/cloudflare-deploy

Cloudflare Containers Skill Reference

APPLIES TO: Cloudflare Containers ONLY - NOT general Cloudflare Workers

Use when working with Cloudflare Containers: deploying containerized apps on Workers platform, configuring container-enabled Durable Objects, managing container lifecycle, or implementing stateful/stateless container patterns.

Beta Status

⚠️ Containers is currently in beta. API may change without notice. No SLA guarantees. Custom instance types added Jan 2026.

Core Concepts

Container as Durable Object: Each container is a Durable Object with persistent identity. Accessed via getByName(id) or getRandom().

Image deployment: Images pre-fetched globally. Deployments use rolling strategy (not instant like Workers).

Lifecycle: cold start (2-3s) → running → sleepAfter timeout → stopped. No autoscaling - manual load balancing via getRandom().

Persistent identity, ephemeral disk: Container ID persists, but disk resets on stop. Use Durable Object storage for persistence.

Quick Start

import { Container } from "@cloudflare/containers";

export class MyContainer extends Container {
  defaultPort = 8080;
  sleepAfter = "30m";
}

export default {
  async fetch(request: Request, env: Env) {
    const container = env.MY_CONTAINER.getByName("instance-1");
    await container.startAndWaitForPorts();
    return container.fetch(request);
  }
};

Reading Order

Routing Decision Tree

How should requests reach containers?

• Same user/session → same container: Use getByName(sessionId) for session affinity
• Stateless, spread load: Use getRandom() for load balancing
• Job per container: Use getByName(jobId) + explicit lifecycle management
• Single global instance: Use getByName("singleton")

When to Use Containers vs Workers

Use Containers when:

• Need stateful, long-lived processes (sessions, WebSockets, games)
• Running existing containerized apps (Node.js, Python, custom binaries)
• Need filesystem access or specific system dependencies
• Per-user/session isolation with dedicated compute

Use Workers when:

• Stateless HTTP handlers
• Sub-millisecond cold starts required
• Auto-scaling to zero critical
• Simple request/response patterns

In This Reference

• configuration.md - Wrangler config, instance types, Container class properties, environment variables, account limits
• api.md - Container class API, startup methods, communication (HTTP/TCP/WebSocket), routing helpers, lifecycle hooks, scheduling, state inspection
• patterns.md - Routing patterns (session affinity, load balancing, singleton), WebSocket forwarding, graceful shutdown, Workflow/Queue integration
• gotchas.md - Critical gotchas (WebSocket, startup methods), common errors with solutions, specific limits, beta caveats

See Also

• Durable Objects - Containers extend Durable Objects
• Workflows - Orchestrate container operations
• Queues - Trigger containers from queue messages
• Cloudflare Docs