Deployment

The kit deploys anywhere Next.js runs. This guide covers Vercel, the path the kit is tuned for.

Deploy to Vercel

One-click: use the Deploy with Vercel button in the README. Or from the CLI:

npm i -g vercel
vercel          # first deploy, links the project
vercel --prod   # production deploy

Production environment

Set the variables from .env.example in the Vercel dashboard (Project → Settings → Environment Variables). Minimum for production:

  • DATABASE_URL (and DIRECT_URL if your provider distinguishes pooled/direct)
  • AUTH_SECRET (generate a fresh one for production, do not reuse dev)
  • NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL set to https://yourdomain.com (emails and reset links are built from it)
  • OAuth credentials, with the production callback URLs added in each provider console:
    • https://yourdomain.com/api/auth/callback/google
    • https://yourdomain.com/api/auth/callback/github
  • RESEND_API_KEY + EMAIL_FROM if you want magic link, password reset and transactional emails

Database migrations

Builds do not run migrations. Apply them against the production database as a deliberate step:

npx prisma migrate deploy

Run it before (or right after) the first deploy and after every release that adds a migration. Then seed the plans once: npx prisma db seed.

Stripe webhooks in production

Create an endpoint in the Stripe dashboard (Developers → Webhooks) pointing to:

https://yourdomain.com/api/webhooks/stripe

Subscribe it to the subscription lifecycle events, copy the signing secret into STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET on Vercel, and redeploy. Use live keys (sk_live_...) on production only.

Make yourself admin

After your first sign-in on production:

npx prisma studio

Find your user in the User table and set role to ADMIN. The Admin Panel shortcut appears in your dashboard sidebar.

Optional: a public demo deployment

To offer a demo like demo.openstarterkit.dev without collecting personal data, deploy a second instance of the repo against an isolated database and set DEMO_MODE="true" there (plus Stripe test keys). On your marketing deployment set NEXT_PUBLIC_DEMO_URL to the demo's URL so the sign-in links point at it. Fill the demo with believable fixtures:

npm run db:seed:demo   # wipes users/projects on that database and recreates fixtures

Details on what demo mode changes are in Authentication.

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