How to Deploy a NestJS App on Vercel – The Simple Guide (Deploy API on Vercel)

Want to deploy your NestJS backend on Vercel? Great choice! Vercel is super fast and easy to use, and it supports serverless apps out of the box. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get your NestJS app live in minutes.

What You’ll Need

Node.js installed
A NestJS project (nest new my-app)
A GitHub account
A Vercel account

Step 1: Create Your NestJS App

If you haven’t created your app yet:

npm i -g @nestjs/cli
nest new my-app
cd my-app

Step 2: Add vercel.json File

In the root of your project, create a file called vercel.json.

{
  "version": 2,
  "builds": [
    {
      "src": "src/main.ts",
      "use": "@vercel/node"
    }
  ],
  "routes": [
    {
      "src": "/(.*)",
      "dest": "src/main.ts",
      "methods": ["GET", "POST", "PUT", "PATCH", "DELETE"]
    }
  ]
}

This tells Vercel how to build and route your app.

Step 5: Deploy to Vercel

Option A: With Vercel CLI
Install Vercel CLI:

npm i -g vercel

Run:

vercel .

Follow the prompts — done!

Option B: Through GitHub

Push your code to GitHub.
Go to vercel.com, click “New Project”.
Import your repo, and Vercel handles the rest.

That’s It!
Your NestJS app is now deployed on a URL like:

https://your-project-name.vercel.app

Tips

Use .env for secrets → add them in Vercel's settings.
Keep api/index.ts minimal — it’s your serverless function.
Use vercel dev to test locally like production.

Regards,
N I Rimon

Nurul Islam Rimon @nurulislamrimon