The Datadog CLI modifies existing Lambda functions’ configurations to enable instrumentation without requiring a new deployment. It is the quickest way to get started with Datadog’s serverless monitoring.

1. Install the Datadog CLI client

   npm install -g @datadog/datadog-ci
   

2. If you are new to Datadog serverless monitoring, launch the Datadog CLI in the interactive mode to guide your first installation for a quick start, and you can ignore the remaining steps. To permanently install Datadog for your production applications, skip this step and follow the remaining ones to run the Datadog CLI command in your CI/CD pipelines after your normal deployment.

   datadog-ci lambda instrument -i
   

3. Configure the AWS credentials

   Datadog CLI requires access to the AWS Lambda service, and depends on the AWS JavaScript SDK to resolve the credentials. Ensure your AWS credentials are configured using the same method you would use when invoking the AWS CLI.

4. Configure the Datadog site

   export DATADOG_SITE="<DATADOG_SITE>"
   

   Replace <DATADOG_SITE> with (ensure the correct SITE is selected on the right).

5. Configure the Datadog API key

   Datadog recommends saving the Datadog API key in AWS Secrets Manager for security and easy rotation. The key needs to be stored as a plaintext string (not a JSON blob). Ensure your Lambda functions have the required secretsmanager:GetSecretValue IAM permission.

   export DATADOG_API_KEY_SECRET_ARN="<DATADOG_API_KEY_SECRET_ARN>"
   

   For quick testing purposes, you can also set the Datadog API key in plaintext:

   export DATADOG_API_KEY="<DATADOG_API_KEY>"
   

6. Instrument your Lambda functions

   Note: Instrument your Lambda functions in a dev or staging environment first! Should the instrumentation result be unsatisfactory, run uninstrument with the same arguments to revert the changes.

   To instrument your Lambda functions, run the following command.

   datadog-ci lambda instrument -f <functionname> -f <another_functionname> -r <aws_region> -v 127 -e 84
   

   To fill in the placeholders:

   • Replace <functionname> and <another_functionname> with your Lambda function names. Alternatively, you can use --functions-regex to automatically instrument multiple functions whose names match the given regular expression.
   • Replace <aws_region> with the AWS region name.

   Additional parameters can be found in the CLI documentation.

The Datadog Serverless Plugin automatically configures your functions to send metrics, traces, and logs to Datadog through the Datadog Lambda Extension.

To install and configure the Datadog Serverless Plugin, follow these steps:

1. Install the Datadog Serverless Plugin:

   serverless plugin install --name serverless-plugin-datadog
   

2. Update your serverless.yml:

   custom:
     datadog:
       site: <DATADOG_SITE>
       apiKeySecretArn: <DATADOG_API_KEY_SECRET_ARN>
   

   To fill in the placeholders:

   • Replace <DATADOG_SITE> with (ensure the correct SITE is selected on the right).
   • Replace <DATADOG_API_KEY_SECRET_ARN> with the ARN of the AWS secret where your Datadog API key is securely stored. The key needs to be stored as a plaintext string (not a JSON blob). The secretsmanager:GetSecretValue permission is required. For quick testing, you can instead use apiKey and set the Datadog API key in plaintext.

   For more information and additional settings, see the plugin documentation.

The Datadog CloudFormation macro automatically transforms your SAM application template to install Datadog on your functions using Lambda layers, and configures your functions to send metrics, traces, and logs to Datadog through the Datadog Lambda Extension.

1. Install the Datadog CloudFormation macro

   Run the following command with your AWS credentials to deploy a CloudFormation stack that installs the macro AWS resource. You only need to install the macro once for a given region in your account. Replace create-stack with update-stack to update the macro to the latest version.

   aws cloudformation create-stack \
     --stack-name datadog-serverless-macro \
     --template-url https://datadog-cloudformation-template.s3.amazonaws.com/aws/serverless-macro/latest.yml \
     --capabilities CAPABILITY_AUTO_EXPAND CAPABILITY_IAM
   

   The macro is now deployed and ready to use.

2. Instrument your Lambda functions

   Add the DatadogServerless transform after the AWS::Serverless transform under the Transform section in your for SAM template.yml.

   Transform:
     - AWS::Serverless-2016-10-31
     - Name: DatadogServerless
       Parameters:
         stackName: !Ref "AWS::StackName"
         nodeLayerVersion: 127
         extensionLayerVersion: 84
         site: "<DATADOG_SITE>"
         apiKeySecretArn: "<DATADOG_API_KEY_SECRET_ARN>"
   

   To fill in the placeholders:

   • Replace <DATADOG_SITE> with (ensure the correct SITE is selected on the right).
   • Replace <DATADOG_API_KEY_SECRET_ARN> with the ARN of the AWS secret where your Datadog API key is securely stored. The key needs to be stored as a plaintext string (not a JSON blob). The secretsmanager:GetSecretValue permission is required. For quick testing, you can use apiKey instead and set the Datadog API key in plaintext.

   More information and additional parameters can be found in the macro documentation.

The Datadog CDK Construct automatically installs Datadog on your functions using Lambda Layers, and configures your functions to send metrics, traces, and logs to Datadog through the Datadog Lambda Extension.

1. Install the Datadog CDK constructs library

   # For AWS CDK v1
   npm install datadog-cdk-constructs --save-dev
   
   # For AWS CDK v2
   npm install datadog-cdk-constructs-v2 --save-dev
   

2. Instrument your Lambda functions

   // For AWS CDK v1
   import { Datadog } from "datadog-cdk-constructs";
   
   // For AWS CDK v2
   import { DatadogLambda } from "datadog-cdk-constructs-v2";
   
   const datadogLambda = new DatadogLambda(this, "DatadogLambda", {
       nodeLayerVersion: 127,
       extensionLayerVersion: 84,
       site: "<DATADOG_SITE>",
       apiKeySecretArn: "<DATADOG_API_KEY_SECRET_ARN>"
   });
   datadogLambda.addLambdaFunctions([<LAMBDA_FUNCTIONS>])
   

   To fill in the placeholders:

   • Replace <DATADOG_SITE> with (ensure the correct SITE is selected on the right).
   • Replace <DATADOG_API_KEY_SECRET_ARN> with the ARN of the AWS secret where your Datadog API key is securely stored. The key needs to be stored as a plaintext string (not a JSON blob).The secretsmanager:GetSecretValue permission is required. For quick testing, you can use apiKey instead and set the Datadog API key in plaintext.
   • Replace <LAMBDA_FUNCTIONS> with your Lambda functions.

   More information and additional parameters can be found on the Datadog CDK documentation.

1. Install the Datadog Lambda Library

   Package the Datadog Lambda and tracing libraries within the image:

   npm install datadog-lambda-js dd-trace
   

   Note that the minor version of the datadog-lambda-js package always matches the layer version. For example, datadog-lambda-js v0.5.0 matches the content of layer version 5.

   You cannot install the Datadog Lambda Library as a layer if you are deploying your Lambda function as a container image.

2. Install the Datadog Lambda Extension

   Add the Datadog Lambda Extension to your container image by adding the following to your Dockerfile:

   COPY --from=public.ecr.aws/datadog/lambda-extension:<TAG> /opt/. /opt/
   

   Replace <TAG> with either a specific version number (for example, 84) or with latest. Alpine is also supported with specific version numbers (such as 84-alpine) or with latest-alpine. You can see a complete list of possible tags in the Amazon ECR repository.

3. Redirect the handler function

   • Set your image’s CMD value to node_modules/datadog-lambda-js/dist/handler.handler. You can set this in AWS or directly in your Dockerfile. Note that the value set in AWS overrides the value in the Dockerfile if you set both.
   • Set the environment variable DD_LAMBDA_HANDLER to your original handler, for example, myfunc.handler.
   • If you are using ESModule with the container, you will need to remove the handler.js file. This file exists for Node 12 and will be removed when AWS deprecates Node 12 support.

     RUN rm node_modules/datadog-lambda-js/dist/handler.js
     CMD ["node_modules/datadog-lambda-js/dist/handler.handler"]
     

   Note: If your Lambda function runs on arm64, you must either build your container image in an arm64-based Amazon Linux environment or apply the Datadog wrapper in your function code instead. You may also need to do that if you are using a third-party security or monitoring tool that is incompatible with the Datadog handler redirection.

4. Configure the Datadog site and API key

   • Set the environment variable DD_SITE to (ensure the correct SITE is selected on the right).
   • Set the environment variable DD_API_KEY_SECRET_ARN with the ARN of the AWS secret where your Datadog API key is securely stored. The key needs to be stored as a plaintext string (not a JSON blob). The secretsmanager:GetSecretValue permission is required. For quick testing, you can use DD_API_KEY instead and set the Datadog API key in plaintext.

The lambda-datadog Terraform module wraps the aws_lambda_function resource and automatically configures your Lambda function for Datadog Serverless Monitoring by:

• Adding the Datadog Lambda layers
• Redirecting the Lambda handler
• Enabling the collection and sending of metrics, traces, and logs to Datadog

module "lambda-datadog" {
  source  = "DataDog/lambda-datadog/aws"
  version = "3.2.1"

  environment_variables = {
    "DD_API_KEY_SECRET_ARN" : "<DATADOG_API_KEY_SECRET_ARN>"
    "DD_ENV" : "<ENVIRONMENT>"
    "DD_SERVICE" : "<SERVICE_NAME>"
    "DD_SITE": "<DATADOG_SITE>"
    "DD_VERSION" : "<VERSION>"
  }

  datadog_extension_layer_version = 84
  datadog_node_layer_version = 127

  # aws_lambda_function arguments
}

1. Replace the aws_lambda_function resource with the lambda-datadog Terraform module then specify the source and version of the module.

2. Set the aws_lambda_function arguments:

   All of the arguments available in the aws_lambda_function resource are available in this Terraform module. Arguments defined as blocks in the aws_lambda_function resource are redefined as variables with their nested arguments.

   For example, in aws_lambda_function, environment is defined as a block with a variables argument. In the lambda-datadog Terraform module, the value for the environment_variables is passed to the environment.variables argument in aws_lambda_function. See inputs for a complete list of variables in this module.

3. Fill in the environment variable placeholders:

   • Replace <DATADOG_API_KEY_SECRET_ARN> with the ARN of the AWS secret where your Datadog API key is securely stored. The key needs to be stored as a plaintext string (not a JSON blob). The secretsmanager:GetSecretValue permission is required. For quick testing, you can instead use the environment variable DD_API_KEY and set your Datadog API key in plaintext.
   • Replace <ENVIRONMENT> with the Lambda function’s environment, such as prod or staging
   • Replace <SERVICE_NAME> with the name of the Lambda function’s service
   • Replace <DATADOG_SITE> with . (Ensure the correct Datadog site is selected on this page).
   • Replace <VERSION> with the version number of the Lambda function

4. Select the versions of the Datadog Extension Lambda layer and Datadog Node.js Lambda layer to use. Defaults to the latest layer versions.

  datadog_extension_layer_version = 84
  datadog_node_layer_version = 127

To configure Datadog using SST v3, follow these steps:

const app = new sst.aws.Function("MyApp", {
  handler: "index.handler",
  nodejs : {
    install: [
      "datadog-lambda-js",
      "dd-trace",
    ]
  },
  environment: {
    DD_ENV: "<ENVIRONMENT>",
    DD_SERVICE: "<SERVICE_NAME>",
    DD_VERSION: "<VERSION>",
    DATADOG_API_KEY_SECRET_ARN: "<DATADOG_API_KEY_SECRET_ARN>",
    DD_SITE: "<DATADOG_SITE>",
  },
  layers: [
    $interpolate`arn:aws:lambda:${aws.getRegionOutput().name}:464622532012:layer:Datadog-Extension:84`,
    $interpolate`arn:aws:lambda:${aws.getRegionOutput().name}:464622532012:layer:Datadog-<RUNTIME>:127`,
  ],
});

1. Configure the Datadog Lambda Library and Datadog Lambda Extension layers

   • The available <RUNTIME> options are: Node18-x, Node20-x, Node22-x.

2. Add dd-trace and datadog-lambda-js to the nodejs.install list

3. Fill in the environment variable placeholders:

   • Replace <DATADOG_API_KEY_SECRET_ARN> with the ARN of the AWS secret where your Datadog API key is securely stored. The key needs to be stored as a plaintext string (not a JSON blob). The secretsmanager:GetSecretValue permission is required. For quick testing, you can instead use the environment variable DD_API_KEY and set your Datadog API key in plaintext.
   • Replace <ENVIRONMENT> with the Lambda function’s environment, such as prod or staging
   • Replace <SERVICE_NAME> with the name of the Lambda function’s service
   • Replace <DATADOG_SITE> with . (Ensure the correct Datadog site is selected on this page)
   • Replace <VERSION> with the version number of the Lambda function

4. Apply the Datadog wrapper in your function code

1. Install the Datadog Lambda library

   The Datadog Lambda Library can be imported either as a layer (recommended) OR as a JavaScript package.

   The minor version of the datadog-lambda-js package always matches the layer version. For example, datadog-lambda-js v0.5.0 matches the content of layer version 5.

   • Option A: Configure the layers for your Lambda function using the ARN in the following format:

     # Use this format for AWS commercial regions
     arn:aws:lambda:<AWS_REGION>:464622532012:layer:Datadog-<RUNTIME>:127
     
     # Use this format for AWS GovCloud regions
     arn:aws-us-gov:lambda:<AWS_REGION>:002406178527:layer:Datadog-<RUNTIME>:127
     

     Replace <AWS_REGION> with a valid AWS region such as us-east-1. The available <RUNTIME> options are: Node18-x, Node20-x, Node22-x.

   • Option B: If you cannot use the prebuilt Datadog Lambda layer, alternatively you can install the packages datadog-lambda-js and dd-trace using your favorite package manager.

     npm install datadog-lambda-js dd-trace
     

2. Install the Datadog Lambda Extension

   Configure the layers for your Lambda function using the ARN in the following format:

   # Use this format for x86-based Lambda deployed in AWS commercial regions
   arn:aws:lambda:<AWS_REGION>:464622532012:layer:Datadog-Extension:84
   
   # Use this format for arm64-based Lambda deployed in AWS commercial regions
   arn:aws:lambda:<AWS_REGION>:464622532012:layer:Datadog-Extension-ARM:84
   
   # Use this format for x86-based Lambda deployed in AWS GovCloud regions
   arn:aws-us-gov:lambda:<AWS_REGION>:002406178527:layer:Datadog-Extension:84
   
   # Use this format for arm64-based Lambda deployed in AWS GovCloud regions
   arn:aws-us-gov:lambda:<AWS_REGION>:002406178527:layer:Datadog-Extension-ARM:84
   

   Replace <AWS_REGION> with a valid AWS region, such as us-east-1.

3. Redirect the handler function

   • Set your function’s handler to /opt/nodejs/node_modules/datadog-lambda-js/handler.handler if using the layer, or node_modules/datadog-lambda-js/dist/handler.handler if using the package.
   • Set the environment variable DD_LAMBDA_HANDLER to your original handler, for example, myfunc.handler.

   Note: If your Lambda function runs on arm64 and the datadog-lambda-js library is installed as a NPM package (option B of step 1), you must apply the Datadog wrapper in your function code instead. You may also need to do that if you are using a third-party security or monitoring tool that is incompatible with the Datadog handler redirection.

4. Configure Datadog site and API key

   • Set the environment variable DD_SITE to (ensure the correct SITE is selected on the right).
   • Set the environment variable DD_API_KEY_SECRET_ARN with the ARN of the AWS secret where your Datadog API key is securely stored. The key needs to be stored as a plaintext string (not a JSON blob). The secretsmanager:GetSecretValue permission is required. For quick testing, you can use DD_API_KEY instead and set the Datadog API key in plaintext.