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Vercel is the path of least resistance. The repo’s preset matches Vercel’s defaults (Next.js 15, pnpm, Node runtime), so a fresh project import “just works” once env vars are in place. Plan on 5 minutes from git push to live URL — the bulk of the time is pasting secrets and creating the database.

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Prerequisites

  • A Postgres database with a pooled connection string. Neon, Supabase, Railway, Crunchy — any of them. Serverless functions don’t keep connections warm, so the pooler URL (port 6543 on Supabase, the -pooler host on Neon) is required.
  • A BETTER_AUTH_SECRET of 32+ random characters: openssl rand -base64 32.
  • Your active payment provider’s keys. Whichever provider you set in siteConfig.payment.provider needs its *_SECRET_KEY, *_WEBHOOK_SECRET and the relevant *_PRICE_* ids populated.
  • Optional but recommended: a RESEND_API_KEY for transactional email. Without one, the mail facade no-ops gracefully and signups skip the verification step.
  • A GitHub repo Vercel can read. SSO, monorepo, fork — all fine.
Run pnpm typecheck && pnpm lint && pnpm build locally before pushing. CI runs the same three; Vercel will refuse a broken build at the same gate.

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Step-by-step

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1. Push to GitHub

git push origin main
If you keep a private repo, grant Vercel access in the GitHub app settings.

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2. Import on Vercel

In the Vercel dashboard: Add New → Project → pick the repo. The Framework Preset auto-resolves to Next.js. Leave the build command blank (Vercel reads pnpm build from package.json). Output directory is .next (default).

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3. Set env vars

Settings → Environment Variables. The required baseline is: 
DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:pass@host:6543/db?sslmode=require
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=<32+ random chars>
BETTER_AUTH_URL=https://your-domain.com
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=https://your-domain.com
[email protected]
Add your active payment provider’s keys (Stripe shown): 
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_live_…
STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET=whsec_…
STRIPE_PRICE_VIBESTRAP_PROMO=price_…
NEXT_PUBLIC_STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_live_…
Optional but common: RESEND_API_KEY, GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID/SECRET, TURNSTILE_SECRET_KEY + NEXT_PUBLIC_TURNSTILE_SITE_KEY. See Env reference for the full list.

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4. Migrate the production database

Before the first deploy, sync your schema. You have two options: 
# Option A — fastest, dev-only style. Diffs schema against DB and applies.
DATABASE_URL=<prod-url> pnpm db:push

# Option B — committed migrations. Use this once you have real data.
pnpm db:generate            # writes a SQL file under drizzle/
git add drizzle/ && git commit
DATABASE_URL=<prod-url> pnpm db:migrate
Once you have paying users, never run db:push against production again — it can drop columns silently. Switch to Option B and run db:migrate from a deploy hook or a one-shot script, not from your running app.

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5. Configure payment webhooks

In your payment provider’s dashboard, add a webhook endpoint pointing at: 
https://your-domain.com/api/webhooks/stripe
https://your-domain.com/api/webhooks/paddle
https://your-domain.com/api/webhooks/lemonsqueezy
https://your-domain.com/api/webhooks/creem
Pick the route matching your active provider. Subscribe to: checkout.session.completed, invoice.paid, customer.subscription.updated, customer.subscription.deleted (Stripe naming — adapt for others). Copy the signing secret into STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET (or equivalent).

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6. Deploy

Push or click Deploy. The first build takes 2-3 minutes. Vercel’s logs surface env-var errors loudly — src/env.ts throws at startup if anything required is missing.

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Verify it works

Hit each URL once. Anything red means something’s misconfigured.
  • https://your-domain.com/ — home renders, hero copy is your locale
  • https://your-domain.com/zh/ — Chinese hero
  • https://your-domain.com/api/ping — returns { ok: true }
  • https://your-domain.com/sitemap.xml — every public route listed
  • https://your-domain.com/robots.txt — disallows /admin, /api/, /settings
  • https://your-domain.com/register — signup works, you receive the verification email
Then run a real $1 test charge through your live keys (refund yourself afterwards): the payment and credit_transaction rows should both appear within ~5 seconds of completing checkout. If they don’t, check the webhook logs in your payment dashboard for 4xx responses.

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Common pitfalls

  • BETTER_AUTH_URL mismatch. It must be the full prod URL with scheme, no trailing slash. Auth callbacks silently fail when this drifts from the actual domain.
  • Missing env vars in prod. Vercel separates Production / Preview / Development scopes. Set vars to “All Environments” unless you know you need per-env values.
  • Webhook signing-secret mismatch. A stale STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET returns 400 on every event. Rotate the secret in the dashboard, paste it into Vercel, redeploy.
  • Postgres connection limits. Serverless functions burn connections fast. Use the pooler URL (port 6543 on Supabase, -pooler.region host on Neon). Hit “max connections” errors? You’re using the direct URL.
  • Forgotten NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL. Used by sitemap, OG images, OAuth redirects, payment success URLs. Must match BETTER_AUTH_URL in production.
  • Skipping db:push before first deploy. App boots, then 500s on the first query because the tables don’t exist.

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Rollback

Vercel keeps every deployment forever. Promote any previous build from the Deployments list — instant revert. If a migration is the culprit, restore from your DB provider’s point-in-time snapshot (Neon and Supabase both ship this on every plan).

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Official docs