Self-hosting means running your Next.js application on your own infrastructure — a VPS, Docker container, or cloud platform like AWS or Google Cloud.

• Full control over infrastructure
• No vendor lock-in
• Custom compliance requirements
• Lower costs at very high scale

Requirement: This Dockerfile requires output: 'standalone' in next.config.js. Without it, the .next/standalone folder won’t exist.

# Dockerfile
FROM node:20-alpine AS base

# Install dependencies
FROM base AS deps
WORKDIR /app
COPY package.json package-lock.json ./
RUN npm ci

# Build
FROM base AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=deps /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY . .
RUN npm run build

# Production
FROM base AS runner
WORKDIR /app
ENV NODE_ENV=production

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"]

version: '3'
services:
  nextjs:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:password@db:5432/mydb
    depends_on:
      - db

  db:
    image: postgres:16
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: mydb
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  postgres_data:

For self-hosting, enable output file tracing to reduce deployment size:

module.exports = {
  output: 'standalone',
}

This creates a .next/standalone folder with only the files needed to run your app.

# Build
npm run build

# Start production server
npm start

# Or specify a port
npx next start -p 8080

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
}

flowchart LR
    A[Build app] --> B[Generate standalone]
    B --> C{Docker?}
    C -->|Yes| D[Build Docker image]
    C -->|No| E[Copy to server]
    D --> F[Push to registry]
    F --> G[Pull on server]
    E --> G
    G --> H[Run with Node.js]
    H --> I[Configure reverse proxy]
    I --> J[Set up SSL]

• Not enabling output: 'standalone' — Without it, the entire node_modules is needed on the server.
• Running as root — Always use a non-root user in Docker for security.
• Hardcoding environment variables — Use runtime environment variables, not build-time.
• Not configuring reverse proxy — Without it, you lose features like SSL termination and load balancing.

• Use Docker for consistent deployments across environments
• Enable output: 'standalone' to reduce deployment size
• Use a reverse proxy (Nginx, Caddy) for SSL and load balancing
• Set up health checks for container orchestration
• Use environment variables for runtime configuration

Self-hosting gives you full control. Use Docker with output: 'standalone' for efficient deployments, a reverse proxy for SSL and routing, and environment variables for configuration. Docker Compose simplifies multi-service setups.

• Vercel Deployment
• Environment Variables
• Deployment Checklist