Deploy Next.js with Postgres

What you build: one project with two services — web (Next.js 15, App Router, Prisma) and Postgres (from the template) — a generated domain with TLS, migrations that run on every deployment, and a preview environment per pull request. About 15 minutes.

You need: a GitHub account, Node.js 20+, a Next.js app that uses Prisma (or start from npx create-next-app@latest and npx prisma init). Sign in once at app.skiffly.dev.

1. Prepare the app#

Two things in the repository, both ordinary Next.js practice:

{
  "scripts": {
    "build": "prisma generate && next build",
    "start": "next start",
    "postinstall": "prisma generate"
  }
}

datasource db {
  provider = "postgresql"
  url      = env("DATABASE_URL")
}

Add a health route so rollouts switch traffic only when the new container answers:

export function GET() {
  return Response.json({ ok: true });
}

Commit and push. next start reads PORT, so no port code is needed.

2. Create the project and the database#

npm i -g skiffly && skiffly login
cd my-shop
skiffly init --name shop              # project "shop", directory linked
skiffly deploy --template postgres    # service "Postgres", volume, DATABASE_URL

Expected: skiffly status shows Postgres as SUCCESS within a minute.

3. Deploy the app#

skiffly up                       # creates service "my-shop", uploads the directory, builds with Railpack, streams the log

The app is built but cannot reach the database yet — that is the next step.

4. Wire the database and run migrations#

skiffly variables set -s web 'DATABASE_URL=${{Postgres.DATABASE_URL}}' NODE_ENV=production

The reference resolves at deploy time to postgresql://postgres:…@postgres:5432/app on the private network. Skiffly has no release phase, so make the start command run migrations before the server:

skiffly api 'mutation { serviceInstanceUpdate(serviceId: "<web id>", environmentId: "<env id>", input: { startCommand: "sh -c \"npx prisma migrate deploy && next start\"", healthcheckPath: "/healthz" }) }'
skiffly redeploy -s web

Expected in skiffly logs -s web -f: Prisma's All migrations have been successfully applied, then Ready in …. The deployment turns SUCCESS once /healthz answers.

Prefer migrations under your control? Leave the start command as next start and run skiffly ssh -s web -- npx prisma migrate deploy after each deploy that ships a migration.

5. Get a URL#

skiffly domain -s web         # https://web-x1y2.skiffly.cloud

Open it. For app.example.com: skiffly domain app.example.com, create the CNAME and TXT records it prints, skiffly domain status app.example.com until verified. Set AUTH_URL/NEXTAUTH_URL and similar to the final URL — https://${{self.SKIFFLY_PUBLIC_DOMAIN}} follows the generated domain automatically.

6. Look inside the database#

skiffly connect postgres      # opens psql through a temporary TCP proxy
\dt

skiffly proxy delete <port> closes the public proxy afterwards.

7. Previews per pull request#

Project → Settings → PR previews (or projectUpdate(id, input: { prDeploys: true })). Every PR gets a pr-<n> environment: a copy of the variables, web built from the PR branch, and its own empty Postgres (data is not copied; prisma migrate deploy in the start command brings the schema up). The environment is deleted when the PR closes.

8. Same thing as code#

Adopt what you built into a file and keep it in the repository:

skiffly config init            # writes .skiffly/skiffly.ts from the environment

import { defineSkiffly, github, postgres, project, service } from "@skiffly/config";
 
export default defineSkiffly(() => {
  const db = postgres("Postgres");
  const web = service("web", {
    source: github("acme/my-shop"),
    start: 'sh -c "npx prisma migrate deploy && next start"',
    healthcheck: "/healthz",
    port: 3000,
    env: { NODE_ENV: "production", DATABASE_URL: db.env.DATABASE_URL },
    domain: true,
  });
  return project("shop", { resources: [db, web] });
});

skiffly config plan shows no changes; from now on skiffly config apply in CI reconciles settings.

Troubleshooting#

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