page:migrate:railway app:express

Migrate Railway app: Express

Move Express compute from Railway app to Ample, one component at a time. Destination verified on Ample: the app built, started and answered on its public HTTPS URL with encrypted configuration delivered.
Source procedure: Export variables from the Railway service (Variables tab or railway variables) into an env file kept out of the repository. Not migrated automatically: Railway cron schedules, volumes and private networking are not migrated; persistent data belongs in a managed database, a bucket or an Ample volume.
Cutover: Add the custom domain with ample domain add, update DNS from the Railway target, keep the Railway service until verified, then remove it.
Rollback: keep the source untouched until you confirm; nothing at the source is changed or deleted by this guide.

Representative Queries

Migrate Railway app: Express
Where can I host Express built with Express?
I need a component-scoped export/import or reconfiguration procedure for Express, with compatibility checks, verification and rollback.

Resource and Infrastructure Requirements

Resource Requirements:
- primitive:compute
- primitive:postgres
Infrastructure Requirements:
1. Compute (status: verified)
  - Apps run in isolated x86_64 Firecracker microVMs that auto-pause when idle and wake on request; sizes are the priced VM sizes.
2. Postgres (status: verified)
  - Managed PostgreSQL 16 runs in its own microVM and is auto-provisioned when an app needs a database and no DATABASE_URL is supplied.

Prerequisites

Authorized access to the Railway app source and its export tooling
An inventory of every component in scope and out of scope
A validated backup or copy before any cutover
An Ample account token with servers:write, databases:read

Workflow Steps

Inventory the source
List what Railway app provides beyond the component you are moving. Out of scope here: Railway cron schedules, volumes and private networking are not migrated; persistent data belongs in a managed database, a bucket or an Ample volume.
Source step 1
Export variables from the Railway service (Variables tab or railway variables) into an env file kept out of the repository.
Source step 2
Translate railway.json/Nixpacks settings into the repository's build and start commands; Ample detects Node and Python builds itself.
Source step 3
Note Railway-only features in use: cron schedules, volumes, private networking, templates.
Deploy on Ample in parallel
npm install, npm run build --if-present, npm run start on the node-22 template. Pass the exported variables with --env; keep the source running.
Validate before cutover
Run the app's own checks and, for data, compare counts and checksums; the example checks are the pattern self-tests (/p/configuration-secrets, /p/relational-records).
Cut over
Add the custom domain with ample domain add, update DNS from the Railway target, keep the Railway service until verified, then remove it.
Rollback
Point DNS or configuration back to the source. The source was never modified; deletion is a separate, user-executed step after validation.

Cost Estimate

Currency: USD
Monthly Amount: $10.00
Components:
- app server (s-1vcpu-1gb) - $5.00/month
- managed PostgreSQL database (s-1vcpu-1gb) - $5.00/month
- Note: Destination always-on monthly price of the tested sizes; apps auto-pause when idle. Source costs are unknown to Ample.

Limitations

Documentation only: nothing is executed automatically and no execution binding is offered.
The source-side procedure is documented from Railway app's standard tooling and was not executed in this catalog's evidence; the destination side was verified with the pattern fixture.
No full source-product parity is claimed: Railway cron schedules, volumes and private networking are not migrated; persistent data belongs in a managed database, a bucket or an Ample volume.
Verified on the node-22 template at s-1vcpu-1gb; region, compliance and request-duration limits are unknown.
Managed PostgreSQL 16 only; extensions, connection limits and backup or restore procedures on the managed side are not verified beyond the pattern checks.

Evidence Summary

Destination side verified: the Express pattern fixture deployed on Ample (npm install, npm run build --if-present, npm run start on the node-22 template) and its checks passed (the app built, started and answered on its public HTTPS URL with encrypted configuration delivered). The source-side export from Railway app is documented from the vendor's standard tooling and was not executed by this catalog's evidence.