Val Town Is Free — Write and Deploy API Endpoints From Your Browser

#javascript #webdev #api #tutorial

Serverless Functions Without the Server Setup

Val Town lets you write JavaScript/TypeScript functions in your browser and instantly get an HTTP endpoint. No deployment, no hosting, no configuration.

Free tier: unlimited vals, 10 runs/second.

Hello World

Go to val.town, create an account, and write:

export default function(req: Request) {
  return Response.json({ message: "Hello from Val Town!", time: new Date().toISOString() });
}

You instantly get a URL like https://username-funcname.web.val.run that works.

Build a Webhook Handler

export default async function(req: Request) {
  if (req.method !== "POST") return new Response("POST only", { status: 405 });

  const body = await req.json();

  // Process webhook
  console.log("Received:", body);

  // Forward to Telegram
  await fetch(`https://api.telegram.org/bot${Deno.env.get("TG_TOKEN")}/sendMessage`, {
    method: "POST",
    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
    body: JSON.stringify({ chat_id: "123", text: JSON.stringify(body, null, 2) })
  });

  return Response.json({ ok: true });
}

Scheduled Functions (Cron)

export default async function() {
  // This runs on a schedule you set in the UI
  const r = await fetch("https://api.github.com/users/octocat");
  const data = await r.json();
  console.log(`Followers: ${data.followers}`);
}

Store Data (SQLite Built-in)

import { sqlite } from "https://esm.town/v/std/sqlite";

await sqlite.execute("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS visits (url TEXT, ts TEXT)");
await sqlite.execute("INSERT INTO visits VALUES (?, ?)", [req.url, new Date().toISOString()]);

const { rows } = await sqlite.execute("SELECT COUNT(*) as count FROM visits");
return Response.json({ total_visits: rows[0][0] });

Val Town vs Alternatives

Feature	Val Town	Deno Deploy	CF Workers
Browser IDE	Yes	No	Yes
Instant deploy	Yes	CLI needed	CLI needed
SQLite	Built-in	KV only	D1
Email sending	Built-in	No	No
Cron	Built-in	Built-in	Triggers
Learning curve	5 min	30 min	1 hour