Recent Events Spark a Heated Debate
Recent events surrounding the Serverless Framework have ignited a heated discussion within the user community. As shown in the attached image, the CEO of Serverless Inc. officially closed the door on support for version 3 by rejecting a pull request that would have enabled it to work with the latest runtime environments—including Node.js 22. In his decision, he stated:
“We are no longer working on V3 and are focusing on V4.”
The rejection of this simple PR by none other than the CEO and founder of Serverless Inc. has elicited a range of responses—from understanding to outright hostility. What’s clear, however, is that this decision unequivocally signals the future direction of the Serverless Framework and raises the question: What’s next?
Houston, We Have a Problem!
This is a serious issue for several reasons. First, Node.js 20 (the last supported version in Serverless Framework v3) will reach its end of life in April 2026. Second, the company is firmly pushing users toward version 4, which introduces significant changes in its business model—changes that have effectively deterred the community from adopting this solution from the start.
Version 4 – Licensing Change, a New Business Model
At the end of 2023, Serverless Inc. released version 4 of the framework, introducing a major change: licensing fees for larger organizations.
How does it work in practice?
If your company generates more than $2 million in annual revenue, you’ll need to reach for your wallet. Fees are charged in the form of credits, where one credit equals one deployed service (a “Service Instance”) in a given region and environment for at least 10 days.
For example, a service named foobar deployed on the dev, test, and prod stages in Frankfurt would count as three Service Instances—that is, 3 credits per month. Deploying the same service in another region would count as an additional three Service Instances.
Pricing:
- 2 Credits: Free
- 15 Credits: $60 per month
- 50 Credits: $175 per month
- 300 Credits: $750 per month
Credits can also be purchased at a significant discount through a reservation model.
Free Usage Terms for V4
Fortunately, these changes don’t affect everyone. Version 4 remains free for:
- Independent developers (i.e., us mere mortals)
- Consultants working for clients
- Open source projects
- Startups and companies with under $2 million in annual revenue
- Educational institutions
The Community Responds: Forking Serverless Framework V3
As is often the case in the open source world, when a problem arises the community takes matters into its own hands. Thus was born the fork of Serverless Framework v3, known as oss-serverless. This project, available on GitHub (oss-serverless/serverless), aims to extend the life of V3—eliminating the need to switch to the paid V4.
This fork is gaining traction because it allows users to continue working with up-to-date runtime environments, such as Node.js 22, Python, or .NET, without having to change framework versions. Essentially, it’s a copy of V3 with several improvements:
- Added support for the latest AWS Lambda runtime versions
- Patched security vulnerabilities
- Streamlined and sped up the CLI
- Removed unused components
- All changes are detailed here.
Switching to the fork is ridiculously simple:
- Remove the global installation of Serverless:
npm remove -g serverless - Install the oss-serverless fork globally:
npm install -g osls
What to Choose?
We are now faced with several options:
Switch to V4
If you’re a small company or an individual developer, this might be the natural path forward. For larger companies, the cost of using SFv4 isn’t prohibitive—especially since V4 offers features that can boost developer productivity, potentially recouping the licensing fees many times over.
Of course, bureaucracy can be an issue; sometimes convincing a client to spend an extra $100 on a project costing $100,000 is impossible or downright frustrating. Fortunately, credits can be purchased through AWS, which should ease the process somewhat.Adopt the oss-serverless Fork
This is a solid alternative for those who can’t or don’t want to move to V4. The community has committed to supporting it for at least the next 5 years.Stick with V3
Yes, the framework won’t suddenly stop working. However, the lack of updates and support could become problematic over time—especially if you’re looking for better performance and the latest features available in newer runtimes.Consider Alternatives
Perhaps this is a good moment to explore other options like AWS CDK, AWS SAM, or SST.
Conclusion
The situation with the Serverless Framework teaches us two things.
First, every successful open-source tool eventually needs to find a business model that enables further development. Personally, I don’t hold it against Austen Collins (CEO) for blocking that PR—the change was announced long ago and shouldn’t come as a surprise. I’m hopeful that focusing on V4 and securing more financial resources will allow them to build an even better tool. I root for them and wish them the best of luck.
Second, the power of the open-source community is invaluable—as demonstrated by the oss-serverless fork. Thanks to this initiative, we have options, and that’s a great thing.
Regardless of which path you choose, it’s a good idea to start planning your strategy now. Although Node.js 20 will be supported for more than two years, time in the tech world moves faster than we think.
What do you think? Which option will you choose for your projects?
Bonus: What’s New in Serverless Framework V4?
Despite the controversies surrounding the licensing model, V4 introduces a host of intriguing improvements that may convince users to migrate:
Hybrid Developer Mode
V4 introduces an advanced approach that combines your local development environment with AWS Lambda functions—think hot-deployment. This means developers can enjoy:
- Faster development cycles
- Forwarding events from the cloud to local code
- A more precise testing environment
- Greater deployment flexibility
The framework also emphasizes increased freedom when choosing infrastructure:
- The ability to switch between Function-as-a-Service (FaaS) and serverless containers
- Reduced risk of vendor lock-in
- Support for new AWS regions and features
Extensions and Integrations
A new flexible extensions system now offers:
- The ability to create your own plugins
- A partner program with an 80% revenue share for plugin developers
- Support for various serverless service providers
Additional Features
V4 introduces a suite of useful tools:
- Integration with HashiCorp Vault for secret management - which is very enterprise-friendly
- Built-in support for CI/CD
- Access to the Serverless Dashboard at no extra cost
Compatibility
The developers have ensured a smooth transition by:
- Avoiding any breaking changes in backward compatibility
- Preserving existing workflows
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