Deploy a Gatsby site to your own VPS with HTTPS

To deploy a Gatsby site to a VPS with ox, add the repo as a project and deploy it, with no Dockerfile and no ox.toml. ox reads gatsby-config.js and package.json, runs npm install and npm run build, and Caddy serves public over HTTPS with no app process. 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 Gatsby repo in ox's tests. A deploy on a real server is not recorded yet.

What ox detects in a Gatsby repo

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

The ox.toml for Gatsby

None is needed: the plan above comes from the repo alone. Write one to serve your own domain or to change what ox detected. This one passes ox check against the same repo: [static] needs its dir, and the build stays detected.

domains = ["www.example.com"]

[static]
dir = "public"

Check and deploy Gatsby

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

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 runs <project>                      # past deploys, with their ids
ox logs <project> --run <id>         # one deploy's log

A static site has no app process, so its log is the deploy's own: ox runs lists them and --run reads one.

Variables to set for Gatsby

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 and PUBLIC_HOST.

If the Gatsby deploy fails

• build 1/1: npm run build: exit status 1: Your build failed. The lines above it are the build's own output; run the same command on your computer, fix it, and push. More.
• killed by the out-of-memory killer (the build needs more memory than the project or host allows): The build ran out of memory. Raise the project's memory, add swap, or use a bigger server. More.
• the build left no dist directory: The build wrote its files somewhere else. Set [static] dir to the folder your build makes. More.

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

Next steps

• The static site guide: Vite, Astro and plain HTML with a full ox.toml.
• The [static] keys: the folder Caddy serves, single-page mode and an API beside it.
• Add a custom domain with one A record; Caddy gets the HTTPS certificate.
• Roll back to an earlier release without a rebuild.

Gatsby FAQ

Do I need a Dockerfile or an ox.toml to deploy a Gatsby site to a VPS?

No. ox does not use Docker, and ox check on a Gatsby 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 Gatsby?

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.

Which folder does ox serve for Gatsby?

public, the folder gatsby build writes. ox reads it from gatsby-config.js being there, as the plan above shows.

Related guides

• DocusaurusDeploy a Docusaurus documentation site to your own VPS: ox runs the build from package.json and Caddy serves the build folder over HTTPS, no ox.toml.
• AstroDeploy an Astro static site to your own VPS: ox reads astro.config.mjs, runs astro build, and Caddy serves dist over HTTPS with no app process running.

Every stack ox deploys, and the ones it does not yet, is on the Stacks page.