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Biovity is optimized for deployment on Vercel, the platform built by the creators of Next.js.

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Prerequisites

Before deploying to Vercel, ensure you have:
  • A Vercel account (sign up at vercel.com)
  • Your GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket repository connected
  • PostgreSQL database ready (e.g., Supabase)
  • All required environment variables prepared

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Quick deployment

1

Import your repository

  1. Log in to your Vercel dashboard
  2. Click “Add New” > “Project”
  3. Import your Git repository
  4. Select the repository containing Biovity
2

Configure project settings

Vercel automatically detects Next.js projects. Verify these settings:
  • Framework Preset: Next.js
  • Root Directory: ./ (or your source directory)
  • Build Command: bun build or next build --turbopack
  • Output Directory: .next (automatic)
  • Install Command: bun install or npm install
3

Add environment variables

Add all required environment variables in the Vercel dashboard:
  1. Go to “Environment Variables” section
  2. Add each variable from your .env.example:
    • DATABASE_URL
    • BETTER_AUTH_SECRET
    • BETTER_AUTH_URL
    • NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL
    • NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL
  3. Select environments: Production, Preview, Development
See the environment variables guide for details.
4

Deploy

Click “Deploy” and Vercel will:
  1. Clone your repository
  2. Install dependencies
  3. Run the build command
  4. Deploy your application
  5. Assign a production URL
Your first deployment may take 2-5 minutes. Subsequent deployments are typically faster due to caching.

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Vercel configuration

Biovity includes a vercel.json configuration file for advanced settings.

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Cron jobs

The project includes a cron job configuration: 
{
  "crons": [
    {
      "path": "/api/cron",
      "schedule": "0 10 */5 * *"
    }
  ]
}
This cron job:
  • Path: /api/cron - The API endpoint to call
  • Schedule: 0 10 */5 * * - Runs at 10:00 AM every 5 days
  • Format: Standard cron expression format
Vercel Cron Jobs are only available on Pro and Enterprise plans. If you’re on the Hobby plan, you’ll need to use an external cron service or upgrade your plan.

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Domain configuration

1

Add custom domain

In your Vercel project settings:
  1. Go to “Settings” > “Domains”
  2. Add your custom domain (e.g., yourdomain.com)
  3. Follow the DNS configuration instructions
2

Update environment variables

After adding your domain, update these variables:
BETTER_AUTH_URL="https://yourdomain.com"
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL="https://yourdomain.com"
NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL="https://yourdomain.com"
3

Redeploy

Trigger a new deployment for the environment variable changes to take effect.

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Automatic deployments

Vercel automatically deploys your application when you push to Git:
  • Production deployments: Triggered by pushes to your main/master branch
  • Preview deployments: Created for every pull request
  • Branch deployments: Each branch gets its own preview URL

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Preview deployments

Preview deployments are perfect for testing changes before merging:
  • Each PR gets a unique URL
  • Environment variables can be configured separately for previews
  • Automatic comments on PRs with deployment status

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Environment-specific variables

You can set different values for each environment:
  • Production: Used for your production domain
  • Preview: Used for PR previews and branch deployments
  • Development: Used when developing locally with Vercel CLI
Use different database instances for production and preview environments to avoid data conflicts during testing.

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Performance monitoring

Vercel provides built-in monitoring tools:

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Analytics

Biovity includes @vercel/analytics for tracking:
  • Page views
  • User interactions
  • Web vitals
No additional configuration needed - automatically enabled on Vercel.

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Speed Insights

Biovity includes @vercel/speed-insights for performance monitoring:
  • Core Web Vitals
  • Real user metrics
  • Performance scores
View insights in the “Analytics” tab of your Vercel dashboard.

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Build settings

# Build Command
bun build
# or
next build --turbopack

# Install Command
bun install
# or
npm install

# Development Command
bun dev
# or
next dev --turbopack

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Node.js version

Vercel automatically uses the latest LTS Node.js version. To specify a version, add to package.json: 
{
  "engines": {
    "node": ">=20.0.0"
  }
}

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Troubleshooting

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Build fails

  1. Check build logs in Vercel dashboard
  2. Verify all environment variables are set
  3. Ensure dependencies are installed correctly
  4. Run bun typecheck and bun check locally

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Authentication issues

If Better Auth doesn’t work after deployment:
  1. Verify BETTER_AUTH_URL matches your production URL
  2. Check that BETTER_AUTH_SECRET is set in Vercel environment variables
  3. Ensure the auth API route is accessible at /api/auth/[...all]

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Database connection errors

  1. Verify DATABASE_URL is correct
  2. Check that your database allows connections from Vercel’s IP ranges
  3. For Supabase, ensure you’re using the connection pooler URL

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Cron job not running

  1. Verify you’re on a Pro or Enterprise plan
  2. Check the cron schedule syntax in vercel.json
  3. View cron job logs in Vercel dashboard under “Cron Jobs”

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Security best practices

Never commit sensitive environment variables to your repository. Always use Vercel’s environment variable management.
  • Generate unique secrets for production using openssl rand -base64 32
  • Use different database credentials for production and preview
  • Enable Vercel’s “Automatically expose System Environment Variables” only if needed
  • Regularly rotate authentication secrets
  • Use Vercel’s IP allowlisting for sensitive API routes

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CLI deployment

You can also deploy using the Vercel CLI: 
# Install Vercel CLI
npm i -g vercel

# Login
vercel login

# Deploy to preview
vercel

# Deploy to production
vercel --prod

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