page:recipes:ai chat application:nestjs:persistent state

Host AI Chat Application with NestJS: Postgres-backed State

Summary

Deploy an AI chat application built with NestJS on Ample using the durable job state pattern. Compute runs the app in an isolated microVM behind a public HTTPS URL, a managed PostgreSQL 16 database is auto-provisioned and injected as DATABASE_URL. Verified on NestJS: a jobs table with a state and attempts counter, processing inside a row-locked transaction, and a second run that is a no-op (job=done attempts=1 idempotent=true). Not separately tested: your job types, payload schema and retry policy; treat the AI chat application-specific behavior as your application code.

Representative Queries

• Host AI chat application with NestJS: Postgres-backed state
• Where can I host AI chat application built with NestJS?
• I need a durable state schema and retry/recovery semantics implemented by application code.

Resource Requirements

• primitive:compute
• primitive:postgres

Infrastructure Requirements

1. Compute: 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: 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

• A NestJS project that builds and starts with the documented commands (npm install, nest build (TypeScript) then node dist/main.js on the node-22 template)
• A PostgreSQL driver reading DATABASE_URL at runtime (auto-provisioned when omitted, or supplied with --env)
• An Ample account token with servers:write, databases:read

Tested Configuration

• Template: node-22
• Runtime: node
• Size: s-1vcpu-1gb
• Install: npm install
• Build: npm run build --if-present
• Start: npm run start

Input Schema

{
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "properties": {
    "env": {
      "description": "Encrypted environment variables (bucket credentials, secrets)",
      "items": {
        "pattern": "^[A-Z][A-Z0-9_]*=.*$",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "maxItems": 50,
      "type": "array"
    },
    "name": {
      "description": "App name",
      "maxLength": 63,
      "minLength": 1,
      "pattern": "^[a-z0-9-]+$",
      "type": "string"
    },
    "path": {
      "description": "Project directory or ample.toml service",
      "maxLength": 512,
      "minLength": 1,
      "type": "string"
    },
    "release_command": {
      "description": "Migration command run before activation",
      "maxLength": 512,
      "type": "string"
    }
  },
  "required": ["name", "path"],
  "type": "object"
}

Workflow Steps

1. Build and Start: npm install, nest build (TypeScript) then node dist/main.js on the node-22 template. The server must bind 0.0.0.0 on PORT.
2. Implement the Pattern on PostgreSQL: The fixture's module implements durable job state: a jobs table with a state and attempts counter, processing inside a row-locked transaction, and a second run that is a no-op (job=done attempts=1 idempotent=true). Copy the approach into your schema; keep migrations idempotent and run them with --release-command.
3. Deploy: Run the synchronous deploy once and read the result (exit 0 live, 1 failed, 2 blocked). Re-running with no change is a no-op. Command: ample deploy . --name --public.
4. Verify: Fetch the live URL and the pattern self-test route(s) (/p/durable-job-state) from the example; then run your own checks. On failure read ample logs --kind build then --kind runtime.

Success Checks

• App responds on its public URL: Kind: http_get, Path: /, Expect: ample canary nestjs patterns
• Durable-job-state self-test: Kind: http_get, Path: /p/durable-job-state, Expect: job=done attempts=1 idempotent=true

Limitations

• Verified on the node-22 template at s-1vcpu-1gb with the example fixture; other sizes, templates and NestJS major versions are not verified.
• The AI chat application itself (your job types, payload schema and retry policy) is application code and was not separately tested; the pattern checks are what was verified.
• Region, compliance attestations and request-duration limits are unknown and not claimed.
• Apps auto-pause when idle and wake on the next request; always-on is an operator setting, not a plan feature.
• Managed PostgreSQL 16 only; extensions, connection limits and backup or restore procedures are not verified; apps and their databases are placed together.

Cost Estimate

• Currency: USD
• Monthly Amount: 10.0
• Note: Always-on monthly price of the tested sizes; apps and databases auto-pause when idle. Buckets are allocation-priced per quota and not included.

Evidence Summary

• Kind: canary_run
• Summary: NestJS pattern fixture deployed on Ample (npm install, nest build (TypeScript) then node dist/main.js on the node-22 template); checks passed for durable-job-state and configuration-secrets. Pattern proof: a jobs table with a state and attempts counter, processing inside a row-locked transaction, and a second run that is a no-op (job=done attempts=1 idempotent=true).
• Observed At: 2026-09-21T02:34:39Z
• Implementation Revision: 1d28ae0-dirty (CLI 0.1.21)
• Expires At: 2027-03-20T02:34:39Z

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