**Tags:** "Hello World" Examples · Nuxt

# Nuxt SSR Hello World

A server-rendered [Nuxt](https://nuxt.com) application connected to a [PostgreSQL](https://www.postgresql.org) database, deployed on [Zerops](https://zerops.io). Includes idempotent database migrations and ready-made environment configurations for the full development lifecycle.

### Available Environments

- [AI Agent](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/nuxt-ssr-hello-world.md?environment=ai-agent)
- [Remote (CDE)](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/nuxt-ssr-hello-world.md?environment=remote-cde)
- [Local](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/nuxt-ssr-hello-world.md?environment=local)
- [Stage](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/nuxt-ssr-hello-world.md?environment=stage)
- **Small Production** ← current
- [Highly-available Production](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/nuxt-ssr-hello-world.md?environment=highly-available-production)

### Services in this Environment

**Services:**

- **core** (core@1)
  - Containers: 1 × Shared Core, 0.00 GB RAM, 0 GB Disk
- **app** (nodejs@22) :3000
  - Containers: 2 × Shared Core, 0.38 GB RAM, 1 GB Disk
  - Repository: [zerops-recipe-apps/nuxt-ssr-hello-world-app](https://github.com/zerops-recipe-apps/nuxt-ssr-hello-world-app)
- **db** (postgresql@16) :5432, :6432
  - Containers: 1 × Shared Core, 0.75 GB RAM, 1 GB Disk

**Total Resources:** 4 containers, 1.50 GB RAM, 3 GB Disk

### One-Click Deploy (Import YAML)

Use this YAML with `zcli project import` to deploy this environment:

```yaml
# Nuxt SSR hello world — small production environment.
# Two app containers behind the project balancer provide
# availability during rolling deploys and moderate traffic.
project:
  name: nuxt-ssr-hello-world-small-prod

services:
  - hostname: app
    type: nodejs@22
    zeropsSetup: prod
    # buildFromGit: Zerops pulls source code and zerops.yaml
    # from this public repository on the first deploy.
    buildFromGit: https://github.com/zerops-recipe-apps/nuxt-ssr-hello-world-app
    enableSubdomainAccess: true
    # minContainers: 2 keeps two runtime containers running at
    # all times — one handles traffic while the other restarts
    # during a rolling deploy, achieving zero downtime.
    minContainers: 2
    verticalAutoscaling:
      minRam: 0.25
      # Reserve free RAM for Nitro SSR rendering spikes and
      # V8 GC cycles — prevents OOM kills under burst traffic.
      minFreeRamGB: 0.125

  # PostgreSQL for app data. Priority 10 ensures the database
  # is ready before any app container attempts to connect.
  - hostname: db
    type: postgresql@16
    mode: NON_HA
    priority: 10
    verticalAutoscaling:
      minRam: 0.5
      minFreeRamGB: 0.25

```

---

## Next Steps

After deploying one of the environments and getting to know Zerops, you have two paths to choose from:

1. **Template Flow** — Clone our GitHub repositories and use the whole recipe as a template
2. **Integrate Flow** — If you already have an existing application on a similar stack, integrate the recipe setup with your application

Select a flow: [Template Flow](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/nuxt-ssr-hello-world.md?environment=small-production&guideFlow=template) or [Integrate Flow](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/nuxt-ssr-hello-world.md?environment=small-production&guideFlow=integrate)

Both flows are shown below:

## How to take over the Small Production environment

### 📦 Clone the template repositories

Fork or clone the following repositories to your local machine or GitHub account:

- [zerops-recipe-apps/nuxt-ssr-hello-world-app](https://github.com/zerops-recipe-apps/nuxt-ssr-hello-world-app)

### 1. Find your service name

Many commands and configurations need the exact name of your service. You can find it in the Zerops Dashboard.

- Open your project in the Zerops Dashboard.
- In the project overview, find the service you want to manage.
- Use this exact name whenever a command or pipeline configuration asks for `<service-name>`.

<img src="https://storage-prg1.zerops.io/4gfos-storage/copy1_cd2a6044c8.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0 auto;" alt="Zerops GUI: Locating the Service Name" width="500" />

### 2. Configure deployment pipeline

Go to Service Settings > Pipelines & CI/CD Settings in the Zerops Dashboard and connect your repository.

For production, use a trigger on new tags. This keeps deployments intentional and tied to a specific version. You can also add a regex filter, such as `^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$`, if you want to allow only semantic version tags.

<img src="https://storage-prg1.zerops.io/4gfos-storage/triggerborder_b865860a89.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0 auto;" alt="Zerops GUI: Triggers" width="500" />

Alternatively, add `zcli push` to your existing CI/CD pipeline if you want full control over when deployments happen.

Learn more about pipeline triggers: https://docs.zerops.io/features/pipeline

### 3. Deploy to production

Create and push a new Git tag to deploy a specific version of your app:

```bash
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release version 1.0.0"
git push origin v1.0.0
```

> [!TIP]
> Open the pipeline detail in the Zerops Dashboard to check the build progress and verify that all steps finish successfully.

### 4. Configure autoscaling

Review the autoscaling settings for your runtime services and databases in Service Settings > Automatic Scaling Configuration in the Zerops Dashboard.

<img src="https://storage-prg1.zerops.io/4gfos-storage/scaling_ac0880aef5.png" style="display: block; margin: 0 auto;" alt="Zerops GUI: Autoscaling configuration" width="500" />

The most important settings are:

```yaml
verticalAutoscaling:
  minRam: 1
  minFreeRamGB: 0.5
  minFreeRamPercent: 20
```

> [!CAUTION]
> Pay attention to `minFreeRamGB`. This value tells Zerops when to scale RAM vertically. Adjust it based on your app’s real memory needs. RAM scales up immediately, while CPU scales after two consecutive measurements below the threshold.

> [!TIP]
> Run a quick stress test with a tool like hey before real users arrive. This helps you see how your app behaves under load and tune the autoscaling settings.

### 5. Set up your domain

To send real traffic to your app, configure public HTTP access in Service Settings > Public Access & Internal Ports in the Zerops Dashboard.

Add your custom domain and point your DNS records to the Zerops IPs shown in the dashboard:

<img src="https://storage-prg1.zerops.io/4gfos-storage/subdomain_8cafd801e8.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0 auto;" alt="Zerops GUI: Public access and custom domain" width="500" />

```text
Type   Name          Content          TTL
A      example.com   <zerops-ipv4>    Auto
AAAA   example.com   <project-ipv6>   Auto
```

For wildcard domains, add a CNAME record for SSL validation.

Check the public access documentation: https://docs.zerops.io/features/access

> [!TIP]
> When changing DNS records for production, start with a low TTL value. Make sure SSL certificates are active before you disable the fallback Zerops subdomain.

Once everything works, you can disable the Zerops subdomain so all traffic goes through your custom domain.

---

### 🎉 You are good to go!

Your application is live in production and the core setup is complete.

The following sections are optional. They cover extra production features such as log forwarding, backups, and diagnostic access. You can stop here and come back later when you need them.

---

### 6. Set up log forwarding (Optional)

To send logs to an external service, go to Project Settings > Log Forwarding & Logs Overview in the Zerops Dashboard.

You can forward logs to services like Better Stack, Papertrail, or your own self-hosted solution.

Learn more about log forwarding: https://docs.zerops.io/references/logging

### 7. Configure database backups (Optional)

Manage automated encrypted backups in Service Settings > Backups in the Zerops Dashboard.

By default, backups run daily between 00:00 and 01:00 UTC.

Before a major deployment, create a manual protected backup:

```bash
zcli backup create <db-service> --tags pre-deploy,protected
```

Read the backup documentation for more options: https://docs.zerops.io/features/backup

### 8. Set up diagnostic access (Optional)

Use zCLI and VPN access when you need to inspect or maintain services directly.

For runtime services:

```bash
zcli vpn up
ssh <service-name>.zerops
```

For databases, connect through the VPN to reach the project’s private network, or set up secure direct IP access for your database admin tools.

Check the VPN documentation: https://docs.zerops.io/references/cli/commands#vpn-up

## How to integrate app with Zerops

### Add `zerops.yaml`

Add the following `zerops.yaml` file to the root of your repository:

```yaml
zerops:
  # Production setup: Nitro bundles all deps into .output/ —
  # no node_modules needed at runtime. Full optimized SSR.
  - setup: prod
    build:
      base: nodejs@22
      buildCommands:
        # npm install (not npm ci): Nuxt 3.x peer deps cause
        # npm ci to fail with peer conflict errors.
        - npm install
        # Bundle pg into migrate.cjs before Nuxt build —
        # Nitro inlines pg, leaving none for migrate.js.
        - node scripts/bundle-migrate.mjs
        - npx nuxi build

      deployFiles:
        # Nitro bundles all runtime deps into .output/ —
        # no node_modules needed at runtime.
        - .output
        # Bundled migration script (pg included, self-contained)
        - migrate.cjs

      cache:
        # node_modules: avoids re-downloading on every build.
        # .nuxt: caches Nuxt's TypeScript analysis + Vite metadata.
        - node_modules
        - .nuxt

    # readinessCheck: verifies each new runtime container is
    # healthy before the project balancer routes traffic to it.
    deploy:
      readinessCheck:
        httpGet:
          port: 3000
          path: /

    run:
      base: nodejs@22
      # initCommands run before start on every container
      # creation — deploy, restart, or scale-up event.
      # zsc execOnce ensures migration runs exactly once
      # per version across all containers, preventing race
      # conditions when minContainers > 1.
      initCommands:
        - zsc execOnce ${appVersionId} -- node migrate.cjs
      ports:
        - port: 3000
          httpSupport: true
      envVariables:
        NODE_ENV: production
        # DB_NAME is static — no hostname substitution needed.
        DB_NAME: db
        # Referencing pattern: ${hostname_key} resolves to
        # the generated credential for service 'db'.
        DB_HOST: ${db_hostname}
        DB_PORT: ${db_port}
        DB_USER: ${db_user}
        DB_PASS: ${db_password}
      start: node .output/server/index.mjs

  # Dev setup: deploys full source for SSH-based development.
  # Developer SSHs in and drives the framework dev server.
  - setup: dev
    build:
      base: nodejs@22
      os: ubuntu
      buildCommands:
        # npm install (not npm ci) — dev may lack a lock file.
        - npm install
      # Deploy entire working directory including node_modules.
      deployFiles: ./
      cache:
        - node_modules

    run:
      base: nodejs@22
      os: ubuntu
      # Migration runs even in dev so the DB schema is ready
      # when the developer SSHs in. Uses migrate.js directly
      # (node_modules are deployed via deployFiles: ./).
      initCommands:
        - zsc execOnce ${appVersionId} -- node migrate.js
      ports:
        - port: 3000
          httpSupport: true
      envVariables:
        NODE_ENV: development
        DB_NAME: db
        DB_HOST: ${db_hostname}
        DB_PORT: ${db_port}
        DB_USER: ${db_user}
        DB_PASS: ${db_password}
      # zsc noop: keeps the container idle. Developer starts
      # the dev server manually via SSH: npm run dev
      start: zsc noop --silent

```

### 🎯 What's next?

**Deploy other environments** — Ready to scale? Deploy additional environments for different stages of your workflow:

- [AI Agent](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/nuxt-ssr-hello-world.md?environment=ai-agent)
- [Remote (CDE)](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/nuxt-ssr-hello-world.md?environment=remote-cde)
- [Local](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/nuxt-ssr-hello-world.md?environment=local)
- [Stage](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/nuxt-ssr-hello-world.md?environment=stage)
- [Highly-available Production](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/nuxt-ssr-hello-world.md?environment=highly-available-production)

## Knowledge Base

### Platform Reference

- [Routing & Domains](https://docs.zerops.io/features/access)
- [Scaling](https://docs.zerops.io/features/scaling)
- [Environment Variables](https://docs.zerops.io/features/env-variables)
- [CLI (zcli)](https://docs.zerops.io/references/cli)

### Service Type Reference

**Node.js**

- [Build & Deploy](https://docs.zerops.io/nodejs/how-to/build-pipeline)
- [Customize Runtime](https://docs.zerops.io/nodejs/how-to/customize-runtime)

**PostgreSQL**

- [Connect](https://docs.zerops.io/postgresql/how-to/connect)
- [Backup & Restore](https://docs.zerops.io/postgresql/how-to/backup)
- [Manage](https://docs.zerops.io/postgresql/how-to/manage)
- [Scale](https://docs.zerops.io/postgresql/how-to/scale)

---

## Related Recipes

- [Nuxt (Vite) Static Hello World](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/nuxt-static-hello-world.md)
- [Bun Hello World](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/bun-hello-world.md)
- [Go Hello World](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/go-hello-world.md)
- [Zerops showcase](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/zerops-showcase.md)

