Deploy to Hosting

Deploy your Bknd application to various hosting platforms.

Prerequisites

• Working Bknd application locally
• Schema defined and tested
• Database provisioned (see bknd-database-provision)
• Environment variables prepared (see bknd-env-config)

When to Use UI Mode

• Cloudflare/Vercel dashboards for environment variables
• Platform-specific deployment settings
• Viewing deployment logs

When to Use Code Mode

• All deployment configuration and commands
• Adapter setup for target platform
• CI/CD pipeline configuration

Platform Selection Guide

Code Approach

Cloudflare Workers

Step 1: Install Wrangler

npm install -D wrangler

Step 2: Create wrangler.toml

name = "my-bknd-app"
main = "src/index.ts"
compatibility_date = "2024-01-01"

[[d1_databases]]
binding = "DB"
database_name = "my-database"
database_id = "your-d1-database-id"

# Optional: R2 for media storage
[[r2_buckets]]
binding = "R2_BUCKET"
bucket_name = "my-bucket"

[vars]
ENVIRONMENT = "production"

Step 3: Configure Adapter

// src/index.ts
import { hybrid, type CloudflareBkndConfig } from "bknd/adapter/cloudflare";
import { d1Sqlite } from "bknd/adapter/cloudflare";
import { em, entity, text } from "bknd";

const schema = em({
  posts: entity("posts", {
    title: text().required(),
  }),
});

export default hybrid<CloudflareBkndConfig>({
  app: (env) => ({
    connection: d1Sqlite({ binding: env.DB }),
    schema,
    isProduction: true,
    auth: {
      jwt: {
        secret: env.JWT_SECRET,
      },
    },
    config: {
      media: {
        enabled: true,
        adapter: {
          type: "r2",
          config: { bucket: env.R2_BUCKET },
        },
      },
    },
  }),
});

Step 4: Create D1 Database

# Create database
wrangler d1 create my-database

# Copy the database_id to wrangler.toml

Step 5: Set Secrets

wrangler secret put JWT_SECRET
# Enter your secret (min 32 chars)

Step 6: Deploy

wrangler deploy

Cloudflare Pages (with Functions)

Step 1: Create functions/api/[[bknd]].ts

import { hybrid, type CloudflareBkndConfig } from "bknd/adapter/cloudflare";
import { d1Sqlite } from "bknd/adapter/cloudflare";
import schema from "../../bknd.config";

export const onRequest = hybrid<CloudflareBkndConfig>({
  app: (env) => ({
    connection: d1Sqlite({ binding: env.DB }),
    schema,
    isProduction: true,
    auth: {
      jwt: { secret: env.JWT_SECRET },
    },
  }),
});

Step 2: Configure Pages

In Cloudflare dashboard:

1. Connect your git repository
2. Set build command (if any)
3. Add D1 binding under Settings > Functions > D1 Database Bindings
4. Add environment variables under Settings > Environment Variables

Node.js / Bun (VPS)

Step 1: Create Production Entry

// index.ts
import { serve, type BunBkndConfig } from "bknd/adapter/bun";
// or for Node.js:
// import { serve } from "bknd/adapter/node";

const config: BunBkndConfig = {
  connection: {
    url: process.env.DB_URL!,
    authToken: process.env.DB_TOKEN,
  },
  isProduction: true,
  auth: {
    jwt: {
      secret: process.env.JWT_SECRET!,
      expires: "7d",
    },
  },
  config: {
    media: {
      enabled: true,
      adapter: {
        type: "s3",
        config: {
          bucket: process.env.S3_BUCKET!,
          region: process.env.S3_REGION!,
          accessKeyId: process.env.S3_ACCESS_KEY!,
          secretAccessKey: process.env.S3_SECRET_KEY!,
        },
      },
    },
    guard: {
      enabled: true,
    },
  },
};

serve(config);

Step 2: Set Environment Variables

export DB_URL="libsql://your-db.turso.io"
export DB_TOKEN="your-turso-token"
export JWT_SECRET="your-32-char-minimum-secret"
export PORT=3000

Step 3: Run with Process Manager

# Using PM2
npm install -g pm2
pm2 start "bun run index.ts" --name bknd-app

# Or systemd (create /etc/systemd/system/bknd.service)

Docker

Step 1: Create Dockerfile

FROM oven/bun:1.0-alpine

WORKDIR /app

COPY package.json bun.lockb ./
RUN bun install --frozen-lockfile --production

COPY . .

# Create data directory for SQLite (if using file-based)
RUN mkdir -p /app/data

ENV PORT=3000

EXPOSE 3000

CMD ["bun", "run", "index.ts"]

Step 2: Create docker-compose.yml

version: "3.8"
services:
  bknd:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    volumes:
      - bknd-data:/app/data
    environment:
      - DB_URL=file:/app/data/bknd.db
      - JWT_SECRET=${JWT_SECRET}
      - NODE_ENV=production
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  bknd-data:

Step 3: Deploy

# Build and run
docker compose up -d

# View logs
docker compose logs -f bknd

Vercel (Next.js)

Step 1: Create API Route

// app/api/bknd/[[...bknd]]/route.ts
export { GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH } from "bknd/adapter/nextjs";

Step 2: Create bknd.config.ts

import type { NextjsBkndConfig } from "bknd/adapter/nextjs";
import { em, entity, text } from "bknd";

const schema = em({
  posts: entity("posts", {
    title: text().required(),
  }),
});

type Database = (typeof schema)["DB"];
declare module "bknd" {
  interface DB extends Database {}
}

export default {
  app: (env) => ({
    connection: {
      url: env.DB_URL,
      authToken: env.DB_TOKEN,
    },
    schema,
    isProduction: env.NODE_ENV === "production",
    auth: {
      jwt: { secret: env.JWT_SECRET },
    },
  }),
} satisfies NextjsBkndConfig;

Step 3: Set Vercel Environment Variables

In Vercel dashboard or CLI:

vercel env add DB_URL
vercel env add DB_TOKEN
vercel env add JWT_SECRET

Step 4: Deploy

vercel deploy --prod

AWS Lambda

Step 1: Install Dependencies

npm install -D serverless serverless-esbuild

Step 2: Create handler.ts

import { createHandler } from "bknd/adapter/aws";

export const handler = createHandler({
  connection: {
    url: process.env.DB_URL!,
    authToken: process.env.DB_TOKEN,
  },
  isProduction: true,
  auth: {
    jwt: { secret: process.env.JWT_SECRET! },
  },
});

Step 3: Create serverless.yml

service: bknd-api

provider:
  name: aws
  runtime: nodejs20.x
  region: us-east-1
  environment:
    DB_URL: ${env:DB_URL}
    DB_TOKEN: ${env:DB_TOKEN}
    JWT_SECRET: ${env:JWT_SECRET}

plugins:
  - serverless-esbuild

functions:
  api:
    handler: handler.handler
    events:
      - http:
          path: /{proxy+}
          method: ANY
      - http:
          path: /
          method: ANY

Step 4: Deploy

serverless deploy --stage prod

Pre-Deployment Checklist

# 1. Generate types
npx bknd types

# 2. Test locally with production-like config
DB_URL="your-prod-db" JWT_SECRET="your-secret" npx bknd run

# 3. Verify schema sync
# Schema auto-syncs on first request in production

Environment Variables (All Platforms)

Common Pitfalls

"Module not found" for Native SQLite

Problem: better-sqlite3 not available in serverless

Fix: Use LibSQL/Turso instead of file-based SQLite:

connection: {
  url: "libsql://your-db.turso.io",
  authToken: process.env.DB_TOKEN,
}

"JWT_SECRET required" Error

Problem: Auth fails in production

Fix: Set JWT_SECRET environment variable:

# Cloudflare
wrangler secret put JWT_SECRET

# Vercel
vercel env add JWT_SECRET

# Docker
docker run -e JWT_SECRET="your-secret" ...

Cold Start Timeouts (Lambda)

Problem: First request times out

Fix:

• Use lighter database (Turso over RDS)
• Reduce bundle size
• Enable provisioned concurrency for critical functions

D1 Binding Not Found

Problem: env.DB is undefined

Fix: Check wrangler.toml D1 binding:

[[d1_databases]]
binding = "DB"  # Must match env.DB in code
database_name = "my-database"
database_id = "actual-id-from-wrangler-d1-create"

Media Uploads Fail in Serverless

Problem: Local storage doesn't work in serverless

Fix: Use cloud storage adapter:

config: {
  media: {
    adapter: {
      type: "s3",  // or "r2", "cloudinary"
      config: { /* credentials */ },
    },
  },
}

CORS Errors

Problem: Frontend can't access API

Fix: Configure CORS in your adapter:

// Most adapters handle this automatically
// For custom needs, check platform docs

Deployment Commands Reference

# Cloudflare Workers
wrangler deploy
wrangler tail  # View logs

# Vercel
vercel deploy --prod
vercel logs

# Docker
docker compose up -d
docker compose logs -f

# AWS Lambda
serverless deploy --stage prod
serverless logs -f api

DOs and DON'Ts

DO:

• Set isProduction: true in production config
• Use cloud storage (S3/R2/Cloudinary) for media
• Set strong JWT_SECRET (min 32 chars)
• Enable Guard for authorization
• Test with production database before deploying
• Use environment variables for all secrets

DON'T:

• Use file-based SQLite in serverless
• Hardcode secrets in code
• Deploy without testing schema sync
• Use local storage adapter in production
• Skip JWT_SECRET configuration
• Commit .env files with real secrets

Related Skills

• bknd-database-provision - Set up production database
• bknd-production-config - Production security settings
• bknd-storage-config - Configure media storage
• bknd-env-config - Environment variable setup
• bknd-local-setup - Local development (pre-deploy testing)