Cloud Platform Deployment

Deploy SaleSpider to popular cloud platforms for scalable, managed hosting.

Overview

Cloud platform deployment provides:

Automatic scaling
Managed infrastructure
CI/CD integration
Global CDN
Zero-downtime deployments

Automatic Setup

Most platforms automatically run migrations and seeding when using npm run start:prod. Vercel requires manual seeding (see below).

Supported Platforms

Vercel - Best for Next.js applications
Railway - All-in-one with database included
Render - Simple deployments with free tier
Fly.io - Global edge deployment
DigitalOcean App Platform - Managed containers
Any platform supporting Node.js 24+ and Docker

Vercel Deployment

Prerequisites

Vercel account
GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket repository
Hosted PostgreSQL database (Neon, Supabase, etc.)

Quick Deploy

Connect Repository
- Go to vercel.com
- Click "New Project"
- Import your Git repository

Configure Build Settings

Framework Preset: Next.js
Build Command: npm run build
Output Directory: .next
Install Command: npm install

Set Environment Variables

bash

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:pass@host/db
JWT_SECRET=your-secret-key
JWT_EXPIRES_IN=7d
GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY=your-api-key
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=https://your-app.vercel.app
SETUP_BACKUP=false

Deploy
- Click "Deploy"
- Wait for build to complete
- Access your app at the provided URL
Manual Seeding Required
Vercel requires one-time manual seeding after first deployment:
bash
```
export DATABASE_URL="postgresql://..."
npm run seed:prod
```

Custom Domain

Go to Project Settings → Domains
Add your custom domain
Configure DNS records as instructed
Update NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL environment variable

Automatic Deployments

Vercel automatically deploys:

Production: Pushes to main branch
Preview: Pull requests and other branches

Railway Deployment

Prerequisites

Railway account
GitHub repository

Quick Deploy

Create Project
- Go to railway.app
- Click "New Project"
- Select "Deploy from GitHub"
Add Database
- Click "New" → "Database" → "PostgreSQL"
- Railway automatically sets DATABASE_URL

Configure Service

bash

# Railway auto-sets DATABASE_URL
JWT_SECRET=your-secret-key
JWT_EXPIRES_IN=7d
GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY=your-api-key
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=${{RAILWAY_PUBLIC_DOMAIN}}
SETUP_BACKUP=false

Set Build Settings

Build Command: npm run build
Start Command: npm run start:prod

Deploy
- Railway automatically builds and deploys
- Migrations and seeding run automatically on startup
- Access via generated railway.app domain

Custom Domain

Go to Settings → Networking
Add custom domain
Configure DNS CNAME record
SSL automatically provisioned

Render Deployment

Prerequisites

Render account
GitHub/GitLab repository
Hosted PostgreSQL database

Quick Deploy

Create Web Service
- Go to render.com
- Click "New" → "Web Service"
- Connect repository

Configure Service

Name: salespider
Environment: Node
Build Command: npm run build
Start Command: npm run start:prod

Set Environment Variables

bash

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:pass@host/db
JWT_SECRET=your-secret-key
JWT_EXPIRES_IN=7d
GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY=your-api-key
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=https://your-app.onrender.com
SETUP_BACKUP=false
NODE_ENV=production

Deploy
- Click "Create Web Service"
- Wait for deployment
- Access via onrender.com URL

Add Database

Click "New" → "PostgreSQL"
Copy internal connection string
Update DATABASE_URL in web service

Fly.io Deployment

Prerequisites

Fly.io account
Fly CLI installed

Quick Deploy

Install Fly CLI

bash

# macOS
brew install flyctl

# Linux
curl -L https://fly.io/install.sh | sh

# Windows
iwr https://fly.io/install.ps1 -useb | iex

Login
bash
```
fly auth login
```
Initialize App
bash
```
fly launch
```

Set Secrets

bash

fly secrets set \
  DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:pass@host/db" \
  JWT_SECRET="your-secret-key" \
  GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY="your-api-key"

Configure Start Command
Create or update fly.toml:
toml
```
[processes]
app = "npm run start:prod"
```
Deploy
bash
```
fly deploy
```

Add PostgreSQL

bash

# Create Postgres cluster
fly postgres create

# Attach to app
fly postgres attach <postgres-app-name>

DigitalOcean App Platform

Prerequisites

DigitalOcean account
GitHub repository

Quick Deploy

Create App
- Go to Apps → Create App
- Connect GitHub repository

Configure Component

Type: Web Service
Build Command: npm run build
Run Command: npm run start:prod
HTTP Port: 3000

Add Database
- Add Component → Database
- Select PostgreSQL
- Connection details auto-configured

Set Environment Variables

bash

DATABASE_URL=${db.DATABASE_URL}
JWT_SECRET=your-secret-key
JWT_EXPIRES_IN=7d
GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY=your-api-key
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=${APP_URL}
SETUP_BACKUP=false

Deploy
- Click "Create Resources"
- Wait for deployment

Environment Variables

Required Variables

All platforms need these:

bash

# Database
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:pass@host/db

# Authentication
JWT_SECRET=your-super-secret-key
JWT_EXPIRES_IN=7d

# Application
NODE_ENV=production
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=https://your-domain.com

# Disable local backups
SETUP_BACKUP=false
PGBACKREST_REPO1_TYPE=none

Optional Variables

bash

# AI Features
GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY=your-api-key

# Rate Limiting
RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED=true
RATE_LIMIT_MAX_REQUESTS=100
RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_MS=900000

Database Setup

Recommended Providers

For cloud deployments, use:

Neon - Serverless PostgreSQL
- Free tier available
- Automatic scaling
- Branch databases
Supabase - PostgreSQL with extras
- Free tier available
- Built-in auth (optional)
- Real-time features
Railway - Integrated database
- Included with platform
- Automatic backups
- Simple setup

Learn more about hosted databases →

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

Create .github/workflows/deploy.yml:

yaml

name: Deploy

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Setup Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v3
        with:
          node-version: "24"

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm ci

      - name: Run tests
        run: npm test

      - name: Build
        run: npm run build

      - name: Deploy to Vercel
        uses: amondnet/vercel-action@v20
        with:
          vercel-token: ${{ secrets.VERCEL_TOKEN }}
          vercel-org-id: ${{ secrets.ORG_ID }}
          vercel-project-id: ${{ secrets.PROJECT_ID }}

GitLab CI

Create .gitlab-ci.yml:

yaml

stages:
  - test
  - build
  - deploy

test:
  stage: test
  script:
    - npm ci
    - npm test

build:
  stage: build
  script:
    - npm ci
    - npm run build
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - .next/

deploy:
  stage: deploy
  script:
    - npm run deploy
  only:
    - main

Monitoring

Platform Monitoring

Most platforms provide:

Request logs
Error tracking
Performance metrics
Resource usage

External Monitoring

Consider adding:

Sentry - Error tracking
LogRocket - Session replay
Datadog - APM and logs
New Relic - Performance monitoring

Troubleshooting

Build Failures

bash

# Check build logs
# Verify Node.js version
# Check environment variables
# Test build locally
npm run build

Runtime Errors

bash

# Check application logs
# Verify database connection
# Check environment variables
# Test locally with production build
npm run build && npm start

Database Connection Issues

bash

# Verify DATABASE_URL format
# Check SSL requirements
# Test connection locally
# Check firewall rules

Migration Between Platforms

Export from Current Platform

Export environment variables
Backup database
Download code (if needed)

Import to New Platform

Create new project
Import repository
Set environment variables
Restore database
Deploy

Comparison

Feature	Vercel	Railway	Render	Fly.io
Free Tier	✅	$5 credit	✅	✅
Database Included	❌	✅	✅	✅
Auto Scaling	✅	✅	✅	✅
Custom Domains	✅	✅	✅	✅
CI/CD	✅	✅	✅	✅
Edge Network	✅	❌	❌	✅

Cloud Platform Deployment ​

Overview ​

Supported Platforms ​

Vercel Deployment ​

Prerequisites ​

Quick Deploy ​

Custom Domain ​

Automatic Deployments ​

Railway Deployment ​

Prerequisites ​

Quick Deploy ​

Custom Domain ​

Render Deployment ​

Prerequisites ​

Quick Deploy ​

Add Database ​

Fly.io Deployment ​

Prerequisites ​

Quick Deploy ​

Add PostgreSQL ​

DigitalOcean App Platform ​

Prerequisites ​

Quick Deploy ​

Environment Variables ​

Required Variables ​

Optional Variables ​

Database Setup ​

Recommended Providers ​

CI/CD Integration ​

GitHub Actions ​

GitLab CI ​

Monitoring ​

Platform Monitoring ​

External Monitoring ​

Troubleshooting ​

Build Failures ​

Runtime Errors ​

Database Connection Issues ​

Migration Between Platforms ​

Export from Current Platform ​

Import to New Platform ​

Comparison ​

Related Documentation ​

Cloud Platform Deployment

Overview

Supported Platforms

Vercel Deployment

Prerequisites

Quick Deploy

Custom Domain

Automatic Deployments

Railway Deployment

Prerequisites

Quick Deploy

Custom Domain

Render Deployment

Prerequisites

Quick Deploy

Add Database

Fly.io Deployment

Prerequisites

Quick Deploy

Add PostgreSQL

DigitalOcean App Platform

Prerequisites

Quick Deploy

Environment Variables

Required Variables

Optional Variables

Database Setup

Recommended Providers

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

GitLab CI

Monitoring

Platform Monitoring

External Monitoring

Troubleshooting

Build Failures

Runtime Errors

Database Connection Issues

Migration Between Platforms

Export from Current Platform

Import to New Platform

Comparison

Related Documentation