8. Deployment Overview

In this chapter, you’ll learn the general approach to deploying the Medusa application.

Medusa Project Components#

A standard Medusa project is made up of:

  • Medusa application: The Medusa server and the Medusa Admin.
  • One or more storefronts

Diagram showcasing the connection between the three deployed components

You can either deploy the Medusa application fully (server with the admin), or deploy the Medusa Admin separately. The storefront is always deployed separately.


Deploying the Medusa Server#

You must deploy the Medusa server before the admin or storefront, as both of them connect to it and won’t work without a deployed Medusa server URL.

Diagram showcasing how the Medusa server and its associated services would be deployed

The Medusa server must be deployed to a hosting provider supporting Node.js server deployments, such as Railway, DigitalOcean, AWS, Heroku, etc…

TipFor optimal experience, make sure that the hosting provider and plan offer at least 2GB of RAM.

Your server connects to a PostgreSQL database, Redis, and other services relevant for your setup. Most hosting providers support deploying and managing these databases along with your Medusa server (such as Railway and DigitalOcean).

Refer to this reference to find how-to deployment guides for specific hosting providers.


Deploying the Medusa Admin#

Deploy Admin with the Server#

The Medusa Admin can be deployed on the same hosting with the server.

In this scenario, make sure the hosting provider and plan of your choice provide at least 2GB of RAM, as the admin build requires high RAM usage.

Diagram showcasing how the admin would be deployed along with the Medusa server.

TipThe server deployment guides mention details on how to deploy the admin with the Medusa server.

Deploy Admin Separately#

You can deploy the admin into a separate hosting provider or instance. The admin can be hosted on providers that support front-end websites and frameworks, such as Vercel.

ImportantPer Vercel’s license and plans , their free plan can only be used for personal, non-commercial projects. So, you can deploy the Medusa Admin on the free plan for development purposes, but for commercial projects, you must update your Vercel plan.

Refer to this reference to find how-to deployment guides for specific hosting providers.


Deploying the Storefront#

The storefront is deployed separately from the Medusa application, and the hosting options depend on the tools and frameworks you use to create the storefront.

If you’re using the Next.js Starter storefront, you may deploy the storefront to any hosting provider that supports frontend frameworks, such as Vercel.

ImportantPer Vercel’s license and plans , their free plan can only be used for personal, non-commercial projects. So, you can deploy the storefront on the free plan for development purposes, but for commercial projects, you must update your Vercel plan.

Refer to this reference to find how-to deployment guides for specific hosting providers.

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