🚀 Next.js DevOps Project - Complete Guide

📋 What You'll Know

This guide walks through the complete DevOps pipeline I built for containerizing and deploying a Next.js application. No code dumps - just clear explanations of what each component does and how to use them.

🎯 Project Architecture Overview

Next.js App → Docker Container → GitHub Actions → GHCR → Kubernetes (Minikube)

1️⃣ LOCAL DEVELOPMENT SETUP

Prerequisites Installation

# Install Node.js (for local development)
# Install Docker Desktop
# Install Minikube for local Kubernetes
# Install kubectl CLI tool

Running the Application Locally

npm install          # Install dependencies
npm run dev         # Start development server
npm run build       # Build for production  
npm start           # Start production server

Access at: http://localhost:3000

2️⃣ DOCKER CONTAINERIZATION

Docker Strategy Explained

I used a multi-stage build approach for optimal security and performance:

Stage 1: Dependencies - Install only production dependencies
Stage 2: Builder - Build the Next.js application
Stage 3: Runner - Create minimal final image with non-root user

Key Docker Commands

# Build the image
docker build -t nextjs-app .

# Run locally
docker run -p 3000:3000 nextjs-app

# Pull my pre-built image
docker pull ghcr.io/neerajnakka/nextjs-app:latest

3️⃣ CI/CD PIPELINE (GitHub Actions)

Workflow Steps

1. Trigger: On every push to main branch
2. Checkout: Get the latest code
3. Setup: Configure Docker Buildx for better builds
4. Login: Authenticate with GitHub Container Registry
5. Build & Push: Create and upload Docker image with proper tags

Smart Image Tagging

• latest: Always points to most recent stable build
• SHA tags: Unique identifier for each commit (abc123def)
• Branch tags: For testing feature branches

Required Setup

Create GitHub secret GHCR_PAT with write:packages permission

4️⃣ KUBERNETES DEPLOYMENT

Minikube Cluster Setup

# Start your local Kubernetes cluster
minikube start

# Verify everything is running
minikube status
kubectl get nodes

Deployment Configuration

My Kubernetes setup includes:

High Availability: 2 replicas - if one fails, traffic routes to the other
Resource Management: CPU and memory limits to prevent resource hogging
Health Monitoring:

• Liveness Probe: Checks if app is running (after 10s)
• Readiness Probe: Checks if app can accept traffic (after 5s)

Image Policy: Always pull to ensure latest version

Service Exposure

NodePort Service: Exposes app on port 30001 across all cluster nodes

Deployment Commands

# Apply all Kubernetes configurations
kubectl apply -f k8s/

# Check deployment status
kubectl get deployments
kubectl get pods
kubectl get services

5️⃣ ACCESSING YOUR APPLICATION

Method 1: Minikube Service (Easiest)

# Get direct URL to your application
minikube service nextjs-service --url

# Output: http://192.168.49.2:30001
# Open this URL in your browser

Method 2: Manual NodePort Access

# Get cluster IP
minikube ip
# Output: 192.168.49.2

# Access at: http://192.168.49.2:30001

Method 3: Port Forwarding (Development)

# Forward local port to Kubernetes service
kubectl port-forward service/nextjs-service 8080:80
# Access at: http://localhost:8080

6️⃣ MONITORING & TROUBLESHOOTING

Verification Commands

# Check if pods are healthy
kubectl get pods -l app=nextjs

# View application logs
kubectl logs -l app=nextjs

# Check service details
kubectl describe service nextjs-service

# Monitor resource usage
kubectl top pods

Common Issues & Solutions

• Pods not starting: Check kubectl describe pod <pod-name>
• Image pull errors: Verify GHCR permissions
• Service not accessible: Ensure Minikube is running
• Health check failures: Check application logs

🏆 What Makes This Production-Ready

✅ Security: Non-root user in containers
✅ Reliability: Multiple replicas with health checks
✅ Efficiency: Multi-stage Docker builds
✅ Automation: Full CI/CD pipeline
✅ Monitoring: Built-in health probes
✅ Resource Management: CPU/Memory limits
✅ Proper Tagging: Versioned container images

🚀 Quick Deployment Summary

1. Start Minikube: minikube start
2. Deploy Application: kubectl apply -f k8s/
3. Get Access URL: minikube service nextjs-service --url
4. Monitor: kubectl get pods -l app=nextjs

This Next.js application is now running in a production-like Kubernetes environment with automated deployments, health monitoring, and proper resource management!