Does NestJS Work With DigitalOcean?

Fully CompatibleLast verified: 2026-02-20

NestJS runs excellently on DigitalOcean—deploy to App Platform for serverless simplicity or Droplets for maximum control.

Quick Facts

Compatibility

full

Setup Difficulty

Easy

Official Integration

No — community maintained

Confidence

high

Minimum Versions

NestJS: 9.0.0

How NestJS Works With DigitalOcean

NestJS is a TypeScript-first Node.js framework that deploys seamlessly to DigitalOcean's infrastructure. You have two primary paths: DigitalOcean App Platform (PaaS) handles builds and deployments automatically from Git, requiring minimal configuration beyond a simple `app.yaml` file, while Droplets (VPS) give you full control over the runtime environment. NestJS applications are stateless by nature, making them ideal for App Platform's autoscaling, and the framework's built-in dependency injection and modular architecture align well with containerized deployments. Most developers choose App Platform for rapid iteration—you push to Git and it builds/deploys automatically—while Droplets work better for teams needing custom middleware, specific system packages, or cost optimization for stable traffic patterns. DigitalOcean's managed databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis) integrate directly, and the platform provides environment variable management, automatic SSL certificates, and straightforward scaling.

Best Use Cases

→REST APIs with database backends—deploy on App Platform with managed PostgreSQL for automatic scaling

→Microservices architectures—use multiple NestJS services on App Platform with internal networking

→Real-time applications—combine NestJS WebSocket support with App Platform's sticky sessions or Redis pub/sub

→GraphQL backends—NestJS + Apollo graphql with managed databases, easily scaled horizontally

Quick Setup: NestJS on DigitalOcean App Platform

bash

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

typescript

// src/main.ts
import { NestFactory } from '@nestjs/core';
import { AppModule } from './app.module';

async function bootstrap() {
  const app = await NestFactory.create(AppModule);
  const port = process.env.PORT || 8080;
  await app.listen(port, '0.0.0.0');
  console.log(`Server running on port ${port}`);
}
bootstrap();

// app.yaml (in project root)
name: my-nestjs-app
services:
  - name: api
    github:
      repo: your-username/my-nestjs-app
      branch: main
    build_command: npm ci && npm run build
    run_command: npm run start:prod
    envs:
      - key: NODE_ENV
        value: production
    http_port: 8080

Known Issues & Gotchas

warning

App Platform's build timeout (25 min) can fail on large monorepos or slow npm installs

Fix: Use npm ci instead of npm install, cache node_modules, or reduce bundle size with tree-shaking

warning

Droplets require manual Node.js/PM2 setup and SSL certificate renewal if not using App Platform

Fix: Use App Platform to avoid this, or use Let's Encrypt with auto-renewal on Droplets

critical

NestJS file uploads to local filesystem are lost on App Platform redeploys (stateless)

Fix: Use DigitalOcean Spaces (S3-compatible object storage) instead of local fs for uploads

info

Cold starts on App Platform when scaling from zero can add 5-10 seconds latency

Fix: Keep minimum instances >= 1 in production or use Droplets for guaranteed responsiveness

Alternatives

•Express.js on AWS Elastic Beanstalk—more mature AWS ecosystem but steeper learning curve
•Fastify on Heroku—simpler deployment but less scalable and higher operational cost
•Koa on Railway—modern alternative with better developer experience but smaller community

Resources

docsNestJS Official Documentation docsDigitalOcean App Platform Docs tutorialDeploying NestJS to DigitalOcean docsDigitalOcean Spaces (File Storage)

Related Compatibility Guides

FastAPI + DigitalOcean Django + DigitalOcean NestJS + UploadThing NestJS + Resend NestJS + Playwright NestJS + GraphQL

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