, can have different freshness and caching needs. Confirm that the behavior handles all paths requested by the player.
Use the AWS edge function restrictions alongside the live streaming setup guidance when designing these policies.
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Choose between the main implementation patterns
| Pattern | Function point | Primary job | Cache and latency concern |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamic origin mapping | Usually origin request in the AWS MediaPackage example | Construct or select an origin from request routing information. | Runs on cache misses, not hits. Forward and key routing inputs correctly; keep function work fast. |
| Request or token validation | Choose a viewer or origin event based on when validation must apply | Validate viewer context and prevent unauthorized delivery. | Ensure cache behavior cannot bypass intended authorization; secure the origin independently of the function. |
| On-demand HLS conversion sample | Origin request in the AWS sample | Check for generated output and coordinate the sample conversion response path. | Conversion is not guaranteed instantaneous; consider synchronous blocking, pending responses, later retrieval, and caching. |
| Manifest or response customization | Event depends on whether the change belongs before cache lookup, at origin contact, or in a response | Change request or response behavior without making Lambda@Edge the encoder or packager. | Different variants must map to the right cache entries; response-only logic does not replace origin or packaging architecture. |
Use MediaConvert, MediaLive, MediaPackage, or another appropriate media service for encoding and packaging. Lambda@Edge is for request and response customization around CloudFront delivery, not for replacing those media-processing roles.
Common failure modes and what to check
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| The function does not run for a request you expected it to handle. | The request was a cache hit, or the function is associated with a different behavior or event. | Confirm event timing, behavior path matching, and whether the object was served from cache. Origin-request functions run only when CloudFront forwards a request to the origin. |
| Requests with different query values reach the same result. | Required query strings are not forwarded, or the cache key does not distinguish results that should differ. | When origin-request code reads query strings, forward all query strings through the relevant policy. Then verify which values belong in the cache key. |
| A manifest routes correctly but its segments fail or come from the wrong endpoint. | The mapping or behavior handles the manifest path but not the segment paths, or the cache policy differs across object types. | Trace the manifest’s referenced segment URLs and verify behavior matching, origin construction, forwarding, and cache results for both request types. |
| Private media is accessible through an unintended path. | The origin is directly reachable, a cache entry is shared too broadly, or the authorization check is not at the right point. | Review direct-origin restrictions, signed URL or cookie policy, token validation, and cache behavior together; test authorized and unauthorized requests. |
| Edge deployment rejects a dependency or configuration. | The function uses a feature Lambda@Edge does not support or was not deployed as required. | Check the current restrictions and quotas, create the function in US East (N. Virginia), publish a numbered version, and associate that version with the distribution. |
| Requests become slow or processing does not finish in the expected path. | The function is doing too much synchronous work or waiting on downstream processing. | Remember CloudFront waits for the function to finish. Move encoding or packaging to media services, and treat the AWS conversion sample as an architecture to assess rather than an instantaneous conversion guarantee. |
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