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Version: v2.0.0-rc

Hosts

The wasmCloud host is a runtime environment for WebAssembly (Wasm) workloads.​

WebAssembly components require a runtime to execute. The wasmCloud host provides a wrapper around Wasmtime, a fast, secure, and standards-compliant WebAssembly runtime that supports the Component Model.

Users can build host plugins to customize wasmCloud hosts with extended capabilities using the runtime library.

Hosts as commodity​

A core design principle of wasmCloud is that the health of applications should not be dependent on any particular host. Hosts are designed to be operated in host groups, such that they are interchangeable and should be able to start and stop without causing downtime.

While it is possible to run a single host, it's also possible for workloads to be distributed across many hosts, and for those hosts to dynamically scale in response to changing demand.

Usage​

The wasmCloud host is designed for flexibility and may be used in a variety of ways:

  • Edge computing: Run lightweight hosts on edge devices (IoT gateways, retail kiosks, factory equipment) to process data locally with minimal latency.
  • Multi-cloud deployments: Deploy hosts across AWS, Azure, and GCP to run the same workloads without vendor-specific modifications.
  • Kubernetes clusters: Run hosts as pods in Kubernetes, managed by the wasmCloud operator for automatic scaling and orchestration.
  • Development environments: Run a local host on your laptop for testing and debugging before deploying to production.