How I set up a fully automated CI/CD pipeline for my Next.js portfolio without crashing my VPS
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Building a Next.js application on a memory-constrained VPS was becoming a nightmare. Every time I wanted to add a blog post or make a small change, the build process would eat up all available RAM and sometimes crash the server. Here's how I solved it with GitHub Actions.
My Oracle Cloud (OCI) VPS has limited resources:
Next.js builds are memory-hungry, requiring 2-4GB during compilation. Running npm run build would:
Instead of building on my VPS, I offloaded the heavy lifting to GitHub's infrastructure:
Local Changes → GitHub → GitHub Actions Build → Docker Hub → VPS Deploy
For local builds when needed:
#!/bin/bash
# Temporarily adds 4GB swap, builds, then cleans up
sudo /opt/portfolio/build-with-swap.sh
This prevents VPS crashes during manual builds.
Created .github/workflows/build-and-deploy.yml:
Instead of using root for deployments, created a dedicated deployer user:
sudo /opt/portfolio/create-deploy-user.sh
Security benefits:
Made the Docker image private while keeping the GitHub repo public:
Adding a blog post is now simple:
cd /opt/portfolio
nano content/blog/my-new-post.mdx
git add .
git commit -m "Add blog post about automation"
git push
Then:
No more:
Potential enhancements I'm considering:
This setup has been a game-changer for my development workflow. I can now focus on creating content and improving features without worrying about infrastructure limitations.
The best part? Everything runs on free tiers:
If you're running a portfolio or blog on a budget VPS, I highly recommend this approach. Your server will thank you!
Questions? Feel free to check out my portfolio repository to see the complete setup!