Wednesday, November 4, 2026

Deploying Next.js on a Single VM: Docker, PostgreSQL, nginx and GitHub Actions

Mohammed Moutawakkil

5 min read

Next.jsDockernginxDevOps

Deploying Next.js on a Single VM: Docker, PostgreSQL, nginx and GitHub Actions

You don't need a platform to host a Next.js app. A single Linux VM with Docker, PostgreSQL and nginx is enough, and you stay in control of every part. This is the setup I use for this portfolio, file by file.

The Architecture

Internet ──▶ nginx (VM, ports 80/443)
               │
               ▼
        Next.js container (127.0.0.1:3001)
               │
               ▼
        PostgreSQL (VM, localhost:5432)

nginx runs on the VM and is the only public entry point. It also terminates HTTPS.
The app runs in a Docker container and listens on 127.0.0.1 only, so nothing can reach it except nginx.
PostgreSQL runs on the VM itself, not in Docker. Backups and upgrades stay the same as for any other database on the machine.

Step 1: A Multi-Stage Dockerfile

Three stages keep the final image clean: install dependencies, build, then copy only what the app needs to run.

Dockerfile

# 1. Dependencies (Prisma 7 needs Node >= 20.19)
FROM node:22-alpine AS deps
WORKDIR /app
# The postinstall `prisma generate` needs the schema and config
COPY package.json yarn.lock prisma.config.ts ./
COPY prisma ./prisma
RUN yarn install --frozen-lockfile

# 2. Build
FROM node:22-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=deps /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY . .
RUN yarn prisma generate && yarn build

# 3. Production image
FROM node:22-alpine AS runner
WORKDIR /app
ENV NODE_ENV=production
COPY --from=builder /app/public ./public
COPY --from=builder /app/.next ./.next
COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY --from=builder /app/package.json ./package.json
COPY --from=builder /app/prisma.config.ts ./prisma.config.ts
COPY --from=builder /app/prisma ./prisma
COPY --from=builder /app/lib/generated ./lib/generated

EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["sh", "-c", "yarn prisma migrate deploy && yarn start"]