Node and Next.js

Framework	Detected by	Started with
Next.js	next.config.js/.mjs/.ts, or next in package.json	next start
Node	package.json with a start script	npm run start

If package.json has a build script, it runs during the deploy.

The contract

Listen on PORT, bound to HOST. Toft sets both.

app.listen(process.env.PORT, process.env.HOST);

Pass HOST. app.listen(port) alone binds every interface, where on an install that runs apps on its own host the app can be reached without going through Toft’s sign-in. The build warns about it on every Node deploy.

Your app is served under /apps/<slug>. For a plain Node app the proxy strips that prefix, so routes stay at /, but URLs you send to the browser must carry it. BASE_PATH holds it. See Base paths.

Next.js needs nothing. Toft sets basePath in your Next config before the build, merged over whatever your config exports.

Dependencies

Repository has	Toft runs
package-lock.json	npm ci
no package-lock.json	npm install

Only package-lock.json is honored. With a pnpm-lock.yaml or yarn.lock, versions resolve from package.json, and the build log names the lockfile it passed over.

Caution

Dependency lifecycle scripts (postinstall and similar) don’t run unless your administrator has enabled them for the whole install. Move that work into your build script.

A front end with no server

A Vite, Create React App or Astro project with no start script has nothing to run. Commit the build output and serve it as a static site, or add a server and a start script.

Version

toft.toml

[runtime]
node = ">=22"

Node is matched on the major version. See Language versions. engines.node and .nvmrc are not read; a tree that pins only there gets a node_version_unread warning.

What doesn’t work

• Dev servers as start: next dev, vite, nodemon.
• Writing into your app’s directory and expecting it to persist. A restart replaces the tree; use app storage.