Val Town

Val Town makes serverless function deployment trivially easy: write a TypeScript function (a "val"), deploy it instantly, and it's available as an HTTP endpoint, cron job, or email handler. No configuration files, no build steps, no infrastructure. Vals are social — searchable and importable by other users, creating a library of reusable serverless snippets. Built-in SQLite storage (per-account blob storage), email sending/receiving, and fetch (outbound HTTP) make vals surprisingly capable for automation. For agents: the REST API enables creating, updating, and running vals programmatically — making Val Town a scriptable serverless platform. Free tier is generous (unlimited public vals). Confidence is docs-derived.

REST API at api.val.town/v1. Resources: vals, eval, blob, email. POST /v1/vals creates a new val ({name, code, type: script/http/cron/email, privacy: public/private/unlisted}). GET /v1/vals/{id} retrieves val metadata. PUT /v1/vals/{id} updates val code. POST /v1/vals/{id}/runs executes a val (returns output). GET /v1/me/vals lists user's vals. POST /v1/eval evaluates arbitrary TypeScript expression (stateless, for quick eval). Blob storage: GET/PUT/DELETE /v1/blob/{key} for key-value storage. Email: POST /v1/email sends email (to, subject, html/text body). HTTP vals: automatically get https://{username}-{valname}.web.val.run endpoint. Cron vals: configured with cron expression in val metadata.

API key auth: Authorization: Bearer {api_key} header. Keys from Val Town Settings → API. Account-scoped. HTTPS enforced. No OAuth2. Public vals: no auth required to view or run (by design — social platform). Private/unlisted vals: require auth to access. HTTP val endpoints are unauthenticated by default (implement auth in val code for sensitive endpoints). Val code runs in Deno runtime (secure-by-default: explicit permission grants for network/env access).

Val execution: synchronous for POST /runs (timeout: 30s for standard vals, configurable for cron). HTTP vals: request/response model like standard HTTP handler. Error responses in val output. Blob storage: consistent reads/writes (key-value). Cron scheduling: Val Town manages cron triggering (not guaranteed sub-second precision). Val deployment is instant (<1s). Val Town uptime at status.val.town. Free tier limits: 100k run credits/month (resets monthly). Rate limits: API calls rate-limited per API key. Deno runtime provides secure sandboxing for val execution.

docs.val.town is clear and concise — quickstart, val types (script/http/cron/email) explained, REST API reference, blob storage guide, and email handling tutorial. Getting started: create Val Town account (free, no card), write first val in browser editor, deployed instantly. API is clean and minimal — docs cover it completely. Community via Val Town Discord (active, creator-engaged) and X/Twitter. Val Town team (Steve Krouse et al.) is very responsive in Discord. The social/discoverable aspect creates a rich library of example vals to learn from.