Deploy a React Router SPA (ssr: false) to a VPS

To deploy a React Router SPA to a VPS with ox, add the repo as a project and deploy it, with no Dockerfile and no ox.toml. ox reads react-router.config.ts and package.json, runs npm install and npm run build, and Caddy serves build/client 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 React Router SPA repo in ox's tests. A deploy on a real server is not recorded yet.

What ox detects in a React Router SPA repo

This is the plan ox check prints for a minimal a React Router 7 app with server rendering off, 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 React Router SPA

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 = "build/client"

Check and deploy React Router SPA

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 React Router SPA

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 React Router SPA 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.
• the build left no dist directory: The build wrote its files somewhere else. Set [static] dir to the folder your build makes. 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.

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

Next steps

• React Router: Deploy a React Router 7 app (the Remix successor) with server rendering to your own VPS.
• 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.

React Router SPA FAQ

Do I need a Dockerfile or an ox.toml to deploy a React Router SPA to a VPS?

No. ox does not use Docker, and ox check on a React Router SPA 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 React Router SPA?

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.

Does any Node.js process run?

No. With server rendering off the build is plain files, so ox serves build/client through Caddy and runs no app process.

Related guides

• SolidStartDeploy a SolidStart app to your own VPS: ox reads the Node version from package.json, runs the build, starts it under systemd and adds HTTPS with Caddy.
• Qwik CityDeploy a Qwik City app with its Express adapter to your own VPS: ox finds the adapter, builds it, runs npm run serve under systemd, and Caddy serves HTTPS.

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