Deployment

You can run a Next.js application as a Node.js server, package it in a Docker container, export it as static files, or deploy it through a platform's own integration. The option you pick determines which features are available, so it pays to understand what a production build produces first.

Building and running for production

next build optimizes your code, writes the production output to the .next folder and prerenders every page that can be rendered statically. When it finishes, it prints each route with a symbol showing whether it was prerendered or will be rendered on the server per request. Check that list for pages that turned dynamic unexpectedly.

npm run build      # next build
npm run start      # next start, port 3000 by default

# run on another port
npx next start -p 8080

The Node.js server started by next start supports every feature: Server Components, Server Actions, Route Handlers, image optimization, revalidation and more. On a single machine, a common setup runs it under a process manager such as pm2 or systemd behind a reverse proxy like Nginx that handles HTTPS and compression.

Standalone output

To avoid shipping all of node_modules to the server, set output: "standalone". The build traces the files the app actually needs, copies them into .next/standalone, and generates a small server.js you can run instead of next start.

// next.config.ts
import type { NextConfig } from "next";

const nextConfig: NextConfig = {
  output: "standalone",
};

export default nextConfig;

This server does not copy the public and .next/static folders automatically. Unless a CDN serves them, copy them yourself before starting. The PORT and HOSTNAME environment variables control where it listens.

cp -r public .next/standalone/
cp -r .next/static .next/standalone/.next/
PORT=8080 HOSTNAME=0.0.0.0 node .next/standalone/server.js

Deploying with Docker

Standalone output is especially handy for small Docker images. A multi-stage build separates installing dependencies, building and running, so the final image contains only what is needed at runtime.

FROM node:lts-alpine AS deps
WORKDIR /app
COPY package.json package-lock.json ./
RUN npm ci

FROM node:lts-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=deps /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY . .
RUN npm run build

FROM node:lts-alpine AS runner
WORKDIR /app
ENV NODE_ENV=production
ENV PORT=3000
ENV HOSTNAME=0.0.0.0
COPY --from=builder /app/public ./public
COPY --from=builder /app/.next/standalone ./
COPY --from=builder /app/.next/static ./.next/static
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["node", "server.js"]