Deploy Next.js with Postgres and Prisma

This guide deploys a Next.js App Router app to Naijacloud with a managed Postgres database. At the end you’ll have a small notes app at your own naijacloud.app address that saves to Postgres through Prisma, with migrations applied every time a new version starts and every push to your branch deploying automatically. The stack is Next.js 16, Prisma 7 with the pg driver adapter, and Postgres 18, deployed from a GitHub repository.

15 minBeginnerLast verified 2026-10-11nextjsprismapostgres
What you'll have at the end

A Next.js notes app on your own naijacloud.app address. Type a note, press Save, and it’s written to Postgres and read back on every request.

https://notes-guide.naijacloud.app
Deploy this templateNext.js starter template

Before you start

  • A Next.js app in a GitHub repository, with its package-lock.json committed. Starting fresh? Run npx create-next-app@latest and push it.
  • Node.js 20 or newer on your machine, and Docker if you want a Postgres to develop against.
  • A Naijacloud account. The free tier covers this guide: one web service and one database.

Add Prisma

Install the Prisma CLI, the client and the driver adapter for pg. Prisma 7 talks to Postgres through the adapter rather than its own engine.

Terminal
$ npm install @prisma/client@7 @prisma/adapter-pg@7
$ npm install --save-dev prisma@7

Create the schema. The client is generated into app/generated/prisma, so add that folder to .gitignore: it’s rebuilt on every build.

prisma/schema.prisma
generator client {
provider = "prisma-client"
output = "../app/generated/prisma"
}
datasource db {
provider = "postgresql"
}
model Note {
id Int @id @default(autoincrement())
body String
createdAt DateTime @default(now())
}

Prisma 7 reads the connection string from prisma.config.ts, not from the schema:

prisma.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from "prisma/config";
export default defineConfig({
schema: "prisma/schema.prisma",
migrations: { path: "prisma/migrations" },
datasource: { url: process.env.DATABASE_URL },
});

Create the first migration

Run a Postgres locally and create the migration against it. The migration files are what Naijacloud applies to the real database later, so commit them.

Terminal
$ docker run -d --name notes-db -p 5432:5432 -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=pw -e POSTGRES_DB=notes postgres:18-alpine
$ export DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:pw@localhost:5432/notes
$ npx prisma migrate dev --name init

Then make npm run build generate the client before Next.js builds, in package.json:

package.json
"scripts": {
"dev": "next dev",
"build": "prisma generate && next build",
"start": "next start"
}

Read and write from a page

Create one Prisma client for the whole process:

lib/db.ts
import { PrismaPg } from "@prisma/adapter-pg";
import { PrismaClient } from "@/app/generated/prisma/client";
const globalForPrisma = globalThis as unknown as { prisma?: PrismaClient };
export const prisma =
globalForPrisma.prisma ??
new PrismaClient({
adapter: new PrismaPg({ connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL }),
});
if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== "production") globalForPrisma.prisma = prisma;

Then a page that lists notes and saves new ones with a server action. await connection() keeps the query at request time, so the build never needs the database.

app/page.tsx
import { revalidatePath } from "next/cache";
import { connection } from "next/server";
import { Suspense } from "react";
import { prisma } from "@/lib/db";
async function addNote(formData: FormData) {
"use server";
const body = String(formData.get("body") ?? "").trim();
if (body) await prisma.note.create({ data: { body } });
revalidatePath("/");
}
async function Notes() {
// Read the database on every request, never at build time.
await connection();
const notes = await prisma.note.findMany({ orderBy: { createdAt: "desc" } });
return (
<ul>
{notes.map((note) => (
<li key={note.id}>{note.body}</li>
))}
</ul>
);
}
export default function Home() {
return (
<main>
<h1>Notes</h1>
<form action={addNote}>
<input name="body" placeholder="Write a note" />
<button type="submit">Save</button>
</form>
<Suspense fallback={<p>Loading…</p>}>
<Notes />
</Suspense>
</main>
);
}
Terminal
$ git add .
$ git commit -m "Notes on Postgres with Prisma"
$ git push

Create the database

In the dashboard, open your project and choose New service → Database. Name it notes-db, pick Postgres, choose the Free size and click Create database. On the notes-db is ready. screen, click Reveal secrets and copy the Internal URL. The password is shown once on this page.

Create the web service

Choose New service → Web service, name it notes and, under Source, pick your repository and branch on the GitHub tab. Naijacloud detects Next.js and fills in npm ci && npm run build and npm start. Keep the build command and change the start command so migrations run first:

Build commandnpm ci && npm run build
Start commandnpx prisma migrate deploy && npm start

Under Environment variables, click + Add variable and add one:

DATABASE_URLThe Internal URL you copied from the database

Leave the size on Free and click Create web service. Free apps may sleep when nobody visits for a while and wake on the next request; paid apps never sleep.

Deploy and try it

Open the service. The Deploys tab streams the build; when it goes live, the runtime log shows the migration and Next.js starting:

Runtime log · notes
Applying migration `20261007033409_init`
All migrations have been successfully applied.
> next start
▲ Next.js 16.4.0
✓ Ready in 55ms

Open https://notes.naijacloud.app, write a note and press Save. It’s in Postgres: reload the page and it’s still there. Every push to your branch now builds, migrates and goes live.

Reference

Deploy a web service/docs/deploy/web-servicesBuilds/docs/deploy/buildsConnecting to a database/docs/databases/connectingEnvironment variables/docs/deploy/environment-variables

Whatever you build it with, it ships here.

Deploy your app for free

Free tier forever · No card