If you're using Astro as a static site builder—its behavior out of the box—you don't need an adapter.
If you wish to [use server-side rendering (SSR)](https://docs.astro.build/en/guides/server-side-rendering/), Astro requires an adapter that matches your deployment runtime.
[Netlify](https://www.netlify.com/) is a deployment platform that allows you to host your site by connecting directly to your GitHub repository. This adapter enhances the Astro build process to prepare your project for deployment through Netlify.
Add the Netlify adapter to enable SSR in your Astro project with the following `astro add` command. This will install the adapter and make the appropriate changes to your `astro.config.mjs` file in one step.
1. Install the Netlify adapter to your project’s dependencies using your preferred package manager. If you’re using npm or aren’t sure, run this in the terminal:
Netlify has two serverless platforms, Netlify Functions and [Netlify's experimental Edge Functions](https://docs.netlify.com/netlify-labs/experimental-features/edge-functions/#app). With Edge Functions your code is distributed closer to your users, lowering latency. You can use Edge Functions by changing the `netlify/functions` import in the Astro config file to use `netlify/edge-functions`.
After [performing a build](https://docs.astro.build/en/guides/deploy/#building-your-site-locally) the `netlify/` folder will contain [Netlify Functions](https://docs.netlify.com/functions/overview/) in the `netlify/functions/` folder.
The [Netlify Blog post on Astro](https://www.netlify.com/blog/how-to-deploy-astro/) and the [Netlify Documentation](https://docs.netlify.com/integrations/frameworks/astro/) provide more information on how to use this integration to deploy to Netlify.
Netlify Functions requires binary data in the `body` to be base64 encoded. The `@astrojs/netlify/functions` adapter handles this automatically based on the `Content-Type` header.
We check for common mime types for audio, image, and video files. To include specific mime types that should be treated as binary data, include the `binaryMediaTypes` option with a list of binary mime types.
- The [Astro Netlify Edge Starter](https://github.com/sarahetter/astro-netlify-edge-starter) provides an example and a guide in the README.
- [Browse Astro Netlify projects on GitHub](https://github.com/search?q=%22%40astrojs%2Fnetlify%22+filename%3Apackage.json&type=Code) for more examples!