diff --git a/aws-ts-esc-external-adapter-lambda/.gitignore b/aws-ts-esc-external-adapter-lambda/.gitignore
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@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+/bin/
+/node_modules/
diff --git a/aws-ts-esc-external-adapter-lambda/Pulumi.yaml b/aws-ts-esc-external-adapter-lambda/Pulumi.yaml
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index 000000000..6b7ea0fcb
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@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+name: aws-ts-esc-external-adapter-lambda
+runtime: nodejs
+description: External secrets adapter for Pulumi ESC using AWS Lambda with JWT authentication
diff --git a/aws-ts-esc-external-adapter-lambda/README.md b/aws-ts-esc-external-adapter-lambda/README.md
new file mode 100644
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@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+[![Deploy this example with Pulumi](https://get.pulumi.com/new/button.svg)](https://app.pulumi.com/new?template=https://github.com/pulumi/examples/blob/master/aws-ts-esc-external-adapter-lambda/README.md#gh-light-mode-only)
+[![Deploy this example with Pulumi](https://get.pulumi.com/new/button-light.svg)](https://app.pulumi.com/new?template=https://github.com/pulumi/examples/blob/master/aws-ts-esc-external-adapter-lambda/README.md#gh-dark-mode-only)
+
+# External secrets adapter for Pulumi ESC on AWS Lambda
+
+A reference implementation showing how to build a secure external secrets adapter for Pulumi ESC.
+This example validates JWT authentication and request integrity, making it easy to integrate custom or proprietary secret sources with ESC.
+
+For complete documentation on ESC Connect, see the [external provider documentation](/docs/esc/integrations/dynamic-secrets/external/).
+
+## Deploying the adapter
+
+1. Install dependencies:
+
+   ```bash
+   npm install
+   ```
+
+1. Create a new Pulumi stack:
+
+   ```bash
+   pulumi stack init dev
+   ```
+
+1. Configure your AWS region:
+
+   ```bash
+   pulumi config set aws:region us-west-2
+   ```
+
+1. Deploy:
+
+   ```bash
+   pulumi up
+   ```
+
+1. Copy the adapter URL from the output:
+
+   ```bash
+   export ADAPTER_URL=$(pulumi stack output adapterUrl)
+   ```
+
+## Using with Pulumi ESC
+
+Create a Pulumi ESC environment:
+
+```yaml
+values:
+  demo:
+    fn::open::external:
+      url: https://YOUR-API-ID.execute-api.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/stage/
+      request:
+        message: "Hello from ESC!"
+```
+
+Open the environment:
+
+```bash
+esc open <your-org>/external-demo
+```
+
+Expected output:
+
+```json
+{
+  "demo": {
+    "response": {
+      "message": "External secrets adapter responding successfully!",
+      "requestEcho": {
+        "message": "Hello from ESC!"
+      },
+      "timestamp": "2025-11-26T12:00:00.000Z"
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+## Building your own adapter
+
+The `ESCRequestValidator` class in `index.ts` handles request integrity validation. To integrate your own secret source:
+
+1. Copy the `ESCRequestValidator` class into your adapter
+1. Replace the `TODO` comment in the Lambda handler with your secret fetching logic:
+
+   ```typescript
+   const { claims, requestBody } = await validator.validateRequest(event);
+
+   // Use claims to further authorize the request
+   if (claims.org !== "YOUR-PULUMI-ORG") {
+       return { statusCode: 401 };
+   }
+   
+   // Fetch from your secret source
+   const secret = await fetchFromYourSecretStore(requestBody.secretName);
+
+   return {
+       statusCode: 200,
+       body: JSON.stringify(secret),
+   };
+   ```
+
+See the [external provider documentation](/docs/esc/integrations/dynamic-secrets/external/) for complete implementation guidance and examples in other languages.
+
+## Monitoring
+
+View Lambda logs:
+
+```bash
+pulumi logs --follow
+```
+
+Or use the AWS CLI:
+
+```bash
+aws logs tail /aws/lambda/$(pulumi stack output functionName) --follow
+```
+
+The handler logs JWT claims to CloudWatch for debugging.
+
+## Clean up
+
+```bash
+pulumi destroy
+pulumi stack rm dev
+```
+
+## Additional resources
+
+- [Blog: Introducing ESC Connect](https://www.pulumi.com/blog/esc-connect/)
+- [External Provider Documentation](https://www.pulumi.com/docs/esc/integrations/dynamic-secrets/external/)
+- [External Rotator Documentation](https://www.pulumi.com/docs/esc/integrations/rotated-secrets/external/)
+- [Pulumi ESC Documentation](https://www.pulumi.com/docs/esc/)
+- [Pulumi Community Slack](https://slack.pulumi.com/)
diff --git a/aws-ts-esc-external-adapter-lambda/index.ts b/aws-ts-esc-external-adapter-lambda/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6e0046bcb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/aws-ts-esc-external-adapter-lambda/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,179 @@
+// Copyright 2016-2025, Pulumi Corporation.  All rights reserved.
+
+import * as aws from "@pulumi/aws";
+import * as apigateway from "@pulumi/aws-apigateway";
+import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
+
+import * as crypto from "crypto";
+import * as jwt from "jsonwebtoken";
+import * as jwksClient from "jwks-rsa";
+
+interface APIGatewayProxyEvent {
+    headers: { [key: string]: string | undefined };
+    requestContext: {
+        domainName: string;
+        path: string;
+    };
+    body: string | null;
+}
+
+interface APIGatewayProxyResult {
+    statusCode: number;
+    headers?: { [key: string]: string };
+    body: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Reusable helper for validating ESC external provider requests.
+ * Copy-paste this into your own adapters to get secure JWT validation.
+ */
+class ESCRequestValidator {
+    private client: jwksClient.JwksClient;
+
+    constructor(jwksUrl: string = "https://api.pulumi.com/oidc/.well-known/jwks") {
+        this.client = jwksClient({
+            jwksUri: jwksUrl,
+            cache: true,
+            cacheMaxAge: 600000, // 10 minutes
+        });
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Validates an ESC external provider request.
+     * Returns the validated JWT claims and request body on success.
+     * Throws an error with a user-friendly message on validation failure.
+     */
+    async validateRequest(event: APIGatewayProxyEvent): Promise<{
+        claims: jwt.JwtPayload;
+        requestBody: any;
+    }> {
+        // Extract Authorization header
+        const authHeader = event.headers.Authorization || event.headers.authorization;
+        if (!authHeader || !authHeader.startsWith("Bearer ")) {
+            throw new Error("Missing or invalid Authorization header");
+        }
+
+        const token = authHeader.substring(7);
+        const requestBody = event.body || "{}";
+
+        // Verify JWT signature and claims
+        const decoded = await this.verifyJWT(token);
+
+        // Verify audience matches adapter URL
+        const requestUrl = `https://${event.headers.Host || event.requestContext.domainName}${event.requestContext.path}`;
+        if (decoded.aud !== requestUrl) {
+            throw new Error(`Audience mismatch: expected ${requestUrl}, got ${decoded.aud}`);
+        }
+
+        // Verify body hash
+        const bodyHash = decoded.body_hash as string;
+        if (!bodyHash) {
+            throw new Error("Missing body_hash claim in JWT");
+        }
+
+        if (!this.verifyBodyHash(requestBody, bodyHash)) {
+            throw new Error("Body hash verification failed");
+        }
+
+        return {
+            claims: decoded,
+            requestBody: JSON.parse(requestBody),
+        };
+    }
+
+    private async verifyJWT(token: string): Promise<jwt.JwtPayload> {
+        return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+            jwt.verify(
+                token,
+                (header, callback) => {
+                    this.client.getSigningKey(header.kid, (err, key) => {
+                        if (err) {
+                            callback(err);
+                            return;
+                        }
+                        callback(null, key?.getPublicKey());
+                    });
+                },
+                {
+                    algorithms: ["RS256"],
+                    complete: false,
+                },
+                (err, decoded) => {
+                    if (err) { reject(err); }
+                    else { resolve(decoded as jwt.JwtPayload); }
+                },
+            );
+        });
+    }
+
+    private verifyBodyHash(body: string, expectedHash: string): boolean {
+        const hash = crypto.createHash("sha256").update(body).digest("base64");
+        const actualHash = `sha256-${hash}`;
+        return actualHash === expectedHash;
+    }
+}
+
+const adapterFunction = new aws.lambda.CallbackFunction("escExternalAdapter", {
+    callback: async (event: APIGatewayProxyEvent): Promise<APIGatewayProxyResult> => {
+        try {
+            // Initialize the validator (Lambda will cache across invocations)
+            const validator = new ESCRequestValidator();
+
+            // Validate the request using the reusable helper
+            const { claims, requestBody } = await validator.validateRequest(event);
+
+            // Log JWT claims for debugging. You can use these claims for authorization decisions.
+            console.log("JWT validation successful");
+            console.log("Organization:", claims.org);
+            console.log("Environment:", claims.current_env);
+            console.log("Trigger User:", claims.trigger_user);
+            console.log("Issued At:", new Date((claims.iat || 0) * 1000).toISOString());
+
+            // TODO: Replace this with your secret fetching logic
+            // For example:
+            // const secret = await fetchFromYourSecretStore(requestBody.secretName);
+            // return { statusCode: 200, body: JSON.stringify(secret) };
+
+            return {
+                statusCode: 200,
+                headers: {
+                    "Content-Type": "application/json",
+                },
+                body: JSON.stringify({
+                    message: "External secrets adapter responding successfully!",
+                    requestEcho: requestBody,
+                    timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
+                }),
+            };
+        } catch (error: any) {
+            console.error("Error processing request:", error);
+
+            // Return appropriate status code based on error type
+            const statusCode = error.message.includes("Authorization") ? 401
+                : error.message.includes("hash") || error.message.includes("Audience") ? 400
+                : 500;
+
+            return {
+                statusCode,
+                body: JSON.stringify({
+                    error: error.message || "Internal server error",
+                }),
+            };
+        }
+    },
+    policies: [aws.iam.ManagedPolicy.AWSLambdaBasicExecutionRole],
+});
+
+const api = new apigateway.RestAPI("escExternalAdapterApi", {
+    routes: [{
+        path: "/",
+        method: "POST",
+        eventHandler: adapterFunction,
+    }],
+    // Don't treat JSON as binary data
+    binaryMediaTypes: [],
+});
+
+export const adapterUrl = api.url;
+export const functionName = adapterFunction.name;
+export const functionArn = adapterFunction.arn;
diff --git a/aws-ts-esc-external-adapter-lambda/package.json b/aws-ts-esc-external-adapter-lambda/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..239f47f10
--- /dev/null
+++ b/aws-ts-esc-external-adapter-lambda/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+{
+    "name": "aws-ts-lambda-external-secrets",
+    "version": "1.0.0",
+    "description": "External secrets adapter for Pulumi ESC using AWS Lambda",
+    "main": "index.ts",
+    "devDependencies": {
+        "@types/node": "^22.0.0",
+        "typescript": "^5.0.0"
+    },
+    "dependencies": {
+        "@pulumi/pulumi": "^3.100.0",
+        "@pulumi/aws": "^6.0.0",
+        "@pulumi/aws-apigateway": "^2.0.0",
+        "jsonwebtoken": "^9.0.0",
+        "jwks-rsa": "^3.0.0"
+    }
+}
diff --git a/aws-ts-esc-external-adapter-lambda/tsconfig.json b/aws-ts-esc-external-adapter-lambda/tsconfig.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ab65afa61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/aws-ts-esc-external-adapter-lambda/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+{
+    "compilerOptions": {
+        "strict": true,
+        "outDir": "bin",
+        "target": "es2016",
+        "module": "commonjs",
+        "moduleResolution": "node",
+        "sourceMap": true,
+        "experimentalDecorators": true,
+        "pretty": true,
+        "noFallthroughCasesInSwitch": true,
+        "noImplicitReturns": true,
+        "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true
+    },
+    "files": [
+        "index.ts"
+    ]
+}