How to deploy a Next.js app

A Next.js app on Schokr runs as a normal Node.js server: install dependencies, run next build once, then run next start bound to 0.0.0.0 and your allocated port. Give the server enough memory, because the build step is the most memory-hungry part.

1. Set up package.json scripts#

{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "next dev",
    "build": "next build",
    "start": "next start -H 0.0.0.0 -p 25571"
  }
}

Replace 25571 with the port from your server's Network section. Running the build and start together in one command works too:

npm run build && npm start

That rebuilds on every restart, which is slower but always up to date.

2. Give it enough memory#

Your team pool has 6 GB on the free package, so 1.5 to 2 GB for a Next.js server is reasonable. If the build is killed or you see JavaScript heap out of memory, read memory limits and Node heap.

3. Deploy#

1. Create a server with the Node.js template in the console.
2. Upload your project with the file manager. Leave out node_modules and .next. Uploading a zip and extracting it in the file manager is usually faster than many small files.
3. In your server's Startup settings, set the start command (or the template's equivalent) so it builds and starts, as shown above.
4. Start the server and watch the console. The build prints a route summary, then next start prints the URL it is serving on.
5. Open http://<server-address>:<port>.

Option: build locally with standalone output#

To avoid building on the server, enable standalone output in next.config.js:

module.exports = {
  output: 'standalone',
}

Run next build on your own machine. Then upload the contents of .next/standalone, plus .next/static copied to .next/standalone/.next/static and your public folder copied to .next/standalone/public. Start it with:

node server.js

The standalone server reads HOSTNAME and PORT environment variables, so set HOSTNAME=0.0.0.0 and PORT=<your-port> in its environment. This uses far less memory and disk than a full install.

Environment variables#

• Variables used in the browser must start with NEXT_PUBLIC_ and are baked in at build time. Changing them requires a rebuild.
• Server-only variables can live in .env.production or .env. See environment variables.

Things to know#

• Image optimization with next/image works with next start, but uses extra CPU and memory.
• There is no built-in HTTPS. See using your own domain.
• If you only need a static export (output: 'export'), you can serve the out folder as a static site with much lower resource use.