Deploy a Next.js app

Make sure package.json has the standard scripts:

"scripts": {
  "build": "next build",
  "start": "next start"
}

That's it for most apps. We build on Node 22 by default. If your app needs a specific version, set "engines": { "node": "20.x" } in package.json and that wins.

Standalone output is supported. If your next.config sets output: "standalone", we run the standalone server, copy public/ and .next/staticnext to it (so CSS, JS and images don't 404), and install sharpfor image optimization. You don't need to do any of that yourself.

Add variables in the project's settings. They're available both while the app builds and while it runs, so build-time values (like framework-public keys) work without extra setup. See Environment variables.

• NEXT_PUBLIC_* values reach the browser, so never put secrets in them.
• Other variables are read on the server. If a page prints a stale value, it was prerendered at build time. Make that route dynamic (for example by reading cookies or headers) so it reads the value per request.
• If you use Server Actions across redeploys, set NEXT_SERVER_ACTIONS_ENCRYPTION_KEY (a base64 key of 16, 24 or 32 bytes) so the key stays the same between builds.

Add a Postgres addon and DATABASE_URL is injected automatically. With Prisma, generate the client during the build and apply migrations with migrate deploy (never migrate dev in production):

"scripts": {
  "build": "prisma generate && next build"
}

Keep prisma in dependenciesso it's available at build time. To run migrations on each deploy, set the project's Build command to prisma migrate deploy && npm run build in Settings → Build.

1. Sign in with GitHub and install the EthioDeploy app on the repo.
2. Click “New Project” and pick the repo.
3. Watch the build in the dashboard. When the health check passes, your app is live at <project-slug>.ethiodeploy.com. Every push to the default branch redeploys, and the old version keeps serving until the new one is healthy.