Deploy to Node.js

EmDash runs on any Node.js 18+ hosting platform. This guide covers deployment to common providers using SQLite and local or S3-compatible storage.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18.17.1 or higher
• A Node.js hosting provider or VPS

Configuration

Configure EmDash for Node.js deployment:

astro.config.mjs

import { defineConfig } from "astro/config";
import node from "@astrojs/node";
import emdash, { local, s3 } from "emdash/astro";
import { sqlite } from "emdash/db";

export default defineConfig({
  output: "server",
  adapter: node({ mode: "standalone" }),
  integrations: [
    emdash({
      database: sqlite({ url: "file:./data/emdash.db" }),
      storage: local({
        directory: "./data/uploads",
        baseUrl: "/_emdash/api/media/file",
      }),
    }),
  ],
});

Build and Run

1. Build the project:

npm run build

2. Initialize the database:

   npx emdash init --database ./data/emdash.db

3. Start the server:

   node ./dist/server/entry.mjs

The server runs on http://localhost:4321 by default.

Production Storage

For production, use S3-compatible storage instead of local filesystem:

astro.config.mjs

import emdash, { s3 } from "emdash/astro";

export default defineConfig({
  integrations: [
    emdash({
      database: sqlite({ url: `file:${process.env.DATABASE_PATH}` }),
      storage: s3({
        endpoint: process.env.S3_ENDPOINT,
        bucket: process.env.S3_BUCKET,
        accessKeyId: process.env.S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID,
        secretAccessKey: process.env.S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY,
        publicUrl: process.env.S3_PUBLIC_URL, // Optional CDN URL
      }),
    }),
  ],
});

Note

S3-compatible storage works with Cloudflare R2 (via S3 API), MinIO, and other S3-compatible services.

Docker

Create a Dockerfile:

Dockerfile

FROM node:20-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci
COPY . .
RUN npm run build

FROM node:20-alpine
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=builder /app/dist ./dist
COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY --from=builder /app/package.json ./

ENV HOST=0.0.0.0
ENV PORT=4321

EXPOSE 4321
CMD ["node", "./dist/server/entry.mjs"]

Build and run:

docker build -t my-emdash-site .
docker run -p 4321:4321 -v emdash-data:/app/data my-emdash-site

Environment Variables

Required for Production

Variable	Description
EMDASH_AUTH_SECRET	Signs session cookies and auth tokens. Generate with npx emdash auth secret.
EMDASH_PREVIEW_SECRET	Signs preview URLs for draft content. Generate with npx emdash auth secret.

Database and Storage

Variable	Description	Example
DATABASE_PATH	Path to SQLite database	/data/emdash.db
HOST	Server host	0.0.0.0
PORT	Server port	4321
S3_ENDPOINT	S3 endpoint URL	https://xxx.r2.cloudflarestorage.com
S3_BUCKET	S3 bucket name	my-media-bucket
S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID	S3 access key	AKIA...
S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY	S3 secret key	...
S3_PUBLIC_URL	Public URL for media	https://cdn.example.com

Caution

Never commit secrets to your repository. Use your platform’s secret management (environment variables, secret stores, etc.) for production.

Persistent Storage

SQLite requires persistent disk storage. Ensure your hosting platform provides:

• A mounted volume or persistent disk
• Write access to the database directory
• Backup mechanisms for the database file

Caution

Ephemeral filesystems will lose your database on restart. Use libSQL with a remote database or persistent storage.

Health Checks

Add a health check endpoint for load balancers:

src/pages/health.ts

export const GET = () => {
  return new Response("OK", { status: 200 });
};

Configure your platform to check /health for liveness probes.