How execution modes differ

A function's execution mode decides which executor runs it, and it is fixed when you create the function. The mode shapes what the function needs and what it returns.

Compare the two modes

	App	Proxy
Runs	Your Python	An HTTP request you configure
Requires	App, code	App, webhook URL
Returns	Your function's return value in data; the run's record holds result, stdout, stderr, logs, and success	The webhook's parsed body in data; the run's record holds status_code, response, headers, and success
Default timeout	The synchronous execution wait	30 seconds, per function

App mode

App mode runs the Python you write on the platform, in a restricted subset of the language.

• Needs an app and code.
• Returns your return value under result, plus anything the run printed, wrote to standard error, or logged.
• Costs you the sandbox: code may import only from a fixed module list, and a few language features are unavailable.

main.py

def main(params, user_data, sdk_client):
    return {"ok": True}

Choose it when the logic is yours — transforming records, calling an API and reshaping the response, or enforcing a rule that must not live in a client.

Proxy mode

Proxy mode forwards the call to a webhook you nominate and returns its response.

• Needs an app and a webhook URL.
• Returns the webhook's parsed body; its status code and headers are in the run's task result.
• Sends a JSON POST carrying the parameters and the caller's details, with any headers and authentication you configured.

{
  "params": {"order_id": 123, "__method__": "POST"},
  "user": {"id": "USER_ID", "username": "USER_NAME", "email": "USER_EMAIL"},
  "request": {"method": "POST", "path": "/api/apps/APP_SLUG/functions/FUNCTION_SLUG/execute/", "content_type": "application/json"}
}

The webhook must be a public https:// URL; see Forward a call to a webhook.

Authentication supports four styles: bearer token, API key in a named header, HTTP basic, and arbitrary custom headers. Those credentials live on the function record.

Choose it when the logic already exists somewhere else — an automation tool such as Zapier or n8n, a publicly reachable service, or a third-party API — and you want it reachable through the same interface as your other functions.

Related

• Write a function
• Forward a call to a webhook
• Functions reference