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Deploy Express

Stackpad auto-detects Express applications and deploys them as Node.js servers.

Quick deploy

  1. Push your Express project to GitHub
  2. Create a new project on Stackpad and select your repo
  3. Stackpad detects express in your dependencies
  4. Your API is live at your-project.your-org.stackpad.eu

Configuration

Make sure your app reads the port from the environment:

import express from 'express';


const app = express();
const port = process.env.PORT || 3000;


app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.json({ status: 'ok' });
});


app.listen(port, () => {
  console.log(`Server running on port ${port}`);
});

Your package.json should have a start script:

{
  "scripts": {
    "build": "tsc",
    "start": "node dist/index.js"
  }
}

TypeScript

If you’re using TypeScript, make sure tsc runs during the build step. Stackpad runs your build script before start.

Health checks

Stackpad’s health check sends a GET request to your configured port. Make sure your root route (or any route) returns a 2xx response. If your API doesn’t have a root route, add one:

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.status(200).json({ ok: true });
});

Database

Add PostgreSQL to your project and redeploy:

import { Pool } from 'pg';


const pool = new Pool({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
});


app.get('/users', async (req, res) => {
  const result = await pool.query('SELECT * FROM users');
  res.json(result.rows);
});

What’s next?