**Primary keywords:** strapi hosting, deploy strapi, strapi cms hosting, headless cms hosting, strapi cloud deployment
---
Strapi is the leading open-source headless CMS built on Node.js. deploy react app git pushApex Weave It auto-generates REST and GraphQL APIs from your content models, includes a rich admin panel, and supports multiple databases. Self-hosting Strapi gives you full control over your data and customization capabilities that hosted CMS platforms don't offer. This guide covers deploying Strapi to production cloud hosting.
## Why Self-Host Strapi?
cheap managed wordpress hosting Strapi's official cloud service works, but self-hosting on ApexWeave offers:
- **Cost control:** You pay for compute, not per-seat or per-content-request
- **Full customization:** Custom plugins, middlewares, and lifecycle hooks without limits
- **Data ownership:** Your database, your backups, your control
- **Integration flexibility:** Connect any database, any third-party service
## Strapi Production Requirements
Strapi needs specific configuration for production:
- `NODE_ENV=production` — changes internal behavior (disables admin creation without config)
- `APP_KEYS`, `API_TOKEN_SALT`, `ADMIN_JWT_SECRET`, `JWT_SECRET` — security keys
- `DATABASE_URL` — production database
- Admin panel assets must be built (`npm run build`)
- File uploads need a cloud storage provider (S3, Cloudinary) — local disk storage doesn't persist across deploys
## Project Configuration
### config/server.js
```javascript
module.exports = ( env ) => (
host: env('HOST', '0.0.0.0'),
port: env.int('PORT', 1337),
app:
keys: env.array('APP_KEYS'),
,
webhooks:
populateRelations: env.bool('WEBHOOKS_POPULATE_RELATIONS', false),
,
);
```
### config/database.js
```javascript
module.exports = ( env ) =>
const client = env('DATABASE_CLIENT', 'postgres');
const connections =
postgres:
connection:
connectionString: env('DATABASE_URL'),
ssl: env.bool('DATABASE_SSL', false) ? rejectUnauthorized: false : false,
,
,
;
return
connection:
client,
...connections[client],
acquireConnectionTimeout: env.int('DATABASE_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT', 60000),
,
;
;
```
### config/middlewares.js
```javascript
module.exports = [
'strapi::errors',
name: 'strapi::security',
config:
contentSecurityPolicy:
useDefaults: true,
directives:
'connect-src': ["'self'", 'https:'],
'img-src': ["'self'", 'data:', 'blob:', 'https://your-s3-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com'],
'media-src': ["'self'", 'data:', 'blob:', 'https://your-s3-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com'],
upgradeInsecureRequests: null,
,
,
,
,
'strapi::cors',
'strapi::poweredBy',
'strapi::logger',
'strapi::query',
'strapi::body',
'strapi::session',
'strapi::favicon',
'strapi::public',
];
```
### package.json
```json
"scripts":
"develop": "strapi develop",
"start": "strapi start",
"build": "strapi build"
```
### Procfile
```
web: npm run build && npm start
```
Or if you want to separate build from start:
```
web: npm start
release: npm run build
```
## Deploying to ApexWeave
```bash
apexweave login
# Required security keys (generate with openssl rand -base64 32)
apexweave env:set APP_KEYS=$(openssl rand -base64 32),$(openssl rand -base64 32)
apexweave env:set API_TOKEN_SALT=$(openssl rand -base64 32)
apexweave env:set ADMIN_JWT_SECRET=$(openssl rand -base64 32)
apexweave env:set JWT_SECRET=$(openssl rand -base64 32)
# Database
apexweave env:set DATABASE_CLIENT=postgres
apexweave env:set DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:pass@host:5432/strapi_db
apexweave env:set DATABASE_SSL=true
# Application
apexweave env:set NODE_ENV=production
apexweave env:set HOST=0.0.0.0
apexweave deploy
```
## File Upload Configuration (AWS S3)
Local disk uploads won't work with cloud deployments — files would disappear on redeploy. php app git deployment Use S3:
```bash
npm install @strapi/provider-upload-aws-s3
```
```javascript
// config/plugins.js
module.exports = ( env ) => (
upload:
config:
provider: 'aws-s3',
providerOptions:
s3Options:
region: env('AWS_REGION'),
params:
Bucket: env('AWS_BUCKET'),
,
,
,
actionOptions:
upload: ,
uploadStream: ,
delete: ,
,
,
,
);
```
```bash
apexweave env:set AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-key
apexweave env:set AWS_ACCESS_SECRET=your-secret
apexweave env:set AWS_REGION=us-east-1
apexweave env:set AWS_BUCKET=your-strapi-uploads
```
## Accessing the Admin Panel
After deployment, access the admin panel at `https://yourapp.apexweave.app/admin`. On first deployment, register the first admin user at `/admin/auth/register-admin`.
## Creating Content Types via API
Once deployed, use Strapi's Content-Type Builder in the admin, or create types programmatically:
```javascript
// src/api/article/content-types/article/schema.json
"kind": "collectionType",
"collectionName": "articles",
"info":
"singularName": "article",
"pluralName": "articles",
"displayName": "Article"
,
"attributes":
"title": "type": "string", "required": true ,
"body": "type": "richtext" ,
"slug": "type": "uid", "targetField": "title" ,
"publishedAt": "type": "datetime"
```
## Consuming the Strapi API
```typescript
// Your frontend consuming Strapi's API
const API = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_STRAPI_URL;
async function getArticles()
const res = await fetch(`$API/api/articles?populate=*`,
headers:
Authorization: `Bearer $process.env.STRAPI_API_TOKEN`,
,
);
return res.json();
```
## Streaming Logs
```bash
apexweave logs --follow
```
Strapi logs admin actions, API requests, and database queries here.
## SSH Access
```bash
apexweave ssh
# Check Strapi version
npx strapi version
# Run Strapi CLI commands
npx strapi console
```
## Custom Domain
```bash
apexweave domain:add cms.yourdomain.com
```
Update `APP_URL` if needed:
```bash
apexweave env:set URL=https://cms.yourdomain.com
```
## Plan Recommendations
Strapi's admin panel and content API require meaningful resources:
- **AppForge Starter ($5/mo):** Small Strapi instances, personal sites, prototypes
- **AppForge Pro ($10/mo):** Production Strapi with moderate content editors and API traffic
- **AppForge XL ($15/mo):** High-traffic Strapi APIs, large content teams, media-heavy CMS
## Your CMS, Your Data
Strapi's self-hosted model means your content, user data, and media files live where you control them. Pair it with ApexWeave's managed PostgreSQL hosting for a fully self-contained headless CMS stack.
Start your **free 7-day ApexWeave trial** today. ApexWeave platform Deploy Strapi with `apexweave deploy` and have your headless CMS running on HTTPS in minutes. ApexWeave cloudfast wordpress cloud hosting