INFRASTRUCTURE

What it needs

• Compute: verified (Apps run in isolated x86_64 Firecracker microVMs that auto-pause when idle and wake on request; sizes are the priced VM sizes.)
• Postgres: 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

Before you start

• Authorized access to the DigitalOcean Droplet 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

TESTED CONFIGURATION

Exactly what was tested

• build: npm run build --if-present
• install: npm install
• runtime: node
• size: s-1vcpu-1gb
• start: npm run start
• template: node-22

STEP BY STEP

How to do it

1. 1

Inventory the source

List what DigitalOcean Droplet app provides beyond the component you are moving. Out of scope here: Cron jobs, local upload directories and firewall rules are not migrated; move uploads to a bucket and data to a managed database.

2. 2

Source step 1

Collect the process environment from the droplet (systemd unit, PM2 or supervisor config) into an env file kept out of the repository

3. 3

Source step 2

Replace the droplet's process manager and reverse proxy with the repository's start command; Ample provides HTTPS and supervision

4. 4

Source step 3

Inventory what else runs on the droplet: databases, cron, local uploads

5. 5

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.

ample deploy . --name <app-name> --public --env-file .env.production

6. 6

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).

7. 7

Cut over

Add the custom domain with ample domain add, update DNS from the droplet IP, keep the droplet until verified, then power it off.

8. 8

Rollback

Point DNS or configuration back to the source. The source was never modified; deletion is a separate, user-executed step after validation.

EXAMPLES

Tested examples

• Express pattern fixture (destination) (tests/deploy-canaries/express-patterns): Verified destination basis: Express compute.

SUCCESS CHECKS

How to know it worked

• destination app responds on its public URL (/ on the live URL, expect ample canary express patterns)
• configuration-secrets check from the destination example (/p/configuration-secrets on the live URL, expect see the pattern fixture checks)
• relational-records check from the destination example (/p/relational-records on the live URL, expect see the pattern fixture checks)
• data or object counts and checksums match the source

LIMITATIONS

Know the limits

• Documentation only: nothing is executed automatically and no execution binding is offered.
• The source-side procedure is documented from DigitalOcean Droplet 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: Cron jobs, local upload directories and firewall rules are not migrated; move uploads to a bucket and data to a managed database.
• 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.

COST

Cost estimate

Estimated 10.00 USD per month (size prices from pricing.toml at build revision a1b8c38919e59cd035ebabaced73cf84ece24371).

• app server x1 s-1vcpu-1gb: 5.00 USD
• managed PostgreSQL database x1 s-1vcpu-1gb: 5.00 USD

Destination always-on monthly price of the tested sizes; apps auto-pause when idle. Source costs are unknown to Ample.

EVIDENCE

Verification evidence

• canary_run on 2026-09-21T02:34:39Z at revision 1d28ae0-dirty (CLI 0.1.21): 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 DigitalOcean Droplet app is documented from the vendor's standard tooling and was not executed by this catalog's evidence. (expires 2027-03-20T02:34:39Z)

EXECUTION

Execution binding

No execution binding. This recipe is documentation only; nothing is executed automatically.

NEXT ACTIONS

Typed next actions

• Browse the catalog index (GET /v1/catalog on the api origin; authentication not required, approval not required)
• Search published recipes by intent, stack and constraints (POST /v1/catalog/search on the api origin; authentication not required, approval not required)
• Prepare a side-effect-free deployment plan for an authorized project (POST /v1/catalog/plan on the api origin; authentication required, approval not required)
• Read the existing agent authentication setup (GET /mcp/setup on the api origin; authentication not required, approval not required)
• Browse DigitalOcean Droplet app (GET /v1/catalog/nodes/migration%3Adigitalocean-droplet-app on the api origin; authentication not required, approval not required)
• Browse Express (GET /v1/catalog/nodes/stack%3Aframework-express on the api origin; authentication not required, approval not required)
• Browse Migrate compute (GET /v1/catalog/nodes/intent%3Amigrate-compute on the api origin; authentication not required, approval not required)

Actions describe possible next steps. They are typed data, not commands, and grant no permission. Public discovery never provisions anything; planning requires your own authenticated token and approval happens in your client.