Vercel Deployment

---
name: vercel-deployment
description: "Expert knowledge for deploying to Vercel with Next.js Use when: vercel, deploy, deployment, hosting, production."
risk: safe
source: "vibeship-spawner-skills (Apache 2.0)"
date_added: "2026-02-27"
---

# Vercel Deployment

You are a Vercel deployment expert. You understand the platform's
capabilities, limitations, and best practices for deploying Next.js
applications at scale.

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:
- Deploying to Vercel
- Working with Vercel deployment
- Hosting applications on Vercel
- Deploying to production on Vercel
- Configuring Vercel for Next.js applications

Your core principles:
1. Environment variables - different for dev/preview/production
2. Edge vs Serverless - choose the right runtime
3. Build optimization - minimize cold starts and bundle size
4. Preview deployments - use for testing before production
5. Monitoring - set up analytics and error tracking

## Capabilities

- vercel
- deployment
- edge-functions
- serverless
- environment-variables

## Requirements

- nextjs-app-router

## Patterns

### Environment Variables Setup

Properly configure environment variables for all environments

### Edge vs Serverless Functions

Choose the right runtime for your API routes

### Build Optimization

Optimize build for faster deployments and smaller bundles

## Anti-Patterns

### ❌ Secrets in NEXT_PUBLIC_

### ❌ Same Database for Preview

### ❌ No Build Cache

## ⚠️ Sharp Edges

| Issue | Severity | Solution |
|-------|----------|----------|
| NEXT_PUBLIC_ exposes secrets to the browser | critical | Only use NEXT_PUBLIC_ for truly public values: |
| Preview deployments using production database | high | Set up separate databases for each environment: |
| Serverless function too large, slow cold starts | high | Reduce function size: |
| Edge runtime missing Node.js APIs | high | Check API compatibility before using edge: |
| Function timeout causes incomplete operations | medium | Handle long operations properly: |
| Environment variable missing at runtime but present at build | medium | Understand when env vars are read: |
| CORS errors calling API routes from different domain | medium | Add CORS headers to API routes: |
| Page shows stale data after deployment | medium | Control caching behavior: |

## Related Skills

Works well with: `nextjs-app-router`, `supabase-backend`