Deploying Next.js Applications to AWS Amplify

As a Cloud Engineer, I often get asked about the easiest way to host scalable front-end applications. AWS Amplify is my go-to solution for Next.js deployments because of its seamless integration with Git and robust backend capabilities.

Why Amplify?

• CI/CD Built-in: Connect your GitHub repository, and it builds on every push.
• Feature Branch Deployments: Automatically create preview environments for pull requests.
• SSR Support: Full support for Next.js Server Side Rendering.

Step 1: Prepare Your Application

Ensure your next.config.js is clean. Amplify Gen 2 handles most configurations automatically, but for static builds, you might set:

/** @type {import('next').NextConfig} */
const nextConfig = {
  output: 'standalone',
}

module.exports = nextConfig

Step 2: Configure Build Settings

In the AWS Console, when you connect your repository, Amplify uses a YAML specification. Here is a robust configuration for a Next.js app:

version: 1
frontend:
  phases:
    preBuild:
      commands:
        - npm ci
    build:
      commands:
        - npm run build
  artifacts:
    baseDirectory: .next
    files:
      - '**/*'
  cache:
    paths:
      - node_modules/**/*

Step 3: Environment Variables

Never hardcode secrets. Go to App settings > Environment variables in the Amplify console to set your API keys:

• NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL: https://api.production.com
• DATABASE_URL: postgres://...

Monitoring and Logs

Amplify provides integrated CloudWatch logs. If a build fails, checking the Provision and Build logs is your first step to debugging.

Deploying to the cloud doesn't have to be complex. With Amplify, you get the power of AWS with the simplicity of a managed service.