NEW updates on Cloudflare you need to know!

Summary

In this video, the speaker covers recent updates from Cloudflare, specifically focusing on its worker environments. The updates include persistent logs for better observability, improved node compatibility, and native features that previously required third-party integrations. The speaker, a developer from Codam and Formon, highlights how these updates enhance their workflows and reduce reliance on external services. The video also touches on Cloudflare’s direction towards becoming a more comprehensive platform, offering static asset hosting, database acceleration, and a potential future with Docker container support. Overall, it's an exciting time for Cloudflare users.

Takeaways

• 🚀 Cloudflare has introduced significant updates for its worker environments, which are highly relevant for developers.
• 🛠️ Persistent logs for workers are now available, making debugging much easier for developers.
• 🎯 Cloudflare acquired a company called Baseline, integrating its logging services into the platform, which offers better observability.
• 💻 CodDam and Formon use Cloudflare extensively for page rendering, internal servers, and more. These updates will enhance their workflows.
• 📡 Cloudflare's Hyperdrive allows database connections without routing traffic over the internet, using Cloudflare's backbone for faster connections.
• 🖥️ Improved Node.js compatibility is now available for Cloudflare workers, although it's not widely used by CodDam and Formon due to stability concerns.
• 🌍 Hosting static assets directly on workers is now possible, simplifying the deployment of front-end applications.
• 💡 Cloudflare is moving towards combining workers and pages into a single platform, indicating the potential future retirement of Cloudflare Pages.
• 🔧 Preview URLs for workers are now available, allowing developers to test changes before going live.
• 📊 Cloudflare is emerging as a strong competitor to platforms like Vercel and AWS, especially with its next.js deployment capabilities.

Q & A

What are Cloudflare workers and how are they used in the context of the script?

Cloudflare Workers are serverless computing functions that run on Cloudflare's edge network. In the script, the speaker mentions that they use Cloudflare Workers extensively for tasks like page rendering, proxying, and handling requests to their internal servers.

What is the significance of the new persistent logs feature for Cloudflare Workers?

The persistent logs feature allows developers to see logs for their Workers, which improves debugging and observability. Previously, attaching a debugger to Workers and getting real-time logs was cumbersome, and this update simplifies the process, making it easier for developers to identify and fix issues.

Why did the speaker mention their experience with Cloudflare Workers and Remix breaking during a migration?

The speaker described an issue they faced while migrating their project to Cloudflare Workers using the Remix framework. Debugging was difficult due to the lack of persistent logs at the time, which made it hard to identify the cause of errors. The persistent logs update could have helped resolve those issues more efficiently.

What is Baseline, and why was it used before Cloudflare’s new logging system?

Baseline was a third-party service acquired by Cloudflare that was used for logs in Cloudflare Workers. It worked well because it provided customizable alerts, such as Slackbot and email notifications. However, Cloudflare’s new native logging system improves on this by being fully integrated without needing an extra 'tail worker' for logging.

What is Cloudflare's Hyperdrive, and how does it improve worker connections to databases?

Cloudflare's Hyperdrive allows workers to connect to databases without routing traffic over the public internet. It leverages Cloudflare's private network backbone, offering improved security and speed for database connections by avoiding exposure to public internet vulnerabilities.

Why is the speaker not particularly excited about Node.js compatibility in Cloudflare Workers?

The speaker feels that partial Node.js compatibility can lead to instability, as applications may break due to incomplete support. They prefer to avoid relying on Node.js compatibility in Cloudflare Workers, opting instead for a more controlled environment by implementing necessary functionality in the userland.

How does the new static asset hosting feature improve the use of Cloudflare Workers for frontend applications?

The new static asset hosting feature allows developers to deploy static files like JavaScript, CSS, images, and fonts alongside their Cloudflare Workers. Previously, static files had to be hosted separately, but now, they can be hosted directly on Cloudflare's infrastructure, streamlining deployment.

How does Cloudflare’s recent update affect Next.js deployment on Cloudflare Workers?

Cloudflare has joined OpenNext, allowing developers to deploy Next.js apps on Cloudflare Workers. This move positions Cloudflare as a competitor to Vercel, the original platform for deploying Next.js apps, by offering similar support for these applications on its own infrastructure.

What is the significance of worker preview URLs, and how do they benefit developers?

Worker preview URLs allow developers to test their Workers in a staging environment before deploying them live. This feature was missing previously, making it difficult to preview changes before making them available in production. The introduction of this feature enables smoother development workflows.

What is the speaker’s perspective on Cloudflare as a competitor to AWS, GCP, and Vercel?

The speaker views Cloudflare as a strong competitor to platforms like AWS, GCP, and Vercel, especially due to its rapidly evolving offerings like Workers, edge computing, and new features for Next.js. They highlight that Cloudflare is moving toward becoming a complete origin service, similar to AWS, and is actively challenging Vercel’s position in the Next.js ecosystem.