# Deploy a BullMQ worker and Redis queue to a VPS

Deploy a Node app with a BullMQ queue to your own VPS: ox adds Redis with REDIS_URL set, runs your server, and the [workers] line runs worker.js beside it.

To deploy a BullMQ worker to a VPS with ox, add the repo as a project and deploy it, with no Dockerfile and no ox.toml. ox reads `package.json`, runs `npm install`, then starts `npm run start` under systemd behind Caddy with HTTPS, and sets up redis 8 for it. Run `ox check` in your repo to see the same plan before the first deploy.

**Plan verified, real-server test pending.** The plan below is what `ox check` prints for a minimal BullMQ worker repo in ox's tests. A deploy on a real server is not recorded yet.

ox reads `package.json`, builds the plan on the card, and starts `npm run start` on your server. The cylinders are the services the repo asked for.

## What ox detects in a BullMQ worker repo

This is the plan `ox check` prints for a minimal a Node app with a BullMQ queue, with no ox.toml. Each row says where its value came from: a file in the repo, or ox's default.

| Field | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `app.start` | `npm run start` | `detected:package.json` |
| `build.install` | `npm install` | `detected:package.json` |
| `tools.node` | `24` | `default` |
| `services.redis` | `redis 8 (only for this project)` | `detected:package.json` |

`ox check` also prints these hints for it:

- `worker.js starts a BullMQ Worker, which processes jobs only while it runs: add [workers] worker = "node worker.js"`

## The ox.toml for BullMQ worker

None is needed: the plan above comes from the repo alone. Write one to serve your own domain or to change what ox detected, and to run the worker, as the hint says: ox runs only the processes the plan names. This one passes `ox check` against the same repo: `[app]` keeps the detected start command and build. Once a repo has an ox.toml, ox adds no service itself, so list each one under `[services]`.

ox.toml, optional:

```toml
domains = ["www.example.com"]

[app]

[workers]
worker = "node worker.js"

[services]
redis = {}
```

## Check and deploy BullMQ worker

Add the repo as a project, then check and ship it from a terminal:

Check, deploy and read the logs:

```sh
ox check                                # in the repo: the plan above, offline
ox new <owner/repo> --server <server>  # add the repo as a project
ox deploy <project> --wait              # stream the deploy, exit with its result
ox logs <project> --follow             # the app's own logs
```

## Variables to set for BullMQ worker

None before the first deploy: `ox check` asks for no variable. Add your own on the dashboard's Variables tab or with `ox vars set <project> KEY`.

ox provides these to the app itself: `PORT`, `HOST`, `OX_ENV`, `OX_PROJECT`, `OX_RELEASE`, `OX_DATA_DIR`, `PUBLIC_URL`, `PUBLIC_HOST` and `REDIS_URL`.

## If the BullMQ worker deploy fails

- `web of shop on main keeps crashing: systemd restarted it 5 times in the last 10 minutes. The Logs tab shows why.`: The release went live and then kept dying. Read the Logs tab for the error and deploy a fix, or roll back. [More](https://deploywithox.com/docs/troubleshooting#crash-loop).
- `TCP connect to 127.0.0.1:8001 did not answer within 120s: dial tcp 127.0.0.1:8001: connect: connection refused`: The app started but never answered on the port ox gave it. Listen on `127.0.0.1` at `$PORT`; the lines above the message are the app's own output. [More](https://deploywithox.com/docs/troubleshooting#health-check-failed).
- `the app exited while starting (failed)`: The start command ran and stopped. The log shows the app's last lines, most often a missing variable or a wrong path to the built file. [More](https://deploywithox.com/docs/troubleshooting#health-check-failed).

Your visitors never see a failed deploy: the previous release keeps serving until the new one passes its health check.

## Next steps

- [The `[workers]` keys](https://deploywithox.com/docs/config#workers): processes that run next to the app.
- [The Node.js guide](https://deploywithox.com/docs/guides/node): start scripts, migrations, PostgreSQL and Redis.
- [The `[app]` keys](https://deploywithox.com/docs/config#app): start, health check, memory and the rest.
- [Service dashboards](https://deploywithox.com/docs/operate/services): your database's status, size, backups and data.
- [Add a custom domain](https://deploywithox.com/docs/operate/domains) with one A record; Caddy gets the HTTPS certificate.
- [Read the logs](https://deploywithox.com/docs/operate/logs) live, search them, or download them.

## BullMQ worker FAQ

### Do I need a Dockerfile or an ox.toml to deploy a BullMQ worker to a VPS?

No. ox does not use Docker, and `ox check` on a BullMQ worker repo with no ox.toml prints `Ready to deploy.` Write an ox.toml only to change what ox detected.

### What does ox install on the server for BullMQ worker?

Only what the plan names: `node 24` (ox's default). Your app's own dependencies are installed by the build into the release folder, not system-wide.

### Why add a [workers] entry?

A BullMQ Worker processes jobs only while it runs, and ox runs only what the plan names. `[workers] worker = "node worker.js"` makes it a systemd service next to the app.

## Related guides

- [**Deno Fresh**Deploy a Deno Fresh app to your own VPS: ox installs Deno 2, runs deno install and deno task build, then deno serve under systemd with Caddy for HTTPS.](https://deploywithox.com/docs/guides/deno-fresh)
- [**Flask**Deploy a Flask app to your own VPS: ox installs with uv from requirements.txt, runs gunicorn app:app under systemd behind Caddy, and adds PostgreSQL.](https://deploywithox.com/docs/guides/flask)

Every stack ox deploys, and the ones it does not yet, is on the [Stacks page](https://deploywithox.com/docs/guides).

Last updated 2026-10-09. The page as HTML: https://deploywithox.com/docs/guides/bullmq-worker