Overview
Deploying a NestJS application to Heroku can be streamlined with a step-by-step process. This guide provides instructions on how to prepare, build, and deploy your TypeScript-coded NestJS app onto the Heroku Cloud platform.
Prerequisites
- A NestJS application
- Heroku account
- Heroku CLI installed
- Git installed
The Main Process
Step 1: Prepare Your NestJS Application
Ensure your application follows the best practices for a production environment:
npm install --production
Modify the start script in your package.json to:
"scripts": {
"start": "node dist/main",
"prestart:prod": "npm run build"
}
Step 2: Configure Environment Variables
Set up your environment variables in Heroku instead of having them in a .env file:
heroku config:set NODE_ENV=production
Step 3: Set Up Git Repository
Initialize a Git repository in your project if you haven’t already:
git init
heroku git:remote -a your-app-name
Step 4: Create a Heroku Procfile
Create a file named Procfile in your project root without any extension and add the following line:
web: npm run start:prod
Step 5: Deploy Your Application
Commit your changes and push to Heroku:
git add .
git commit -m "Prepare for Heroku deployment"
git push heroku master
Heroku will detect your application, build it, and run npm start based on the Procfile
Advanced Configuration
Add TypeScript build pack for Heroku to compile your TypeScript code on deployment:
heroku buildpacks:add heroku/typescript
To scale your application:
heroku ps:scale web=1
To check the logs:
heroku logs --tail
Troubleshooting
Common issues while deploying cover Heroku limits, environment differences, or missing scripts. Ensure your application is listening on the port Heroku sets via process.env.PORT.
Ensuring Proper Build Processes
To enable proper build processes, including devDependencies during the build time:
heroku config:set NPM_CONFIG_PRODUCTION=false
Automating Deployments
Utilize GitHub integration to automatically deploy your reservations when you push to your repository:
heroku dashboard -> Deploy -> GitHub
Testing Deployments
To ensure deployments go smoothly, use Review Apps or Staging environments provided by Heroku.
Conclusion
Deploying your NestJS application to Heroku involves critical steps such as configuring environment variables, ensuring production-ready setups, and optimizing build configurations. Following these steps will bring your application to a globally accessible platform in a matter of minutes.
