Next.js App on a VPS (Hetzner) in traditional way

To Create a VPS check this first. Create Ubuntu VPS on Hetzner

This guide mirrors what platforms like Vercel do:

1. fetch your code,
2. build it,
3. run it on a port,
4. keep it online 24/7,
5. (later) put Nginx in front.

SSH into your VPS (as your non-root user)

ssh jervi@<your-server-ip>

Replace <your-server-ip> with your actual IP.
Make sure your firewall allows SSH: sudo ufw allow 22/tcp.

Install Node.js (LTS) using nvm (recommended)

# one-time nvm install
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.7/install.sh | bash
# load nvm for current shell
export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"
. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"

# install and use latest LTS
nvm install --lts
nvm use --lts

# verify
node -v
npm -v

If you prefer apt/NodeSource, that also works. nvm keeps Node per-user and is easy to upgrade.

Clone your repository & install dependencies

# choose a home dir for apps
mkdir -p ~/apps && cd ~/apps

# clone your Next.js repo
git clone https://github.com/<you>/<repo>.git my-next-app
cd my-next-app

# install deps (npm shown; yarn/pnpm also fine)
npm i

If your project uses a private repo, set up a deploy key or use a PAT.

Prepare environment variables

Create a production .env in the project root (don’t commit secrets):

nano .env

Example:

NODE_ENV=production
NEXT_PUBLIC_API_BASE=https://api.example.com
# any other secrets...

Save & exit.

Build the app

npm run build

• Fix any errors that appear (missing env vars, TypeScript issues, etc.).
• After a successful build, you’ll have a .next/ folder.

Run the app on a custom port (test first)

Locally test on the server (foreground):

# IMPORTANT: Next.js uses "next start" for production
npx next start -p 3001

If it boots, open another terminal and allow the port through UFW:

sudo ufw allow 3001/tcp

Now hit http://<your-server-ip>:3001 from your browser.
When done testing, stop the foreground process (Ctrl+C).

Keep it alive with PM2

Install PM2 globally (per current Node):

npm i -g pm2

Start your app with PM2:

# Option A: use your package.json start script (recommended)
# package.json should have: "start": "next start -p 3001"
pm2 start "npm run start" --name nextjs-app

# Option B: invoke next directly via npx
# pm2 start npx --name nextjs-app -- next start -p 3001

Check status & logs:

pm2 status
pm2 logs nextjs-app

Make PM2 auto-start on reboot and save the process list:

pm2 startup
# follow the command PM2 prints (usually sudo env PATH=... pm2 startup systemd -u jervi --hp /home/jervi)
pm2 save

From now on, if the server reboots, PM2 will bring your app back.

Quick health check

curl -I http://127.0.0.1:3001

You should see 200 or 304 from your Next.js server.

Firewall recap (UFW)

If you haven’t already:

sudo ufw allow 22/tcp     # SSH
sudo ufw allow 3001/tcp   # Next.js app port (temporary until we add Nginx)
sudo ufw status

Tip: When you later put Nginx in front on ports 80/443, you can close 3001 publicly and keep it internal.

Operational tips

• Deploy updates
  bash

  cd ~/apps/my-next-app
  git pull
  npm i --production=false   # or your lockfile flow
  npm run build
  pm2 restart nextjs-app
  

• View live logs
  pm2 logs nextjs-app
• Update Node (via nvm)
  nvm install --lts && nvm use --lts && pm2 restart nextjs-app
• Change port
  Update your start script or PM2 command to -p 3002, allow via UFW, then restart.

What about Nginx, domain & HTTPS?

We’ll cover that in another tutorial:

• Reverse proxy on :80 / :443 to your app on :3001
• Free TLS with Let’s Encrypt (certbot)
• Auto-renewal & hardened TLS settings
• Optionally close port 3001 to the public

👉 Coming soon: “Put Nginx + HTTPS in front of your Next.js VPS app.”