# Deploy Next.js to a VPS: self-host without Vercel

Self-host Next.js on your own VPS without Vercel or Docker: next start, a health check, PostgreSQL, Prisma migrations and the image cache, in one ox.toml.

To self-host Next.js on a VPS with ox, add the repo as a project and deploy: ox detects your install, `next build` and `next start` from `package.json` and the lockfile, so most apps need no ox.toml. `next start` runs as a systemd service behind Caddy, with no Vercel, Docker or PM2. Add the short ox.toml below for your own domain, a real health check and PostgreSQL.

## What ox detects in a Next.js repo

ox reads `package.json` and your lockfile. When `next` is a dependency, it proposes from the repo root:

- The Node version from `engines.node` in `package.json`, or from `.nvmrc`, `.node-version` or `mise.toml`. With none of them, Node 24.
- The install step from the lockfile: `npm ci` for `package-lock.json`, `pnpm install --frozen-lockfile`, `yarn install --frozen-lockfile` or `bun install --frozen-lockfile`.
- `npm run build` when there is a `build` script, and `npm run start` when there is a `start` script (with your package manager in place of npm). Without the scripts, `npx next build` and `npx next start -H 127.0.0.1 -p $PORT`.
- A static site in `out` when `next.config.*` sets `output: 'export'`, with no app process.
- `npx prisma migrate deploy` as the migrate step when there is a `prisma/schema.prisma`.
- When the repo has no ox.toml: PostgreSQL when `pg`, `postgres` or `@neondatabase/serverless` is a dependency (or the Prisma schema uses `postgresql`), and Redis when `redis`, `ioredis` or `bullmq` is.

ox does not guess a health path. Without one it only checks that something accepts a connection on the port. `next start` reads `PORT` by itself, so the usual scripts work as they are. With `output: 'standalone'`, ox still runs `next start` and `ox check` prints a hint on how to run the standalone server instead.

package.json, the scripts ox uses:

```json
{
  "engines": { "node": ">=22" },
  "scripts": {
    "build": "next build",
    "start": "next start"
  }
}
```

## The ox.toml for Next.js

You can deploy with no ox.toml. Add this one when you want your own domain and a real health check.

ox.toml for a Next.js app with PostgreSQL:

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

[app]
start  = "npm run start"
health = "/healthz"

[build]
install  = "npm ci"
commands = ["npm run build"]

[services]
postgres = {}
```

- `domains`: the names your app answers on. ox gets the HTTPS certificate for each.
- `start`: the command that runs your app. It is the same one ox detects, so you can leave it out.
- `health`: a path that must answer with a 2xx or 3xx status before a new release gets traffic.
- `install` and `commands`: install your packages, then build. These also match detection.
- `postgres`: a database for this app. Leave it out if you do not use one.

A release's files are read-only while it runs. Next.js saves optimized images under `.next/cache`, so if you use `next/image`, add this ([[storage] keep](https://deploywithox.com/docs/config#tools)), and ox links that folder to a writable one that survives deploys.

Add to ox.toml when you use next/image:

```toml
[storage]
keep = [".next/cache"]
```

The health path can be a tiny route handler that does not touch the database.

app/healthz/route.js:

```javascript
export function GET() {
  return new Response("ok");
}
```

## PostgreSQL and Prisma migrations

With `postgres = {}`, ox creates a database and gives your app `DATABASE_URL`. Add `redis = {}` and you also get `REDIS_URL`. Once a repo has an ox.toml, ox runs only the services it lists. If you use Prisma, every deploy takes a snapshot of the database and then runs `npx prisma migrate deploy`.

## Variables, secrets and NEXT_PUBLIC_ values

ox also gives you `PORT`, `HOST`, `PUBLIC_URL` and `PUBLIC_HOST`. Set your own keys, like `AUTH_SECRET`, on the dashboard or with `ox vars set <project> AUTH_SECRET`, which asks for the value. Every key named in `.env.example` must be set before a deploy can start.

Your variables are there during the build too. Next.js bakes `NEXT_PUBLIC_` values into the build, so a change to one needs a new deploy. `ox vars set` deploys again right away, unless you add `--no-deploy`.

## Check and deploy the Next.js app

Check, deploy, and watch:

```sh
ox check                      # in the repo: prints the plan and "Ready to deploy."
ox deploy <project> --wait    # stream the deploy, exit with its result
ox logs <project> --follow    # the app's own logs
```

For the ox.toml above, `ox check` ends like this:

ox check, last lines:

```text
  Provided by ox: PORT, HOST, OX_ENV, OX_PROJECT, OX_RELEASE, OX_DATA_DIR, PUBLIC_URL, PUBLIC_HOST, DATABASE_URL
  Set on the dashboard before the first deploy: AUTH_SECRET

Ready to deploy.
```

## If the Next.js deploy fails

- `set these before deploying: AUTH_SECRET`. A key from `.env.example` has no value yet. Set it, then deploy again.
- `GET http://127.0.0.1:<port>/healthz did not answer within 120s`. The health path returned an error or a 404, or the app is not listening on `$PORT`. Check that the route exists and that your start script does not pass a fixed `-p`.
- `build 1/1: npm run build: …` with `fix: the command's own output is above; fix it in the repo and push`. `next build` failed, often on a type or lint error. Run `npm run build` on your machine, fix what it prints, and push.

If an older release is live, it keeps serving while you fix any of these. More causes and fixes are in [Troubleshooting](https://deploywithox.com/docs/troubleshooting), and every key is in the [config reference](https://deploywithox.com/docs/config).

## Next steps

- [Set AUTH_SECRET and other variables](https://deploywithox.com/docs/operate/variables#set) from the dashboard or the CLI.
- [Add your own domain with HTTPS](https://deploywithox.com/docs/operate/domains): one A record, and Caddy gets the certificate.
- [Read and search the app's logs](https://deploywithox.com/docs/operate/logs), live or for a time range.
- [Roll back a bad deploy](https://deploywithox.com/docs/operate/rollback) to a kept release without a rebuild.
- [Turn on a preview per branch](https://deploywithox.com/docs/operate/previews), each with its own database.

Last updated 2026-10-08. The page as HTML: https://deploywithox.com/docs/guides/nextjs