Installation on cPanel

This guide covers a typical cPanel hosting environment with Setup Node.js App, Application Manager, or a similar Node application interface.

1. Create the Node application

In cPanel:

1. Open the Node.js application manager.
2. Create a new application.
3. Select Node.js 22 if available.
4. Set Production mode.
5. Set the Application root to the Portfolio repository directory.
6. Attach the required domain/subdomain.
7. Configure the application startup method according to the provider's Node/Passenger integration.

The exact UI differs by hosting company.

2. Upload or clone the repository

Using SSH/Terminal:

git clone https://github.com/drnecrotix/Portfolio.git
cd Portfolio

For updates:

git checkout main
git pull --ff-only

3. Configure environment variables

Define production variables in the cPanel Node application environment.

Example:

NODE_ENV=production
NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL=https://your-domain.example
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://USER:PASSWORD@HOST:5432/DATABASE?schema=public
AUTH_SECRET=your-long-production-secret

If the hosting plan has a small PostgreSQL connection limit, consider the project's shared-hosting settings:

connection_limit=1&pool_timeout=20

Add integration-specific secrets separately.

Never place secrets in Git-tracked source files.

4. Install dependencies

npm ci

5. Prepare Prisma

npx prisma generate
npx prisma validate
npx prisma migrate status
npx prisma migrate deploy

Use migrate deploy in production.

6. Run preflight

npm run production:preflight

Fix missing variables before building.

7. Build

Try the standard build:

npm run build

If the hosting provider uses a CloudLinux/N0C-like environment where native SWC fails, the repository includes:

npm run build:n0c

8. Restart the application

Use the cPanel Restart Application action after:

• changing environment variables;
• pulling a new release;
• rebuilding;
• deploying migrations when the application needs a fresh process.

9. Verify

Check:

• public Home;
• Blog;
• Projects;
• Gallery;
• Admin login;
• Media Library;
• database connectivity;
• server error log;
• Admin Updater version.

Common cPanel problems

Wrong Application root

If cPanel points to a parent/old directory, the Node process can run another copy of the site while SSH commands are executed elsewhere.

Confirm the exact application root before deployment.

Environment variable visible in shell but not in app

The Node manager may have its own environment. Configure variables there and restart the application.

HTTP 500 after enabling Node app

Check:

• startup configuration;
• .htaccess or Apache proxy rules;
• Node version;
• build output;
• application logs;
• missing environment variables.

Build killed because of memory

Shared cPanel hosting may have a build memory limit. Possible solutions:

• build during lower load;
• use the provider-supported compatible Node version;
• use npm run build:n0c when the problem is SWC-specific;
• upgrade the hosting resource limit if the process is genuinely OOM-killed.

Database connection exhaustion

Use the shared Prisma singleton already present in the project and keep connection pool settings appropriate for the host.

Production update checklist

git checkout main
git pull --ff-only
npm ci
npx prisma generate
npx prisma migrate deploy
npm run production:preflight
npm run build

Use npm run build:n0c instead of the normal build only when the hosting environment requires it. Restart the application afterward.