This is BASH (runs in Linux terminal). this is basically what you run on the ubuntu server to ensure everything is installed and configured correctly. Off course changing "example.com" etc. w

Next.js on AWS Lightsail Setup Guide

As of February 17, 2026, Lightsail has both Node.js and Node.js packaged by Bitnami blueprints. For a Next.js app, the cleanest setup is:

Linux/Unix -> OS Only -> Ubuntu 24
Run Next.js with next start on port 3000
Put nginx in front as reverse proxy on 80/443

This gives you full control and predictable paths.

Where to put your Next.js app

Recommended (OS-only Ubuntu): /var/www/nextapp
If you choose Lightsail Node.js blueprint: deploy to /var/www/html/
If you choose Node.js packaged by Bitnami: use /opt/bitnami/projects/<app>

Terminal guide (Ubuntu 24 OS-only blueprint)

# 1) Base packages
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y nginx git curl build-essential
 
# 2) Node.js 20
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs
 
# 3) App folder
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/nextapp
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/nextapp
cd /var/www/nextapp
 
# 4) Get your code (pick one)
git clone <your-repo-url> .
# OR copy files with scp/rsync from local machine
 
# 5) Enable pnpm + install + build
# (use sudo here because Node from apt often needs root to create /usr/bin/pnpm shim)
sudo corepack enable
corepack prepare pnpm@latest --activate
# fallback if pnpm is still not available
command -v pnpm >/dev/null 2>&1 || sudo npm install -g pnpm@latest
 
# install dependencies from package.json (this includes next/react/react-dom if already defined)
pnpm install
# install Next.js packages if missing
pnpm ls next >/dev/null 2>&1 || pnpm add next react react-dom
pnpm run build

If pnpm install is Killed on a small instance, add swap and retry:

sudo fallocate -l 2G /swapfile
sudo chmod 600 /swapfile
sudo mkswap /swapfile
sudo swapon /swapfile
echo '/swapfile none swap sw 0 0' | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab
pnpm install
pnpm run build

If next build fails with build worker exited ... SIGABRT, run a lower-memory build:

rm -rf .next
NODE_OPTIONS="--max-old-space-size=1536" pnpm exec next build --no-lint

If it still fails, increase instance RAM (or build in CI/local and deploy artifacts).

Create a service so app auto-starts on reboot:

sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/nextapp.service > /dev/null << 'EOF'
[Unit]
Description=Next.js app
After=network.target
 
[Service]
Type=simple
User=ubuntu
WorkingDirectory=/var/www/nextapp
Environment=NODE_ENV=production
Environment=PORT=3000
ExecStart=/usr/bin/env pnpm start
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
 
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF
 
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now nextapp
sudo systemctl status nextapp

Configure nginx reverse proxy:

sudo tee /etc/nginx/sites-available/nextapp > /dev/null << 'EOF'
server {
  listen 80;
  server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;
 
  location / {
    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
    proxy_http_version 1.1;
    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
    proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
  }
}
EOF
 
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/nextapp /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/nextapp
sudo rm -f /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Enable HTTPS:

sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com

In Lightsail console, also do this:

Attach a Static IP
Open firewall ports: 22, 80, 443
Point DNS A record to the static IP