# State In computing, state refers to the stored information that a system, application, or component maintains at a given point in time. This includes data in memory, variables, database records, session information, and any other data that reflects the current condition of the system. State changes as the system processes requests and events. State management is a fundamental challenge in distributed systems. Stateful systems store data locally and depend on that data for subsequent operations, which complicates scaling and failover. Stateless systems treat each request independently, with no reliance on locally stored data, making them easier to scale and distribute. In API and serverless architectures, managing state is a key design consideration. Serverless functions are inherently stateless -- they do not retain data between invocations. State must be stored externally in databases, key-value stores (like Cloudflare KV or Redis), or object storage. API gateways are also typically stateless, processing each request independently. This stateless design enables horizontal scaling and geographic distribution, but requires careful planning for features that depend on state, such as rate limiting counters and session tracking. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/s/state.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.