Deploy a Bun application on DigitalOcean

DigitalOcean is a cloud platform that provides a range of services for building and deploying applications.

This guide deploys a Bun HTTP server to DigitalOcean using a Dockerfile.

1. Create a new DigitalOcean Container Registry

   Create a new Container Registry to store the Docker image.

   Through the DigitalOcean dashboardThrough the DigitalOcean CLI

   In the DigitalOcean dashboard, go to Container Registry, and enter the details for the new registry.

   

   Make sure the details are correct, then click Create Registry.

   You should see the new registry in the DigitalOcean registry dashboard:

   

2. Create a new Dockerfile

   Create a new Dockerfile in the root of your project. This file contains the instructions to initialize the container, copy your local project files into it, install dependencies, and start the application.

   DockerfileCopy

   # Use the official Bun image to run the application
   FROM oven/bun:debian
   
   # Set the work directory to `/app`
   WORKDIR /app
   
   # Copy the package.json and bun.lock into the container
   COPY package.json bun.lock ./
   
   # Install the dependencies
   RUN bun install --production --frozen-lockfile
   
   # Copy the rest of the application into the container
   COPY . .
   
   # Expose the port (DigitalOcean will set PORT env var)
   EXPOSE 8080
   
   # Run the application
   CMD ["bun", "index.ts"]
   

   Create a new .dockerignore file in the root of your project. It lists the files and directories to exclude from the container image, such as node_modules. Excluding them keeps builds faster and smaller:

   .dockerignoreCopy

   node_modules
   Dockerfile*
   .dockerignore
   .git
   .gitignore
   README.md
   LICENSE
   .vscode
   .env
   # Any other files or directories you want to exclude
   

3. Authenticate Docker with DigitalOcean registry

   Before building and pushing the Docker image, authenticate Docker with the DigitalOcean Container Registry:

   terminalCopy

   doctl registry login
   

   TextCopy

   Logging Docker in to registry.digitalocean.com
   Notice: Login valid for 30 days. Use the --expiry-seconds flag to set a shorter expiration or --never-expire for no expiration.
   

4. Build and push the Docker image to the DigitalOcean registry

   Make sure you're in the directory containing your Dockerfile, then build and push the Docker image to the DigitalOcean registry in one command:

   terminalCopy

   docker buildx build --platform=linux/amd64 -t registry.digitalocean.com/bun-digitalocean-demo/bun-digitalocean-demo:latest --push .
   

   Once the image is pushed, you should see it in the DigitalOcean registry dashboard:

   

5. Create a new DigitalOcean App Platform project

   In the DigitalOcean dashboard, go to App Platform > Create App. You can create a project directly from the container image.

   

   Make sure the details are correct, then click Next.

   

   Review and configure resource settings, then click Create app.

   

6. Visit your live application

   Your app is now live. Once the app is created, you should see it in the App Platform dashboard with its public URL.