Deploy guides

Deploy a Cursor app to Render

Free static sites and free (sleeping) web services for side projects.

Step by step

  1. Check your project type

    • Static / SPA (Vite, Astro, plain HTML): Build produces a folder of HTML/JS/CSS (dist/, build/, out/).
    • Next.js / SSR framework: next.config.* or a server adapter.
    • Long-running server (Express, FastAPI, bots, websockets): A start command like node server.js or uvicorn that must keep running.

  2. Get the code onto GitHub

    • Create a GitHub repo and push (Cursor's Source Control panel or git in the terminal).

  3. Create the project on Render

    Render Dashboard → New → Static Site (or Web Service for a server), connect GitHub, pick the repository.

  4. Check the build settings

    Vite static site: build command npm run build, publish directory dist.

    For Cursor: build command Whatever package.json says (usually npm run build), output Depends on framework.

  5. Add environment variables before the first build

    In Render: Service → Environment. Copy these from Cursor:

    • Everything in your local .env — never commit it; add each value in the host dashboard.

    Changed a value later? Rebuild. Vite bakes variables in at build time. Troubleshoot missing env vars

  6. Make page refreshes work (Vite / React Router single-page apps)

    Dashboard → Redirects/Rewrites (or render.yaml) 
    # Dashboard rule: Source /*  Destination /index.html  Action Rewrite
routes:
  - type: rewrite
    source: /*
    destination: /index.html

    Server-rendered projects (TanStack Start, Next.js) don't need this. Render docs (opens in a new tab)

  7. Update login redirect URLs

    Add your new Render URL (and later your custom domain) to your auth provider's allowed URLs. Redirect troubleshooting

  8. Add your domain

    Service → Settings → Custom Domains → Add. Hobby includes 2 custom domains (then $0.25/domain/month).

What it will cost

Free tier Hobby workspace $0: free static sites + free 512 MB web service that sleeps after 15 min idle. Paid from $7/mo: Paid compute from $7/month (0.5 CPU, 512 MB). Pro workspace: $25/month + compute. Checked 17 Oct 2026 on Render's pricing page (opens in a new tab).

  • Free web services sleep — the first visitor after a quiet period waits about a minute.
  • Free Postgres is deleted after the 30-day expiry + 14-day grace period unless you upgrade.

Other options for Cursor