Go Live

Deploy early, even before the app is "finished." First deploys are easiest when your app is still simple.

Quick Copy Checklist

Use this as your 2-minute launch checklist:

# 1) Create .env.production locally (gitignored)
cp .env.local .env.production

# 2) Edit .env.production for real production values
APP_BASE_URL=https://yourdomain.com
BETTER_AUTH_URL=https://yourdomain.com
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=<long-random-secret>
DATABASE_URL=postgres://...

# 2.5) Add all feature-specific vars for enabled integrations
# Example: Stripe, Plunk/email, Google OAuth, analytics, storage, webhooks, etc.

# 3) Copy/import env vars from .env.production into hosting platform

# 4) Run production migration using .env.production
pnpm db:migrate:prod

# 5) Deploy on Vercel/Netlify and smoke test

The four variables above are the minimum for core auth + database. Most production apps need additional variables based on enabled features.

2-Minute Go-Live (One-Page Runbook)

Before You Start (30 seconds)

You need:

1. App hosting: Vercel (recommended) or Netlify
2. PostgreSQL: Neon (recommended) or Supabase
3. Your production domain (example: https://yourdomain.com)

Minute 1 — Configure Production

1) Prepare .env.production as source of truth

Create a production env file locally (it is ignored by git):

cp .env.local .env.production

Then edit .env.production with production values.

2) Add required environment variables in your host dashboard

Copy from .env.production and paste/import into your hosting platform:

APP_BASE_URL=https://yourdomain.com
BETTER_AUTH_URL=https://yourdomain.com
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=<long-random-secret>
DATABASE_URL=postgres://...

Notes:

• APP_BASE_URL and BETTER_AUTH_URL should match your final production URL.
• BETTER_AUTH_SECRET should be a strong random secret.
• DATABASE_URL must point to your production database (not local).

Then add all variables for every feature you have enabled. Common examples:

• Payments: Stripe keys + webhook secret
• Email: Plunk (or your provider) API key + sender values
• OAuth providers: client ID + client secret per provider (Google, GitHub, etc.)
• Observability/analytics: provider keys and host URL
• Storage or third-party APIs: access keys, bucket/region IDs, API secrets

If a feature works locally but fails in production, missing env vars are the most common cause.

3) Run production migrations

Run migration using .env.production:

pnpm db:migrate:prod

This local-file approach is common and fine for early-stage apps.

Preferred long-term workflow: run migrations from CI/CD or your hosting environment with production-only secrets, so production credentials are not handled from developer machines.

Minute 2 — Deploy and Verify

5) Deploy

Use the full platform guide if needed:

• Deploy on Vercel
• Deploy on Netlify

BetterStarter already includes vercel.json and netlify.toml, so both platforms can deploy with sane defaults.

6) Smoke test after deploy (60 seconds)

Open your production URL and confirm:

1. Home page loads
2. Sign up / sign in works
3. Session persists after refresh
4. A DB-backed page/action works

If auth fails, double-check that APP_BASE_URL and BETTER_AUTH_URL exactly match the deployed domain (including https).

Fast Troubleshooting

• Build failed: Recheck required env vars in the host dashboard.
• Feature works locally but not in production: Verify every feature-specific env var is set in hosting (Stripe/email/OAuth/etc.).
• Auth callback or cookie issues: URL mismatch between env vars and actual domain.
• DB connection errors: Wrong DATABASE_URL or blocked network/access rules.
• Schema errors: Run pnpm db:migrate:prod again and review migration SQL.

After You Go Live (Production DB Workflow)

For all future schema changes:

1. Edit schema in src/db/schema/
2. pnpm db:generate to create migration SQL
3. Review generated SQL in drizzle/
4. Back up production DB
5. pnpm db:migrate:prod to apply changes using .env.production

Avoid db:push in production. Use migrations (db:migrate) for safe, auditable changes.

BetterStarter outputs a standard Node.js server and also works on Railway, Render, Fly.io, and Cloudflare Workers.