How to host a static website with a small Node server

Schokr runs processes rather than offering a static file host, so to publish an HTML site or a built React, Vue or Vite app, run a tiny web server that serves your files on 0.0.0.0 and your allocated port.

1. Build your site locally#

For a plain HTML site, there is nothing to build. For frameworks:

Building locally saves memory and time on the server. You only upload the output.

2. Option A: Express static server#

server.js:

const express = require('express')
const path = require('path')

const app = express()
const dir = path.join(__dirname, 'dist')

app.use(express.static(dir, { maxAge: '1h' }))

// Single-page apps: send index.html for unknown routes
app.use((req, res) => res.sendFile(path.join(dir, 'index.html')))

const port = Number(process.env.APP_PORT || 3000)
app.listen(port, '0.0.0.0', () => console.log(`Serving on ${port}`))

package.json:

{
  "main": "server.js",
  "dependencies": { "express": "^4.21.0" }
}

Remove the fallback route if your site is plain multi-page HTML, so missing pages return a 404.

2. Option B: Bun with no dependencies#

server.js on a Bun server:

const root = './dist'

Bun.serve({
  hostname: '0.0.0.0',
  port: Number(process.env.APP_PORT || 3000),
  async fetch(req) {
    let path = new URL(req.url).pathname
    if (path.endsWith('/')) path += 'index.html'
    if (path.includes('..')) return new Response('Bad request', { status: 400 })
    const file = Bun.file(root + path)
    if (await file.exists()) return new Response(file)
    return new Response(Bun.file(root + '/index.html'))
  },
})

3. Deploy#

1. Create a Node.js or Bun server in the console. 128 to 256 MB of memory is enough.
2. Upload server.js, package.json (for Express) and your build folder with the file manager. Zipping the folder and extracting it on the server is fastest.
3. Set the port, either hard-coded or via .env (see environment variables).
4. Set the main file in your server's Startup settings and start the server.
5. Visit http://<server-address>:<port>.

Updating the site#

Rebuild locally, delete the old build folder in the file manager, upload the new one and restart. See updating your app.

Using a domain#

To serve the site on your own domain, see using your own domain. Schokr has no built-in HTTPS, so a proxy service in front is the usual way to get it.