Deployment

Codemation supports a clean progression from a zero-setup local runtime to a shared production deployment.

Local default

The generated app starts with:

• embedded Postgres via PGlite
• an inline scheduler
• one process running the UI and runtime together

That is the right default when you are learning the framework, building the first workflows, or iterating quickly on one machine.

Shared database setup

When you are ready for shared environments or multiple processes, switch to PostgreSQL.

Typical environment setup:

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@127.0.0.1:5432/codemation

Then run migrations:

pnpm exec codemation db migrate

Queue-backed workers

When you want dedicated worker processes, add Redis and queue-backed scheduling:

REDIS_URL=redis://127.0.0.1:6379
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@127.0.0.1:5432/codemation

Start the web process:

pnpm exec codemation serve web

Start a worker process:

pnpm exec codemation serve worker

Important compatibility rule

BullMQ requires a shared PostgreSQL database.

Do not pair BullMQ with the local embedded PGlite setup.

Decision guide

Use the local default when:

• you are developing alone
• one process is enough
• you want the shortest path to first success

Use PostgreSQL when:

• multiple instances need the same database
• you want shared staging or production environments
• you are moving beyond a single machine

Use BullMQ workers when:

• workflows are long-running or bursty
• you want work offloaded from the web process
• you want clearer production separation between request handling and execution

The runtime switch in config

The starter template already points at this progression:

const useRedisRuntime = Boolean(process.env.REDIS_URL);
const databaseUrl = process.env.DATABASE_URL?.trim();

database: useRedisRuntime
  ? { kind: "postgresql" as const, url: databaseUrl! }
  : { kind: "pglite" as const, pgliteDataDir: ".codemation/pglite" };

scheduler: {
  kind: useRedisRuntime ? ("queue" as const) : ("inline" as const),
  queuePrefix: "codemation-starter",
  workerQueues: ["default"],
  redisUrl: process.env.REDIS_URL,
}

Recommended next pages

1. Architecture
2. On New Gmail Trigger node
3. Create a custom node