Skip to content

RENDER_DEPLOYMENT.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
147 lines (114 loc) · 3.56 KB

RENDER_DEPLOYMENT.md

File metadata and controls

147 lines (114 loc) · 3.56 KB
Raw

Render Deployment Guide for Backend

Step 1: Create a Render Account

Go to https://render.com and sign up (free tier available)

Step 2: Create PostgreSQL Database

  1. From Render Dashboard, click New → PostgreSQL
  2. Configure:
    • Name: assesly-db
    • Database: assesly
    • User: assesly_user
    • Region: Oregon (or closest to you)
    • Plan: Free
  3. Click Create Database
  4. Once created, copy the Internal Database URL (it looks like: postgresql://user:pass@host/db)

Step 3: Deploy Backend Service

Via Render Dashboard (Recommended):

  1. Click New → Web Service

  2. Connect your Git repository (GitHub/GitLab)

  3. Configure the service:

    • Name: assesly-backend
    • Region: Oregon (same as database)
    • Branch: main or master
    • Root Directory: backend
    • Runtime: Node
    • Build Command: 
      npm install && npx prisma generate && npm run build
    • Start Command: 
      npx prisma migrate deploy && npm start
    • Plan: Free

  4. Add Environment Variables: Click "Advanced" → "Add Environment Variable":

    NODE_ENV=production
DATABASE_URL=<paste your Internal Database URL from Step 2>
JWT_SECRET=<generate a random 32+ character string>
CORS_ORIGINS=https://assesly.netlify.app
PORT=10000

  5. Click Create Web Service

Step 4: Update Frontend Environment Variable

Once your backend is deployed, you'll get a URL like: https://assesly-backend.onrender.com

Update your Netlify environment variable:

cd frontend
netlify env:set VITE_API_URL "https://assesly-backend.onrender.com"

Then redeploy frontend:

npm run build
netlify deploy --prod

Important Notes

Free Tier Limitations

  • Backend spins down after 15 minutes of inactivity
  • First request after spin-down takes 30-50 seconds to wake up
  • Database has 90-day expiry on free tier

Generate JWT Secret

Use this command to generate a secure JWT secret:

node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'))"

CORS Configuration

Your CORS_ORIGINS should include your Netlify frontend URL:

CORS_ORIGINS=https://assesly.netlify.app

Add more origins separated by commas for multiple domains:

CORS_ORIGINS=https://assesly.netlify.app,https://custom-domain.com

Monitoring & Logs

  • View logs: Dashboard → Your Service → Logs
  • Monitor health: Dashboard → Your Service → Metrics
  • Database metrics: Dashboard → Database → Metrics

Auto-Deploy

Render automatically deploys when you push to your connected Git branch.

Troubleshooting

Database Connection Issues

  • Verify DATABASE_URL is the Internal Database URL
  • Check database is in same region as web service
  • Ensure Prisma schema matches migrations

Build Failures

  • Check Node version matches local (add NODE_VERSION=20 env var if needed)
  • Verify all dependencies are in package.json
  • Check build logs for specific errors

Migration Issues

  • Run migrations manually from Render Shell: 
    npx prisma migrate deploy
  • Or reset database (WARNING: deletes all data): 
    npx prisma migrate reset --force

Useful Commands

Access Render Shell (under service's "Shell" tab):

# Check Prisma status
npx prisma migrate status

# View database
npx prisma studio

# Run seed
npm run seed

Upgrade to Paid Plan (Optional)

Free tier limitations can be removed with paid plans ($7/month):

  • No spin-down
  • Faster performance
  • More resources
  • Persistent database