Deploy
A live Tolk site is one Node server (the site and its admin together), a database and a folder for uploaded files. The repository's Dockerfile builds that server into an image that runs on any platform that runs containers.
What every deployment needs:
| The server | The Docker image, or pnpm build and pnpm start on Node 22. One long-running process. |
| A database | MongoDB 7 or later, or PostgreSQL. See The database. |
| Uploads | A persistent folder (a volume) at /app/uploads in the image. |
| Settings | DATABASE_URL, PAYLOAD_SECRET and NEXT_PUBLIC_SERVER_URL, plus any optional service. See Environment variables. |
| HTTPS | A reverse proxy or the platform's own, in front of port 3000. |
| Background jobs | Run by the server itself, once a minute. See Background jobs. |
- The Docker image: build it, run it, and try it locally with Docker Compose.
- On a server or a platform: a walkthrough for a VPS, Coolify, Railway and similar platforms.
- On Vercel: uploads on Vercel Blob, a hosted database, and the background jobs on Vercel Cron.
- Background jobs: scheduled publishing and other later work, and running it from outside.
- The database: MongoDB or PostgreSQL, and migrations.
- Live demo: the demo site as a public demo anyone may log in to, reset every night.