Deploy Next.js on a VPS

Any Next.js app that renders on request, uses route handlers, middleware or server actions runs as a Node.js process, so it needs a server where that process can stay running. Only a full static export can live on plain file hosting.

If you want the server without running it yourself, WebJi® Next.js hosting is the managed route, and Vercel alternatives in India compares platform options. The rest of this guide is the do-it-yourself path on Ubuntu 24.04.

Clone the repository, install exactly the locked dependencies with npm ci, place the production environment file, and run npm run build. Do not start anything until the build exits without errors.

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/app && sudo chown $USER: /var/www/app
git clone https://github.com/you/your-app.git /var/www/app
cd /var/www/app
nano .env.production      # API keys, database URL; never commit this file
npm ci
npm run build

Variables prefixed NEXT_PUBLIC_ are baked into the browser bundle at build time, so changing them later needs a rebuild. Server-only variables are read when the process starts.

Nginx listens on ports 80 and 443 and forwards every request to the Node process on 127.0.0.1:3000, passing the original host, client IP and protocol. Proxy everything, including /_next/, because next start serves its own hashed assets with long cache headers.

sudo apt install -y nginx

# /etc/nginx/sites-available/nextapp
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.in www.example.in;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
    }
}

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/nextapp /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx

A 502 Bad Gateway at this point means the Node process is down or listening on a different port; check pm2 logs nextapp. Compression and HTTP/2 tuning are in enabling gzip on Nginx and enabling HTTP/2 on Nginx.

Pull, install, build, and reload PM2 only if the build succeeds; chaining the commands with && stops a broken build from replacing the live app.

cd /var/www/app && git pull && npm ci && npm run build && pm2 reload nextapp

• Logs: pm2 logs nextapp for the app, /var/log/nginx/error.log for the proxy.
• Build memory: if the build is "Killed", the VPS ran out of RAM; add swap or build in CI and copy the output.
• Busy sites: building into the live .next folder can break in-flight requests; build in a second folder and switch a symlink for true zero downtime.
• Disk: old builds and logs add up; pm2 install pm2-logrotate keeps PM2 logs in check.