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ProBot is a standard Next.js 14 app - anywhere that runs Node 20 will run ProBot. Vercel is the primary target because it co-locates the serverless functions for /api/* with the static assets and is free for personal use.
1

Fork and import

Fork the repo, then on Vercel pick Add New → Project and import the fork.
2

Set env vars

Add the following in Project Settings → Environment Variables:
NameExample value
DATABASE_URLpostgresql://user:pass@host:5432/probot
NEXTAUTH_SECRET<openssl rand -base64 32>
NEXTAUTH_URLhttps://probot.vercel.app (your assigned domain)
Do not set any LLM API key env vars. Keys live in user browsers.
3

Deploy

Vercel auto-detects Next.js. First deploy applies the build; runtime errors surface in Deployments → [deploy] → Functions.
4

Run migrations

Vercel doesn’t run migrations automatically. Either:
  • Locally: point DATABASE_URL at the production database in .env.local and run npm run db:migrate, or
  • Postdeploy hook: add a script that runs migrations as part of your build (advanced).
5

Verify

Hit https://<your-domain>/register, create an account, walk the bot factory.

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Render, Fly.io, Railway

Same shape as Vercel - all three run Node 20 and Postgres. Build command: npm run build. Start command: npm start. Set the three env vars above.

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AWS Lightsail (Node.js blueprint)

Free credit covers a year on a 1 GB instance - fine for small-scale self-hosting. 
# on the Lightsail node
git clone https://github.com/vishalpatil18/probot.git
cd probot
npm ci
echo "DATABASE_URL=…" > .env.local
echo "NEXTAUTH_SECRET=…" >> .env.local
echo "NEXTAUTH_URL=https://your-domain" >> .env.local
npm run db:migrate
npm run build
pm2 start npm --name probot -- start
Use Lightsail’s load balancer + cert manager for TLS, or front it with Nginx.

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Docker

One-command self-host is tracked for Stage 7 (see Roadmap). Until then, here’s a minimal Dockerfile shape:
Dockerfile
FROM node:20-alpine AS deps
WORKDIR /app
COPY package.json package-lock.json ./
RUN npm ci

FROM node:20-alpine AS build
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=deps /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY . .
RUN npm run build

FROM node:20-alpine AS runtime
WORKDIR /app
ENV NODE_ENV=production
COPY --from=build /app/.next ./.next
COPY --from=build /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY --from=build /app/package.json ./package.json
COPY --from=build /app/public ./public
COPY --from=build /app/drizzle ./drizzle
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["npm", "start"]
Pair with docker-compose.yml that wires postgres:16 alongside.

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Database choices

Any Postgres 13+ works (needs gen_random_uuid(), available via pgcrypto).
HostFree tier?Notes
SupabaseYes - 2 free projects, 500MB eachRecommended. Same Postgres you can self-host locally.
NeonYes - generous free tierBranch-per-deploy is nice for previews.
Render PGYes - small free tier
Local DockerFreepostgres:16 works; not for production traffic.

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Environment variables reference

Required:
VariablePurpose
DATABASE_URLPostgres connection string; used by Drizzle + pg.Pool
NEXTAUTH_SECRETJWT signing secret for NextAuth. Generate with openssl rand -base64 32
NEXTAUTH_URLCanonical URL for callback construction (e.g. https://probot.vercel.app)
Forbidden - do not set:
  • ANTHROPIC_API_KEY / OPENAI_API_KEY / AZURE_OPENAI_KEY. ProBot is BYO-key; setting these server-side defeats the whole model. The key path explicitly reads x-llm-api-key from the request header and does not fall back to env.

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Troubleshooting

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npm run db:migrate fails with “function gen_random_uuid() does not exist”

Your Postgres is missing pgcrypto. Run as a superuser: 
CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS pgcrypto;

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NextAuth redirect loop

NEXTAUTH_URL doesn’t match the host the browser is actually using. Set it to the exact origin (no trailing slash).

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Chat returns 502 provider_unavailable

The provider rejected the request. Check the browser network tab for the response body - invalid_llm_key means the pasted key was wrong; provider_unavailable with no further detail usually means the provider is down or the model id is wrong.

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Tests fail locally

npm run test
should print 260 passing. If anything fails, file an issue with the full output - see CONTRIBUTING.md.