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Vercel · Frameworks

Your Python API runs on a server only the data team can fix. Ship it next to the website, with no box to run.

Your data team wrote the pricing model, the document parser or the route planner in Python with FastAPI. On Vercel, a FastAPI app becomes a single Vercel Function on Fluid compute. Vercel finds the app, builds it and serves your static files from the CDN. Bundles can be up to 500MB, or 5GB with Large Functions, which are in public beta.

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Salesforce consulting partner since 2010 · MVP Hall of Fame · 200+ agents in production · UAE, India and US desks

The problem

Where a Python API gets left behind.

What FastAPI is

FastAPI, in plain words.

Facts from Vercel’s own pages, checked on 16 October 2026. The sources are at the end of this page.

How Vercel finds it
A FastAPI instance named app in app.py, index.py, server.py, main.py, wsgi.py or asgi.py, or the entrypoint set in pyproject.toml.
Where it runs
The app becomes a single Vercel Function on Fluid compute. Set the time limit with maxDuration in vercel.json.
Static files
Files in public/ and mounted static folders come from the CDN and skip FastAPI middleware and Depends() guards.
Bundle size
Up to 500MB. Large Functions allow Python bundles up to 5GB when enabled, in public beta.
Shutdown
Lifespan events work, but cleanup after shutdown gets 500ms.
Start
vc init fastapi starts a project. Local dev runs with vercel dev, which needs CLI 48.1.8 or later.

How it works

From a script on a VM to an API with its own previews.

Five steps. The API ships the same way as the website, and anything private stays behind it.

Five steps: expose the app, set the entrypoint, deploy, static files from the CDN, the site and Salesforce call it.

Infographic

The same steps are written out below.

Step by step

What happens at each step.

  1. App

    Expose app = FastAPI()

    In main.py or another file Vercel looks for.

  2. Config

    Set the entrypoint if needed

    Under [tool.vercel] in pyproject.toml.

  3. Deploy

    Push or run vc deploy

    The API becomes one Vercel Function, with a preview per change.

  4. Static

    Static files from the CDN

    Public files only. Anything private goes through an API route.

  5. Call

    The site and Salesforce call it

    Same platform and same previews as the website.

How it fits together

Where FastAPI sits between Salesforce, your site and your models.

Your website, Salesforce and WhatsApp flows call the FastAPI app, which runs as one Vercel Function. It reads your database or model files and answers. Static files come from the CDN. Longer work can go to Vercel Queues, which has a Python SDK and is in beta.

Website, Salesforce and WhatsApp call a FastAPI Function on Vercel, which reads a database and queues long work.

Infographic

Where it sits next to the systems you run today.

Use cases · worked examples

One worked example in each industry.

How FastAPI fits into the work of the industries we serve, one step at a time.

  1. An application saved in Salesforce sends figures to a FastAPI model, which returns a band that routes it to an approver.

    Example 1 · Financial services, Riyadh · Infographic

    Head of credit at a Riyadh consumer finance company

    Today: Our affordability model is a Python script. Sales sends spreadsheets to the data team and waits a day for answers.

    After: The model runs as a FastAPI endpoint. Salesforce calls it when an application is saved, sends only the figures it needs, and writes the result back to the record.

    Worked example, step by step

    1. 10:00Sales officer. Saves a new application in Salesforce.
    2. 10:00Salesforce. Sends income, debts and term to the FastAPI endpoint. No names or ID numbers.
    3. 10:00FastAPI on Vercel. Runs the affordability model and returns a band with its reasons.
    4. 10:01Salesforce. Writes the band to the application and routes it to the right approver.
    5. 15:00Head of credit. Changes a threshold on a branch and tests it on the preview endpoint first.

    Sales gets the band in a minute, and model changes are tested before they touch a real application.

    Financial services
  2. A dispatcher clicks plan routes, a FastAPI planner groups parcels into routes, and drivers get stop lists on WhatsApp.

    Example 2 · Couriers, Bengaluru · Infographic

    Dispatch manager at a Bengaluru courier company

    Today: Our route planner is a Python script on one laptop. When that laptop is off, dispatchers plan the routes by hand.

    After: The planner runs as a FastAPI endpoint on Vercel, with maxDuration set for the morning run. The dispatch screen calls it, and drivers get their stops on WhatsApp.

    Worked example, step by step

    1. 06:30Dispatcher. Clicks plan routes on the dispatch screen.
    2. 06:30Dispatch screen. Sends today’s parcels and drivers to the FastAPI endpoint.
    3. 06:31FastAPI on Vercel. Groups the parcels into routes and returns a stop list per driver.
    4. 06:35Dispatcher. Moves two stops by hand and confirms.
    5. 06:40Drivers. Get their stop lists on WhatsApp.

    Routes are ready before the first van leaves, whether or not one laptop is switched on.

    Couriers and delivery
  3. A renewal in Salesforce calls a FastAPI endpoint, which suggests a rent with comparable leases, and the owner approves.

    Example 3 · Property management, Dubai · Infographic

    Leasing head at a Dubai property management company

    Today: Renewal rents come from a spreadsheet one analyst keeps. Owners ask how we got the number and we cannot show them.

    After: A FastAPI endpoint suggests a renewal rent from recent leases in the building and returns the leases it used. Salesforce shows both on the renewal.

    Worked example, step by step

    1. Day 1Salesforce. Opens a renewal for unit 1204 and calls the FastAPI endpoint.
    2. Day 1FastAPI on Vercel. Returns a suggested rent and the three leases it is based on.
    3. Day 2Leasing head. Reviews the suggestion and sends it to the owner.
    4. Day 3Owner. Sees the comparable leases in the email and approves.
    5. Day 3Salesforce. Sends the renewal offer to the tenant.

    Each renewal rent comes with the leases behind it, and the method no longer lives in one spreadsheet.

    Property management
Examples of the work, not client stories. Times in each example show the order of events, not a measured result.

Is it for you

When FastAPI fits, and when it doesn’t.

Good fit

Not for you yet

Your team already writes Python with FastAPI
Shutdown cleanup needs more than 500ms
The website or Salesforce needs to call a model or script
You need over 500MB and cannot use a beta: 5GB is public beta
You want previews for the API, as for the site
You expect API middleware to guard files in public/: CDN files skip it
Each request finishes in one call
Your data must stay on servers in the UAE or Saudi Arabia

What Mindcat does

We build it, then we run it.

The assessment is free: a short read of the org and a written note. If you go ahead, the first build week is a fixed AED/SAR 14,900 (about USD 4,050), credited in full when you sign the build within 60 days. After go-live, we keep it patched, watched and changing every month.

Read next

What it works with.

FAQ

What teams ask about FastAPI.

Can our bundle be 5GB?
Large Functions allow Python bundles up to 5GB when enabled, and they are in public beta as of 16 October 2026. The standard limit is 500MB. We plan for 500MB and use Large Functions only if you accept a beta.
Does our login protect static files?
No. Files served from public/ or mounted static folders come from the CDN and skip FastAPI middleware and Depends() guards. Anything private goes through an API route.
Can we run work after the response?
Shutdown cleanup gets 500ms after the stop signal, so long work should not live there. Vercel Queues has a Python SDK, vercel-queue, and Queues is in beta. We scope that per job.
How does Vercel find our app?
It looks for a FastAPI instance named app in app.py, index.py, server.py, main.py, wsgi.py or asgi.py, also under src/ or app/. You can also set the entrypoint in pyproject.toml.
Where does it run for visitors in the UAE and Saudi Arabia?
Vercel lists 19 compute regions and none of them is in the UAE or Saudi Arabia today. Mumbai (bom1) is the closest. If your data must stay in the country, tell us in the assessment: we confirm residency per project before you sign, and sometimes that rules Vercel out.

Sources

Where these facts come from.

Checked against Vercel’s own pages on 16 October 2026. Vercel changes fast, so we check again before any plan we write for you.

Vercel is a product of Vercel Inc. Mindcat builds and runs work on it for clients; we are not affiliated with or endorsed by Vercel.

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Salesforce consulting partner since 2010 · MVP Hall of Fame · 200+ agents in production · UAE, India and US desks

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