Render Deployment

Render provides a simple platform for deploying Cortex with managed PostgreSQL.

Prerequisites

• A Render account
• A GitHub repository with Cortex code
• A Neon or external PostgreSQL database

Steps

1. Create a Web Service

1. Log in to render.com
2. Click New → Web Service
3. Connect your GitHub repository
4. Configure:
   • Name: cortex
   • Runtime: Node
   • Build Command: npm install && npm run build
   • Start Command: npm run start

2. Set Environment Variables

In the Render dashboard, go to Environment and add:

DATABASE_URL=your-neon-connection-string
AUTH_SECRET=generate-with-openssl-rand-base64-32
AUTH_URL=https://your-app.onrender.com
AUTH_GITHUB_ID=your-github-client-id
AUTH_GITHUB_SECRET=your-github-client-secret
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-your-openai-key
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=https://your-app.onrender.com
NODE_ENV=production

3. Deploy

Click Create Web Service. Render will build and deploy your app.

4. Run Migrations

After deployment, open the Render shell and run:

npm run db:generate
npm run db:migrate

Custom Domain

1. Go to Settings → Custom Domains
2. Add your domain
3. Update AUTH_URL and NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL to match

Free Tier

Troubleshooting