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The Vercel AI Chatbot is designed to be deployed on Vercel, but can also be deployed to other platforms that support Next.js applications.

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Deployment options

You have several options for deploying your chatbot: The easiest and recommended way to deploy is using Vercel. The application is optimized for Vercel’s infrastructure and includes automatic configuration for:
  • AI Gateway with OIDC authentication
  • Vercel Postgres database
  • Vercel Blob storage
  • Vercel KV (Redis)
  • Environment variable management
See the Vercel deployment guide for detailed instructions.

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Other platforms

You can deploy to any platform that supports Next.js 16+ applications, including:
  • Self-hosted Node.js servers
  • Docker containers
  • Other cloud providers (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure)
For non-Vercel deployments, you’ll need to:
  • Manually configure environment variables
  • Set up your own PostgreSQL database
  • Provide an AI Gateway API key
  • Configure file storage (Vercel Blob alternative)
  • Set up Redis for rate limiting

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Prerequisites

Before deploying, ensure you have:
1

Node.js 18.17 or later

The application requires Node.js 18.17 or later to run.
2

PostgreSQL database

A PostgreSQL database instance for storing user data, chats, and messages. Vercel Postgres is recommended.
3

Redis instance

Redis is used for rate limiting and caching. Vercel KV is recommended.
4

Blob storage

Storage for file uploads and attachments. Vercel Blob is recommended.
5

AI Gateway access

Access to Vercel AI Gateway for LLM requests. On Vercel, this uses OIDC tokens automatically. For non-Vercel deployments, you’ll need an API key.

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Build process

The application uses the following build command: 
tsx lib/db/migrate && next build
This command:
  1. Runs database migrations automatically before building
  2. Builds the Next.js application with optimizations
  3. Generates production-ready static and server files
Database migrations run automatically during the build process, so you don’t need to run them separately in most cases.

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Runtime requirements

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Node.js runtime

The application requires a Node.js runtime environment. It uses:
  • Next.js 16.0.10
  • React 19.0.1
  • Server-side rendering and API routes

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Environment variables

All required environment variables must be set before deployment. See the environment variables guide for a complete list.

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Database migrations

Database migrations are handled by Drizzle ORM and run automatically during the build process. The migration script:
  • Checks if POSTGRES_URL is defined
  • Skips migrations gracefully if no database is configured (for preview deployments)
  • Applies all pending migrations from lib/db/migrations/
  • Reports success or failure

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Security considerations

Never commit your .env.local file or expose secrets in your codebase. Use environment variable management tools provided by your deployment platform.

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Required secrets

  • AUTH_SECRET - Used for session encryption (generate with openssl rand -base64 32)
  • POSTGRES_URL - Database connection string (should not be exposed)
  • BLOB_READ_WRITE_TOKEN - Storage access token
  • REDIS_URL - Redis connection string
  • AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY - Required for non-Vercel deployments

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Authentication

The application uses NextAuth.js for authentication with:
  • Credentials provider for email/password authentication
  • Guest user support
  • Secure password hashing with bcrypt
  • Session management

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Next steps

Environment variables

Complete guide to all required and optional environment variables

Database setup

Configure PostgreSQL and run migrations with Drizzle ORM

Deploy to Vercel

Step-by-step guide for deploying to Vercel

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