Run Next.js Apps on Kubernetes/GKE (Bonus: GitHub CI/CD!)

If you want to deploy your Next.js application to Kubernetes or Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), you’ve come to the right place. In this tutorial, we’ll walk through the steps of running your Next.js app on a Kubernetes cluster, and we’ll also set up a GitHub CI/CD pipeline to automate the deployment process.

Prerequisites

• Basic knowledge of Next.js and Kubernetes
• A Google Cloud Platform (GCP) account
• A GitHub account

Step 1: Set up a Kubernetes cluster on GKE

First, log in to your GCP account and navigate to the GKE dashboard. Create a new cluster and follow the instructions to set it up. Make sure to configure the necessary settings such as the number of nodes, machine type, and networking options.

Step 2: Dockerize your Next.js app

In order to run your Next.js app on Kubernetes, you’ll need to containerize it using Docker. Create a Dockerfile in the root of your Next.js project and define the necessary instructions to build the container image.

Step 3: Push the Docker image to a container registry

After building the Docker image, push it to a container registry such as Google Container Registry (GCR). This will allow the Kubernetes cluster to pull the image when deploying your app.

Step 4: Configure Kubernetes manifests

Create Kubernetes manifests (YAML files) to define the deployment, service, and any other resources needed to run your Next.js app on the cluster. These manifests will specify the Docker image to use, environment variables, and networking configurations.

Step 5: Set up GitHub CI/CD pipeline

Now that your Next.js app is ready to be deployed to Kubernetes, it’s time to set up a GitHub CI/CD pipeline to automate the deployment process. Create a GitHub Actions workflow file in your project’s repository to define the steps for building and deploying the app to GKE.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can run your Next.js app on a Kubernetes cluster, and automate the deployment process using a GitHub CI/CD pipeline. This approach allows for seamless and efficient deployment of your Next.js app, and makes it easy to scale and manage the application in a Kubernetes environment.