## The short version

You do not need to hand-configure a server to deploy a React app. Ample inspects the project, runs its production build, and publishes the result using the runtime the project needs. A Vite React app is usually a static deployment, while a Next.js or custom React server uses a Node runtime.

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## Before you start

This guide is for React builders who can run the app locally but do not want to configure a VM, reverse proxy, certificate, and release process themselves.

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## How to do it

1. **Confirm the React project type**  
   Check package.json and the framework config. Vite, Next.js, and custom Node servers have different production outputs even though they all use React.

2. **Run a production build locally**  
   Use the project's existing build script. Fix missing imports, type errors, and required public environment variables before deploying.
   
   ```
   npm run build
   ```

3. **Let Ample plan the runtime**  
   The plan records whether the app is static or needs Node, along with any linked API or database.
   
   ```
   ample plan --write
   ```

4. **Deploy**  
   Apply the plan and wait for the public URL. The platform activates the release after its health check succeeds.
   
   ```
   ample up
   ```

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## What this supports

### Good fit
- Vite React static sites  
- Next.js React applications  
- React frontends linked to a separate API  
- npm, pnpm, yarn, and bun projects

### Know the limits
- React alone does not identify the production runtime  
- Browser-visible environment variables are public and must not contain secrets  
- Workspace projects with internal packages should deploy from the workspace root

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## Common failure modes

### The browser loads an empty root
Check asset paths, client errors, and the built output rather than relying only on the development server.

### The frontend calls localhost
Inject the deployed API URL through a framework-appropriate public environment variable or Ample link.

### A workspace package cannot be resolved
Deploy from the workspace root and keep the workspace lockfile and sibling package available to the build.