AWS Lambda Docker: libnss3 and Chrome Deployment Errors

Updated:June 9, 2026

When deploying IronPDF on AWS Lambda with a Docker container image, the application throws an IronSoftwareDeploymentException at startup.

IronSoftwareDeploymentException: Multiple issues occurred while trying to deploy Chrome (libnss3.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory)... (Read-only file system: '/var/task/runtimes')

Two issues cause this failure. First, IronPDF's Chrome engine depends on shared libraries like libnss3.so that are absent from the Lambda base image. Second, Lambda restricts write access to /var/task/runtimes, so IronPDF's embedded deployment mechanism cannot extract its binaries there.

Solution

Install the required Linux packages in the Dockerfile, disable automatic configuration, and redirect IronPDF's deployment directory to /tmp, the only writable path in Lambda.

Dockerfile

FROM public.ecr.aws/lambda/dotnet:8

WORKDIR /var/task

RUN dnf update -y \
    && dnf install -y gcc-c++ pango.x86_64 libXcomposite.x86_64 libXcursor.x86_64 dbus-glib-devel \
    && dnf install -y libXdamage.x86_64 libXi.x86_64 libXtst.x86_64 cups-libs.x86_64 libXScrnSaver.x86_64 \
    && dnf install -y libXrandr.x86_64 alsa-lib.x86_64 atk.x86_64 gtk3.x86_64 ipa-gothic-fonts xorg-x11-fonts-100dpi \
    && dnf install -y xorg-x11-fonts-75dpi xorg-x11-fonts-cyrillic xorg-x11-fonts-Type1 xorg-x11-fonts-misc \
    && dnf install -y mesa-libgbm.x86_64 \
    && dnf install -y nss-3.90.0-3.amzn2023.0.4.x86_64

COPY "bin/Release/lambda-publish" .

IronPDF initialization

Set these properties before the first call to ChromePdfRenderer:

IronPdf.Installation.AutomaticallyDownloadNativeBinaries = false;
IronPdf.Installation.ChromeGpuMode = IronPdf.Engines.Chrome.ChromeGpuModes.Disabled;
IronPdf.Installation.LinuxAndDockerDependenciesAutoConfig = false;
IronPdf.Installation.CustomDeploymentDirectory = "/tmp/ironpdf";

IronPdf.Installation.AutomaticallyDownloadNativeBinaries = false;
IronPdf.Installation.ChromeGpuMode = IronPdf.Engines.Chrome.ChromeGpuModes.Disabled;
IronPdf.Installation.LinuxAndDockerDependenciesAutoConfig = false;
IronPdf.Installation.CustomDeploymentDirectory = "/tmp/ironpdf";

Imports IronPdf

Installation.AutomaticallyDownloadNativeBinaries = False
Installation.ChromeGpuMode = Engines.Chrome.ChromeGpuModes.Disabled
Installation.LinuxAndDockerDependenciesAutoConfig = False
Installation.CustomDeploymentDirectory = "/tmp/ironpdf"

$vbLabelText $csharpLabel

For the full AWS Lambda Docker setup reference, see the AWS deployment guide.

Curtis Chau

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Technical Writer

Curtis Chau holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (Carleton University) and specializes in front-end development with expertise in Node.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, and React. Passionate about crafting intuitive and aesthetically pleasing user interfaces, Curtis enjoys working with modern frameworks and creating well-structured, visually appealing manuals.

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