Publish to other hosts

By default, Publish puts your app on MonstarX’s own hosting at your-app.monstarx.app — the simplest choice, and the right one for most people. Some teams need the app to run in their own cloud account: company policy, an existing contract, or wanting the bill in their own name. MonstarX can deploy to six hosts for you.

Which host should I choose?

Host	Where the app runs	You connect	Its database
MonstarX (default)	MonstarX’s cloud, at your-app.monstarx.app	Nothing	MonstarX Cloud
Cloudflare	Your Cloudflare account, at a workers.dev address or one of your domains	An API token	A new database on your Cloudflare account
Vercel	Your Vercel account	An access token (and a team ID if you use one)	Stays on MonstarX
Google Cloud	Cloud Run in your Google Cloud project	A service account key and a region	Stays on MonstarX
Railway	Your Railway project, built from GitHub	An API token, project ID and environment ID	Stays on MonstarX, or moves to Railway Postgres
Azure	Azure App Service in your subscription	A service principal (tenant, client ID, secret, subscription)	Stays on MonstarX
AWS	ECS on Fargate in your AWS account	A setup stack you create from MonstarX’s template	Stays on MonstarX

“Stays on MonstarX” means the app keeps using the database, sign-in, email, file storage and AI it already has — only where the app’s pages run changes. Nothing is copied or moved unless the table says so.

Where do I connect a host?

All six are under Backend›Cloud, in the connectors list. Click Connect on the one you want.

Once one is connected, the Publish menu offers it under Other connected hosting, at the bottom of the menu: Deploy to Cloud Run, Deploy to Railway, Open Vercel, Azure hosting or AWS. (Cloudflare is different: it takes over the normal Publish site button.)

Caution

Your own cloud account bills you directly for hosting — some (like AWS and Azure) charge even when nobody visits the app. Check the host’s pricing before you deploy.

Your own Cloudflare account

Connect a Cloudflare API token in Backend›Cloud›Cloudflare and switch on Run this app on my Cloudflare. From then on the normal Publish site button deploys to your account: the app, its database and the bill are all yours. The live database starts empty and gets every table; the preview keeps its own practice data. The app answers at a workers.dev address, or at one of your own Cloudflare domains.

Full guide: Run your app on your own Cloudflare account.

Vercel

1. In Backend›Cloud, click Connect on Vercel. The Publish with Vercel window opens.

   

2. Create an access token in your Vercel account settings (it must be able to create deployments and manage projects), paste it, add a Team ID if the app belongs to a team, and click Connect Vercel.

3. Optionally link an existing Vercel project by its ID or name. Otherwise a new one is created on the first deploy.

4. Click Deploy preview to try it, or Deploy production to go live. The window shows the latest deployment’s status and a link to it.

In the same window you can add domains to the Vercel project (Vercel shows the DNS record to add, then Verify DNS) and manage Environment variables. Your MonstarX secrets are copied to Vercel on every deploy, so redeploy after changing them. Later, reopen the window from Publish›Other connected hosting›Open Vercel. Disconnect removes MonstarX’s access; your Vercel project stays online.

Google Cloud Run

1. In Google Cloud, create a service account for MonstarX and give it these roles: Cloud Run Admin, Cloud Build Editor, Artifact Registry Administrator, Storage Admin, and Service Account User. Download its JSON key.

2. In Backend›Cloud, click Connect on Google Cloud, paste the key, and enter a Cloud Run region (for example australia-southeast1).

3. Open Publish, expand Other connected hosting and click Deploy to Cloud Run.

MonstarX builds the app into a container in your project and runs it on Cloud Run, at Google’s own run.app address. The app keeps its MonstarX database; for Firestore and Firebase’s own sign-in and storage, connect Firebase as well. Unpublish deletes the Cloud Run service but leaves its build files and images in your Google Cloud project.

Railway

1. Link the project to a GitHub repository first — Railway builds from it. See GitHub.

2. In Railway, create an account or workspace token (a project token cannot create services), and copy your project ID and environment ID.

3. In Backend›Cloud, click Connect on Railway and paste them.

4. Open Publish, expand Other connected hosting and click Deploy to Railway. MonstarX syncs the repository, then Railway builds and deploys it. The status updates while the Publish menu is open.

Railway can also hold your app’s data in Railway Postgres — see Railway. Unpublish removes the app’s Railway service; a Railway Postgres database stays.

Azure

Connect a service principal with Contributor access to your Azure subscription: its Tenant ID, Application (client) ID, Client secret, Subscription ID and an Azure region, then Verify and connect. Open Publish›Other connected hosting›Azure hosting and click Deploy to Azure.

MonstarX creates a resource group, a Basic B1 Linux App Service plan and a web app for it. Deploy latest version updates it, Open Azure app visits it, and Remove Azure app deletes the app and its plan from Azure.

AWS

AWS hosting works for apps MonstarX built (not imported apps), and connecting it takes a few more steps because MonstarX never asks for AWS passwords or access keys:

1. In Backend›Cloud, click Connect on AWS and choose a region.

2. Click Download setup template, open AWS CloudFormation in that region, and create a stack from it with the exact Stack name shown. Acknowledge the named IAM roles.

3. When the stack finishes, paste its RoleArn output into Deployment role ARN and click Verify and connect AWS.

4. Open Publish›Other connected hosting›AWS and click Deploy to AWS.

The app runs on ECS Fargate (0.5 vCPU, 1 GB memory, one or two copies) behind AWS’s HTTPS address. Your account needs a default network (VPC) with public subnets in at least two availability zones. Deploy latest version releases a new version, Restore previous deployment goes back one release (database changes are not undone), and Stop AWS hosting removes the app. Setup resources, images and secrets stay in your account until you remove the setup stack yourself.

Good to know

• Cloud Run and Railway wait for MonstarX hosting to stop. While the app is live on MonstarX’s hosting, the Deploy to Cloud Run and Deploy to Railway buttons wait; unpublish first to move there.
• Custom domains bought or connected in MonstarX’s Publish menu apply to MonstarX hosting. On your own Cloudflare account, pick one of your Cloudflare domains in its settings; on Vercel, add domains in the Vercel window; on the other hosts, use the host’s own domain settings.
• Prefer to do it yourself? Export your code and deploy it anywhere.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need another host?

No. MonstarX hosting works out of the box, with a free address and HTTPS. Other hosts are for teams that need the app in their own cloud account.

Does my data move when I deploy to another host?

No. The app keeps its database, sign-in, email, files and AI where they are. Only Cloudflare (a new database on your account) and Railway Postgres (if you add it) change where data lives.

Who pays for the hosting?

The host bills your own account for the hosting it provides.

Can I deploy an imported app to AWS?

Not yet. AWS hosting supports apps MonstarX built. Imported apps can use the other hosts or be exported.

What happens if I disconnect a host?

MonstarX loses access. For Vercel, the Vercel project stays online. MonstarX refuses to disconnect Cloudflare, Google Cloud or AWS while the app is still live there — take it down first.

Related

Your own Cloudflare accountRun the app, its database and domain on your Cloudflare.

ConnectorsAll the services an app can connect to.

Export your codeDownload the app and host it anywhere.

Publish your appThe one-click default.