Deploy Next.js on your own server.

Step by step.

1. 01

   Connect a server

   Use Beep Cloud, a server in your own cloud account, or any Ubuntu or Debian VPS. Beep installs its runtime and agent and locks the server down: inbound traffic is denied, and app ports are reachable only from Beep’s edge.

2. 02

   Create a service from your repository

   Pick the GitHub or GitLab repository and the branch to track. In a monorepo, set the root directory for this service; watch paths limit rebuilds to changes that touch it.

3. 03

   Let Beep build it

   Railpack detects Next.js from package.json, installs dependencies with your lockfile’s package manager and runs your build script. You can override the install, build or start command on the service.

   npm run start

4. 04

   Listen on $PORT

   Beep sets PORT for every service unless you set it yourself, and routes traffic from its edge to that port. Bind to 0.0.0.0 so the edge can reach the container.

   "scripts": {
     "build": "next build",
     "start": "next start"
   }
   // next start listens on $PORT, which Beep sets for you

5. 05

   Add a database

   Add managed Postgres (16 to 18, with pgvector and PostGIS), Redis or Valkey to the project, then reference its connection string from your service. References resolve at deploy time.

   DATABASE_URL=${{ postgres.DATABASE_URL }}

6. 06

   Run migrations before each release

   Set a pre-deploy command. It runs before each release, so the schema is ready before the new version takes traffic.

   npx prisma migrate deploy

7. 07

   Set a health check and deploy

   Set the health check path to /api/health. Every push to the tracked branch builds and releases; traffic moves to the new version only once it passes, and rolling back re-releases an earlier image without a rebuild.

8. 08

   Add your domain

   Every service starts with a URL on edge.usebeep.sh. When it works, point a CNAME for your domain at Beep; the certificate is issued and renewed for you. Each GitHub pull request also gets its own preview environment, removed when it closes.