Docker Deployment

Overview

Docker deployment packages your Next.js app into a container for consistent deployment anywhere.

Prerequisites

Docker 24+
Production server (VPS, cloud instance)

Dockerfile

Create a Dockerfile in the project root:

Dockerfile

FROM node:20-alpine AS base

# Install dependencies
FROM base AS deps
WORKDIR /app
COPY package.json bun.lockb ./
RUN npm install

# Build the app
FROM base AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=deps /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY . .

ENV NEXT_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1
RUN npm run build

# Production image
FROM base AS runner
WORKDIR /app

ENV NODE_ENV=production
ENV NEXT_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1

RUN addgroup --system --gid 1001 nodejs
RUN adduser --system --uid 1001 nextjs

COPY --from=builder /app/public ./public
COPY --from=builder --chown=nextjs:nodejs /app/.next/standalone ./
COPY --from=builder --chown=nextjs:nodejs /app/.next/static ./.next/static

USER nextjs

EXPOSE 3000
ENV PORT=3000

CMD ["node", "server.js"]

This requires output: 'standalone' in next.config.mjs. Already configured in the template.

Docker Compose

For easier deployment with environment variables:

docker-compose.yml

version: '3.8'

services:
  web:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=${NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL}
      - NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL=${NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL}
      - NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY=${NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY}
      - DATABASE_URL=${DATABASE_URL}
      - STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=${STRIPE_SECRET_KEY}
      - STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET=${STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET}
      - NEXT_PUBLIC_STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=${NEXT_PUBLIC_STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY}
    restart: unless-stopped
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:3000/api/health"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3

Deployment Steps

Create Environment File

Create a .env file on your server with production values:

NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=https://yourdomain.com
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL=https://xxx.supabase.co
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY=eyJ...
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:[password]@db.xxx.supabase.co:5432/postgres
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_live_...
STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET=whsec_...
NEXT_PUBLIC_STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_live_...

Build and Run

docker compose up -d --build

This builds the image and starts the container.

Verify Deployment

docker compose ps
curl http://localhost:3000/api/health

Nginx Reverse Proxy

Put Nginx in front for SSL and caching:

/etc/nginx/sites-available/myapp

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
}

Enable the site:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/myapp /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

SSL with Let's Encrypt

sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com

Updating the App

Pull latest code and rebuild:

git pull
docker compose up -d --build

For zero-downtime updates, use rolling deployments or container orchestration.

Troubleshooting

Container won't start

Check logs:

docker compose logs web

Port already in use

sudo lsof -i :3000

Environment variables not loaded

Verify .env file exists and is readable:

docker compose config

VPS Deployment - Server setup guide
Environment Variables - Production config

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