How to Host NestJS Applications

Introduction

To develop and host on Square Cloud, it’s essential to follow a structured sequence of configurations and prerequisites. This technical guide will cover the entire process, from initial setup to production deployment.

Prerequisites

Square Cloud Account: Register through the signup page using your email.
Active Paid Plan: Ensures dedicated resources and optimized performance for your application. Check our available plans and choose the most suitable for your needs.

Creating project

To create a NestJS application, you need to have Node.js and npm installed on your system before following the steps.

CLI installation

To use the NestJS command line interface (CLI), you need to install it globally on your system. Run the following command:

npm install -g @nestjs/cli

This command installs the @nestjs/cli package globally on your system, allowing you to use the nest command from anywhere in your terminal.

Developing project

To create a new NestJS project, run the following command:

nest new my-app

In this command, nest new my-app is used to create a new NestJS project. The nest new command is a tool that comes with nest, the NestJS CLI (Command Line Interface). It is used to initialize a new NestJS application. my-app is the name of the new application. This command creates a new directory called my-app and sets up the necessary files and dependencies for a basic NestJS application. After generating the NestJS project with the nest new my-app command, the file you need to modify to change the port is main.ts. This file is located at the root of your project directory, inside the src folder.

import { NestFactory } from '@nestjs/core';
import { AppModule } from './app.module';

async function bootstrap() {
  const app = await NestFactory.create(AppModule);
  await app.listen(80); // Change the port number here to 80
}
bootstrap();

Port 80 is the default port for HTTP traffic.
You can start your development server with the following command:

npm run start:dev

Building project

NestJS uses TypeScript, so you must compile your TypeScript code to JavaScript before running your application. You can compile your application by running the following command:

npm run build

This command executes the build script defined in your package.json file, which in turn runs the nest build command. This command compiles your TypeScript code to JavaScript.
After running this command, the compiled JavaScript files will be located in the dist directory of your project. These files are what you will use to run your application in a production environment.
The main file to run your application will be dist/main.js.

Deploying

After preparing your project files, you can now upload them to Square Cloud and host your project. To do so, create a ZIP file containing all your project files.

Via dashboard

Access the Upload Page

Access the upload page and upload your project zip file.

Configure Your Environment

After uploading your zip, you will need to configure the name, main file or runtime environment and other settings for your project.
If you are uploading a web project, make sure to select “Web Publication” and set a subdomain to your project.

Deploy Your Project

Finally, click on the “Deploy” button to host your project on Square Cloud.
After deployment, you can monitor your project’s status and logs from the dashboard.

Confirm Your App Is Live

Your first deploy usually takes less than a minute. In the dashboard, wait for your application status to show as running and check the logs for any startup errors.
If you deployed a website or API, open https://<your-subdomain>.squareweb.app in your browser — you should see your application responding. If you deployed a bot, send it a command to confirm it is online.

App not starting? See the Troubleshooting guide for the most common causes and fixes.

Via CLI

To use this method, you need to create a config file named squarecloud.app in the root directory of your project. This file will contain the necessary configuration for your project.

Configuration file guide

Learn how to create the squarecloud.app configuration file that defines your application’s environment.

Install the CLI

First, you need to have the CLI installed in your environment. If you don’t have it yet, run the following command in your terminal:

npm install -g @squarecloud/cli

If you already have it, we recommend updating it. To do this, run the following command in your terminal:

Windows
Linux, macOS, and WSL

squarecloud update

curl -fsSL https://cli.squarecloud.app/install | bash

Authenticate

Now, to authenticate and use other CLI commands, you will find your authorization key here by clicking on “Request API Key”. After obtaining your authorization key, run the following command:

squarecloud auth login

Upload Your Project

Finally, to deploy your application to Square Cloud using the CLI, you need to run the following command:

squarecloud upload

Or if you created the zip manually, you can use:

squarecloud upload --file <path/to/zip>

Confirm Your App Is Live

Your first deploy usually takes less than a minute. Check your application status and logs directly from the terminal:

squarecloud app status
squarecloud app logs

If you deployed a website or API, open https://<your-subdomain>.squareweb.app in your browser — you should see your application responding. If you deployed a bot, send it a command to confirm it is online.

App not starting? See the Troubleshooting guide for the most common causes and fixes.

Troubleshooting

Custom Domain

To use a custom domain (e.g., mysite.com) instead of the default URL mysite.squareweb.app, you need the Standard plan or higher. The subdomain is defined by the SUBDOMAIN field in the configuration file.

Minimum RAM Requirements

Minimum: 512MB RAM for simple websites/APIs. For sites with frameworks (Next.JS, React, Vue, Angular, etc.), we always recommend at least 1GB RAM. For larger applications, allocate more RAM to prevent the application from running out of memory and crashing.

Could not find this site.

Check if the subdomain/domain matches what’s configured in the SUBDOMAIN field or in the custom domain settings. If you just uploaded the site, wait up to 60 seconds for Square to enable first access.

Site took too long to respond…

Check if you correctly configured port 80 and host 0.0.0.0 in the application. We recommend using Square’s forced environment variables: PORT and HOST from the .env file.

Additional Resources

For more information about NestJS and its tools, visit the official NestJS documentation. There, you will find detailed guides, tutorials, and API documentation to help you make the most of NestJS.

Contact us

If you continue facing technical difficulties, our specialized support team is available to assist you. Contact us and we’ll be happy to help you resolve any issue — support quality is a big part of why developers rate Square Cloud 4.9/5 across 402 reviews on Google and Trustpilot.

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How to Host NestJS Applications

Introduction

Prerequisites

Creating project

CLI installation

Developing project

Building project

Deploying

Via dashboard

Via CLI

Configuration file guide

Troubleshooting

Custom Domain

Minimum RAM Requirements

Could not find this site.

Site took too long to respond…

Additional Resources

Contact us

​Introduction

​Prerequisites

​Creating project

​CLI installation

​Developing project

​Building project

​Deploying

​Via dashboard

​Via CLI

Configuration file guide

​Troubleshooting

​Custom Domain

​Minimum RAM Requirements

​Could not find this site.

​Site took too long to respond…

​Additional Resources

​Contact us

Introduction

Prerequisites

Creating project

CLI installation

Developing project

Building project

Deploying

Via dashboard

Via CLI

Troubleshooting

Custom Domain

Minimum RAM Requirements

Could not find this site.

Site took too long to respond…

Additional Resources

Contact us