Deploy to Vercel

Vercel is the fastest way to deploy ContentAI. A fresh deploy takes under two minutes and fits comfortably in the free tier for most users.

Option 1 — Vercel CLI

1. Install the CLI

pnpm add -g vercel

2. Log in

vercel login

3. Deploy

From the project root:

vercel

The CLI walks you through linking the project. For subsequent deploys:

vercel --prod

Option 2 — Vercel Dashboard (git-based)

1. Push to a Git provider

git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial ContentAI setup"
git remote add origin git@github.com:<you>/ai-content-generator.git
git push -u origin main

2. Import on Vercel

Go to vercel.com/new
Import the repository
Accept defaults — Vercel detects Next.js automatically
Click Deploy

Environment variables

ContentAI does not require any environment variables by default — API keys are entered by users in Settings and stored in their browsers.

Optional environment variables if you want server-side fallback keys (for shared-key deployments):

Variable	Purpose
`GROQ_API_KEY`	Fallback Groq key when user hasn't set one
`GOOGLE_GENERATIVE_AI_API_KEY`	Fallback Google key
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	Fallback OpenAI key
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Fallback Anthropic key

Set these in Project Settings → Environment Variables.

Don't ship shared keys without auth

If you set a fallback API key, anyone on the internet who can reach your /api/generate endpoint can use it — for free, at your cost. Add auth and rate limiting first (see Security).

Custom domain

After the first deploy:

Vercel Dashboard → your project → Settings → Domains
Add your domain and follow DNS instructions
HTTPS is provisioned automatically

Preview deployments

Every branch push gets a unique preview URL. Share it with teammates to test template changes or new providers before merging.

Monitoring

Enable Vercel Analytics and Speed Insights in the project settings — both have free tiers that cover most ContentAI deployments.

Build configuration

Vercel auto-detects Next.js. The default settings work out of the box:

Framework Preset: Next.js
Build Command: next build (or pnpm build)
Output Directory: .next
Install Command: pnpm install

If you use a monorepo, set the Root Directory to the folder containing ai-content-generator.

const config = {
  reactStrictMode: true,
  typedRoutes: true, 
};

Or disable strict route types in tsconfig.json.

Build times out

Upgrade to Vercel Pro, or check for infinite loops in server code. ContentAI's build typically finishes in under 60 seconds.

Next: Deploy to Netlify →