Web Applications - Complete Guide

Overview

The Web Applications service allows you to deploy and manage web apps built with popular frameworks like Next.js, React, Vue, Node.js, Python, Ruby, PHP, and more. Your apps are automatically built, deployed, and scaled based on traffic.

Access Path: /dashboard/compute/web-services

Viewing Your Web Services

Web Services List Page

When you navigate to /dashboard/compute/web-services, you’ll see:

Search & Filter

• Search box at the top - Search by service name, URL, or framework
• Results update as you type

Service Cards

Each deployed service displays as a card showing:

• Service Name - The name you gave your application
• Git Repository - Shown as owner/repo (e.g., mycompany/my-app)
• Status Badge - Current state:
  • 🟢 Running - Service is live and healthy
  • 🟡 Deploying - Build/deployment in progress
  • 🔴 Failed - Deployment or runtime error
  • ⚪ Stopped - Service is not running
• Last Deployed - Relative time (e.g., “Deployed 2 days ago”)
• Service URL - Click to visit your live application

Actions

• New Service button (top right) - Deploy a new application
• Click any card - Open the service details page

Deploying a New Application

Click New Service to start the deployment wizard.

Managing Your Application

Click on any service card to open the service details page.

Service Details Header

Service Name & Status

• Large service name at the top
• Status badge showing current state
• Last updated timestamp

Primary Actions

• Restart - Stop and start the service without rebuilding
  • Use this to apply environment variable changes
  • Quick recovery from runtime issues
• Rebuild & Deploy - Trigger a full rebuild from source
  • Pulls latest code from your branch
  • Runs the complete build process
  • Use after pushing new code (if auto-deploy is disabled)

Service Tabs

Overview Tab

Service URL

• Your application’s public URL
• Click Visit Site to open in a new tab
• Example: https://my-app-abc123.scalenodes.app

Repository Information

• Repository: Full GitHub URL (clickable link)
• Branch: Currently deployed branch
• Build Style: Framework/build type
• Directory: Source code directory path

Resources

• Plan: Current pricing plan name
• vCPU: Allocated CPU cores
• RAM: Allocated memory
• Storage: Disk space available
• Upgrade Plan button - Change to a different plan

Timeline

• Created: When the service was first deployed
• Updated: Last deployment or configuration change
• Deleted: (Only shown if service is being deleted)

Variables Tab

Manage environment variables for your application.

Viewing Variables

• List of all environment variables
• Name column shows variable names
• Value column shows values (masked by default)
• Click the eye icon to show/hide values

Adding Variables

• Click Add Variable
• Enter name and value in the new row
• Click Save Changes to apply

Editing Variables

• Click on any value field to edit
• Modify the value
• Click Save Changes to apply

Deleting Variables

• Click the trash icon next to any variable
• Click Save Changes to apply

Actions

• Save Changes - Apply all modifications (green button)
• Discard - Revert to the last saved state (gray button)

Deployments Tab

View your deployment history and status.

Deployment List

Each deployment shows:

• Commit Message - The Git commit message
• Commit Hash - Short commit SHA (e.g., a1b2c3d)
• Time - When the deployment occurred (relative time)
• Status:
  • ✅ Success - Deployment completed successfully
  • ⏳ In Progress - Currently deploying
  • ❌ Failed - Deployment failed (check logs)
• External Link - Click to view commit on GitHub (if available)

Actions

• Refresh button - Reload the deployment list
• Click on a deployment to view detailed logs (if available)

Auto-Deployment

• New deployments are triggered automatically when you push to your configured branch
• Manual deployments can be triggered via Rebuild & Deploy button

Monitoring Tab

View real-time logs from your application.

Log Types

Switch between log sources:

• Deploy Logs - Deployment and runtime logs
  • Application startup messages
  • Runtime errors and warnings
  • HTTP request logs
• Build Logs - Build process logs
  • Dependency installation
  • Build command output
  • Build errors and warnings

Log Viewer Features

• Search - Filter logs by message or timestamp
• Refresh button - Reload latest logs
• Auto-scroll - Automatically scrolls to newest logs
• Timestamps - Each log entry shows exact time

Using Logs

• Check build logs if deployment fails
• Monitor deploy logs for runtime errors
• Search for specific error messages
• Copy log entries for debugging

Settings Tab

Configure your service settings.

General Settings

Service Name

• Edit your service’s display name
• Click Save to update

Configure Your Build

GitHub Installation

• Change which GitHub account/org to use
• Useful if you transferred the repository

Repository

• Switch to a different repository
• Type to search your available repos

Branch

• Change the deployment branch
• Useful for staging/production workflows

Directory

• Update the source code directory path
• Default: /

Framework / Build Style

• Change the detected framework
• Useful if auto-detection was incorrect

Save Build Configuration

• Click Save to apply changes
• Important: Saving triggers an immediate rebuild and deployment

GitHub CI Integration

Toggle GitHub CI

• Enable/disable GitHub Actions integration
• When enabled, deployments can be triggered via GitHub webhooks
• Useful for custom CI/CD pipelines

Danger Zone

Delete Service

• Permanently delete this service
• Click Delete Service button
• Type the service name to confirm
• Warning: This action cannot be undone
• All data, logs, and configurations will be lost

Common Workflows

Deploying Updates

git add .
git commit -m "Update homepage design"
git push origin main

Troubleshooting Failed Deployments

Scaling Your Application

Best Practices

Security

• ✅ Use environment variables for all secrets and API keys
• ✅ Never commit .env files to Git
• ✅ Rotate API keys and passwords regularly
• ✅ Use HTTPS for all external API calls

Performance

• ✅ Enable caching where possible
• ✅ Optimize images and assets
• ✅ Use CDN for static files
• ✅ Monitor logs for slow queries or endpoints

Deployment

• ✅ Test builds locally before pushing
• ✅ Use staging branches for testing
• ✅ Review build logs after each deployment
• ✅ Keep dependencies up to date

Monitoring

• ✅ Check logs regularly for errors
• ✅ Set up external monitoring (e.g., UptimeRobot)
• ✅ Monitor resource usage
• ✅ Plan capacity upgrades in advance

Troubleshooting

Service Won’t Start

Symptoms: Status shows “Failed” or keeps restarting

Solutions:

1. Check Deploy Logs for startup errors
2. Verify all required environment variables are set
3. Ensure your app listens on the correct port (usually process.env.PORT)
4. Check for syntax errors in your code

Deployment Stuck

Symptoms: Status shows “Deploying” for a long time

Solutions:

1. Wait 10-15 minutes (large builds take time)
2. Check Build Logs for progress
3. If truly stuck, contact support with your service ID

Environment Variables Not Working

Symptoms: App can’t access environment variables

Solutions:

1. Verify variables are saved in Variables tab
2. Restart the service (required after variable changes)
3. Check variable names match exactly (case-sensitive)
4. For client-side variables, ensure they’re prefixed correctly (e.g., NEXT_PUBLIC_ for Next.js)

Custom Domain Not Working

Symptoms: Custom domain shows errors or doesn’t load

Solutions:

1. Verify DNS records are correctly configured
2. Allow 24-48 hours for DNS propagation
3. Check domain status in Domains section
4. Ensure domain is pointed to ScaleNodes nameservers

Next Steps

• Custom Domains - Connect your own domain
• Environment Variables Best Practices - Secure configuration management
• Monitoring & Logs - Advanced monitoring techniques
• Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions