Apache OpenWhisk

aid: apache-openwhisk
name: Apache OpenWhisk
description: Apache OpenWhisk is an open-source serverless cloud platform that executes functions in response to events at
  any scale. It supports multiple programming languages and provides a rich programming model for creating serverless APIs
  and event-driven applications.
type: Index
position: Consumer
access: 3rd-Party
image: https://kinlane-productions2.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
tags:
- Cloud Native
- Event-Driven
- FaaS
- Serverless
- Apache
- Open Source
- Functions
created: '2026-03-16'
modified: '2026-05-19'
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/apache-openwhisk/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
specificationVersion: '0.19'
apis:
- aid: apache-openwhisk:apache-openwhisk-rest-api
  name: Apache OpenWhisk REST API
  description: The OpenWhisk API provides REST endpoints for managing actions, triggers, rules, packages, and activations,
    supporting serverless function development in JavaScript, Python, Swift, Java, Go, PHP, and custom Docker runtimes.
  humanURL: https://openwhisk.apache.org/documentation.html
  tags:
  - FaaS
  - Functions
  - REST
  - Serverless
  - Apache
  - Open Source
  - Cloud Native
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://openwhisk.apache.org/documentation.html
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/apache-openwhisk-rest-api.yaml
  - type: NaftikoCapability
    url: capabilities/rest-actions.yaml
  - type: NaftikoCapability
    url: capabilities/rest-activations.yaml
  - type: NaftikoCapability
    url: capabilities/rest-namespaces.yaml
  - type: NaftikoCapability
    url: capabilities/rest-packages.yaml
  - type: NaftikoCapability
    url: capabilities/rest-rules.yaml
  - type: NaftikoCapability
    url: capabilities/rest-triggers.yaml
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: [email protected]
common:
- type: GitHubOrganization
  url: https://github.com/apache/openwhisk
- type: Documentation
  url: https://openwhisk.apache.org/
- type: SpectralRules
  url: rules/apache-openwhisk-spectral-rules.yml
- type: Vocabulary
  url: vocabulary/apache-openwhisk-vocabulary.yaml
- type: JSONLD
  url: json-ld/apache-openwhisk-context.jsonld
- type: Features
  data:
  - name: Serverless Functions
    description: Execute stateless functions in response to events without managing infrastructure
  - name: Multi-Language Support
    description: Supports Node.js, Python, Java, Go, PHP, Ruby, Swift, and custom Docker runtimes
  - name: Event Triggers
    description: Named event channels that fire actions based on external events
  - name: Action Sequences
    description: Compose multiple actions into sequential pipelines
  - name: Package System
    description: Pre-built integrations via /whisk.system namespace
  - name: REST API
    description: Full REST API for managing all platform resources programmatically
  - name: Docker Actions
    description: Custom runtime support via Docker containers for any language
- type: UseCases
  data:
  - name: Event-Driven Microservices
    description: Build loosely coupled microservices that respond to events
  - name: IoT Data Processing
    description: Process sensor and device events at scale without infrastructure management
  - name: API Backend
    description: Create REST APIs backed by serverless functions
  - name: Scheduled Tasks
    description: Run periodic jobs using alarm triggers
  - name: Chatbots & Webhooks
    description: Handle Slack, GitHub, and other webhook events
- type: Integrations
  data:
  - name: Slack
    description: Respond to Slack events and slash commands
  - name: GitHub
    description: Automate workflows based on GitHub repository events
  - name: Apache Kafka
    description: Process Kafka message stream events
  - name: Cloudant
    description: React to CouchDB/Cloudant database changes
  - name: IBM Cloud
    description: Available as IBM Cloud Functions on IBM Cloud
  - name: Kubernetes
    description: Deploy OpenWhisk on Kubernetes using Helm charts