Deployment

Getting code from your laptop onto the internet

⏱ Est. ~6 min

01 · Read

You've built your app, and it runs great on your laptop. But nobody else can use it — it's just files on your machine. Deployment is the process of moving your code from your laptop to a server so the whole world can access it.

Think of it like writing a book. You finished the manuscript (your code), and now you ship it to a publisher (the hosting service) who prints it and puts it on bookstore shelves (the internet). Until you deploy, your app is just a private manuscript that only you can read.

Key points

Deployment = making your app available to real users on the internet
Your code moves from your laptop to a server that's always running
Popular hosting services: Vercel, Netlify, AWS, Heroku, GitHub Pages
Modern deployment is usually automated — push code, and it goes live

02 · Step-through

Here are the typical steps for deploying a modern web app.

1. 1. Code on your laptop

You write and test your app locally. It runs on your machine, but only when your computer is on, and only you can use it.

2. 2. Push to GitHub

You push your code to a GitHub repository. This puts your code in a central place a hosting service can access. GitHub is the middleman between your laptop and the server.

3. 3. The hosting service pulls your code

Your hosting service (like Vercel or Netlify) is connected to your GitHub repo. It detects when new code is pushed and automatically pulls the latest version.

4. 4. Build and Run

The hosting service installs dependencies, builds your app (compiling TypeScript, bundling files, optimizing images), and then runs it on their server.

5. 5. Public URL goes live

Your app gets a public URL, like myapp.vercel.app or yourname.github.io. Anyone in the world can visit that URL and use your app. It's live 24/7.

03 · Quiz

What is deployment?

Writing code on your laptop
Moving your code to a server so the world can access it
Testing your app locally
Buying a domain name

04 · Read

Modern deployment is almost like magic compared to how it used to be. Engineers used to manually copy files to servers via FTP. Today, most teams use auto-deployment (also called continuous deployment, or CD).

Here's how it works: you connect your GitHub repo to a hosting service like Vercel or Netlify. Then every time you push code to GitHub, the hosting service automatically detects the change, builds your app, and deploys the new version. Push to GitHub, and your site updates within seconds.

05 · Quiz

Your app runs perfectly on localhost:3000, but nobody else can use it. What's the missing step?

You need to write more tests
You need to buy a domain first
You need to deploy it to a hosting service
You need to rewrite it in another language

06 · Fill in the blank

With auto-deployment, every time you push code to GitHub, the hosting service automatically _____ your app.

Other lessons in this chapter

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