Next.js 14 Deployment to VPS with GitHub Actions CI/CD

By Raddy in NextJs · 11th December 2023

Learn how to streamline your web development workflow by deploying Next.js 14 to a Virtual Private Server (VPS) effortlessly with the power of GitHub Actions Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD).

Go to NodeJs Yml File.

My Notes:

1) Create A NextJS 14 App

npx create-next-app@latest

Now that you have a fully working website, we need to publish it on Github.

2) Create GitHub Repository

It can be public or private.

3) Create Digital Ocean Droplet – VPS

Ubuntu System Requirements

The recommended system requirements are:

CPU: 1 gigahertz or better
RAM: 1 gigabyte or more
Disk: a minimum of 2.5 gigabytes

Source: https://ubuntu.com/server/docs/installation

Get $200 in DigitalOcean Credit

4) Create SSH Keys

SSH keys have password authentication disabled by default. This makes them secure against brute-force attacks.

Create a folder to store the SSH Keys
Create Keys – Created on Droplet Create (follow instructions)
add Pub Key to Droplet on creation

Setup Reserved IP

(A DigitalOcean Reserved IP address is a publicly-accessible static IP address that you can assign to a Droplet and then reassign to another Droplet later, as needed.)

SSH to Server

To connect to your server you can use your the ipv4 or Reserved IP from your dashboard.

ssh root@[you-ip-address]

Download and install updates for outdated packages and dependency’s on the system.

sudo apt update

sudo apt upgrade -y

Create a New User

adduser [username]

set password: [your user password]

usermod -aG sudo [username]

usermod: This is the command itself, which is used to modify user accounts.

-aG: These are options/flags that modify the behavior of the usermod command:

-a: This option stands for “append” and is used to add the user to the specified groups without removing them from any existing groups.
-G: This option is followed by a list of groups to which you want to add the user.

pwd

sudo su - [username]

5) Create Github Workflow

SSH to server and run the instructions from Github.

Install Packages

sudo su [username]

Install NodeJs – Go to Option 3:

https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-install-node-js-on-ubuntu-20-04

sudo apt install npm

sudo npm install pm2 -g

If UUID error: deprecated [email protected]: Please upgrade  to version 7 or higher.
npm install uuid@latest

pm2 start npm --name "nextjs" -- start --watch

Navigate to  
cd /home/[username]/actions-runner

sudo ./svc.sh install
sudo ./svc.sh status
sudo ./svc.sh start
sudo ./svc.sh stop

pm2 startup
pm2 save

# Graceful shutdown in 1 minute
shutdown

# Cancel a scheduled shutdown
shutdown -c

6) Reverse Proxy

Use the following Digital Ocean Guide up to

sudo systemctl restart nginx

7) Point Domain name A records

A record to IP
A record with www to IP

8) SSL

To setup the SSL follow: How to secure Nginx with let’s encrypt on ubuntu 20-04

Nice to know: How to setup a firewall with ufw on ubuntu and debian clud server

9) Extra

If you want to redirect www.my-website.com to my-website.com, remove www.my-website.com from the server_name line, and save and exit the file.

server {
    . . .
    server_name my-website.com www.my-website.com
    . . .
}

sudo systemctl reload nginx

Firewall

Make sure that your firewall allows HTTPS traffic.

sudo ufw status

If your ufw is disabled:

sudo ufw enable

Setup basic Firewall

sudo ufw allow OpenSSH

Last thing, make sure that you have port 443 open.

Other useful commands

sudo chown -R rad:rad /home/rad/actions-runner/website/NextJs-Droplet/NextJs-Droplet

You can use the ps -ef command to see which user account the process is running under.

Check to see if PM2 uses Rad user
sudo -u rad pm2 reload 0

pm2 kill

Remove Folder
rm -rf [folder name]

That’s all.

Node.js.yml + Dot.env Example and Reload

name: Node.js CI

on:
  push:
    branches: [ "main" ]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: self-hosted
    
    strategy:
      matrix:
        node-version: [20.10.0]
    
    steps:
    - name: Checkout code
      uses: actions/checkout@v3

    - name: Set up Node.js
      uses: actions/setup-node@v3
      with:
        node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
        cache: 'npm'

    - name: Install dependencies
      run: npm ci

    - name: Create env file
      run: |
        echo "NEXT_WEBSITE_URL=${{ secrets.NEXT_WEBSITE_URL }}" >> .env.production
        echo "NEXT_PUBLIC_NEXT_GA_TRACKING_ID=${{ secrets.NEXT_PUBLIC_NEXT_GA_TRACKING_ID }}" >> .env.production
      working-directory: ${{ github.workspace }}

    - name: Print contents of .env.production file
      run: cat .env.production
 
    - name: Build
      run: npm run build --if-present
      
    - name: Change Directory
      run: cd /home/ubuntu/actions-runner/_work/YOUR_PROJECT_NAME/YOUR_PROJECT_NAME
    - run: pm2 reload 0