---
title: 'Deploy Astro on AWS'
description: 'Deploy Astro applications on AWS using static hosting with S3 and CloudFront, serverless SSR with Lambda, or containerized SSR with ECS Fargate.'
---

import { Tabs, TabItem, Aside } from '@astrojs/starlight/components';
import PatternList from '../../../components/docs/PatternList.astro';
import FrameworkHero from '../../../components/docs/FrameworkHero.astro';

<FrameworkHero name="Astro" title={frontmatter.title} />
Deploy your [Astro](https://astro.build/) applications to AWS using Thunder. Choose the pattern that fits your app's needs.

## Available Patterns

<PatternList patterns={["static", "fargate", "serverless"]} />

## Prerequisites

<Aside type="note" title="Before you begin">
- [AWS CDK](https://aws.amazon.com/cdk/) installed globally: `npm install -g aws-cdk`
- Node.js 20 or higher
- [AWS credentials](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/cli-configure-files.html) configured
- AWS environment bootstrapped: `cdk bootstrap aws://YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID/us-east-1`
</Aside>

## Getting Started

### Create Project

Scaffold a new Astro project using your preferred package manager. This sets up the project structure, installs dependencies, and prepares you for development.

<Tabs syncKey="package-manager">
  <TabItem label="bun" icon="bun">
```sh
bunx create-astro@latest my-astro-app
cd my-astro-app
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="npm" icon="seti:npm">
```sh
npm create astro@latest my-astro-app
cd my-astro-app
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="pnpm" icon="pnpm">
```sh
pnpm create astro my-astro-app
cd my-astro-app
```
  </TabItem>
</Tabs>

### Install Thunder

Add Thunder as a development dependency. It provides the CDK constructs you'll use to define your AWS infrastructure.

<Tabs syncKey="package-manager">
  <TabItem label="bun" icon="bun">
```sh
bun add @thunder-so/thunder --development
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="npm" icon="seti:npm">
```sh
npm install @thunder-so/thunder --save-dev
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="pnpm" icon="pnpm">
```sh
pnpm add -D @thunder-so/thunder
```
  </TabItem>
</Tabs>

---

## Astro Static Site Deployment

Deploy a fully pre-rendered Astro site to [S3](https://aws.amazon.com/s3/) with [CloudFront](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/) as the CDN. This is the simplest and most cost-effective pattern — no server required. Every page is generated at build time and served as static files.

### Configure

Astro defaults to static output, but it's good practice to be explicit. Set `output: 'static'` in your config to ensure all pages are pre-rendered at build time.

```js title="astro.config.mjs"
import { defineConfig } from 'astro/config';

export default defineConfig({
  output: 'static',
});
```

### Stack

Create a stack file that defines your AWS infrastructure. The `Static` construct provisions an S3 bucket, a CloudFront distribution, and optionally a Route53 DNS record.

```ts title="stack/prod.ts"
import { Cdk, Static, type StaticProps } from '@thunder-so/thunder';

const config: StaticProps = {
  env: { account: 'YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID', region: 'us-east-1' },
  application: 'myapp',
  service: 'web',
  environment: 'prod',
  rootDir: '.',
  outputDir: 'dist',
};

new Static(new Cdk.App(), `${config.application}-${config.service}-${config.environment}-stack`, config);
```

### Deploy

Build your Astro site first — this generates the static files in `dist/`. Then deploy with CDK, which uploads the files to S3 and provisions the CloudFront distribution.

<Tabs syncKey="package-manager">
  <TabItem label="bun" icon="bun">
```sh
bun run build
npx cdk deploy --app "bunx tsx stack/prod.ts" --profile default
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="npm" icon="seti:npm">
```sh
npm run build
npx cdk deploy --app "npx tsx stack/prod.ts" --profile default
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="pnpm" icon="pnpm">
```sh
pnpm run build
pnpm exec cdk deploy --app "pnpm exec tsx stack/prod.ts" --profile default
```
  </TabItem>
</Tabs>

After deployment, CDK outputs a **CloudFront URL** where your static site is live.

---

## Astro Containerized Deployment with Fargate

Run your Astro app as a Node.js server inside a Docker container on [ECS Fargate](https://aws.amazon.com/fargate/). Traffic is routed through an [Application Load Balancer](https://aws.amazon.com/elasticloadbalancing/application-load-balancer/). This pattern supports full SSR, API routes, and any server-side logic.

### Configure for Node Server

Install the official Astro Node.js adapter, then configure it in standalone mode so the build output is a self-contained server entry point.

<Tabs syncKey="package-manager">
  <TabItem label="bun" icon="bun">
```sh
bun add @astrojs/node
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="npm" icon="seti:npm">
```sh
npm install @astrojs/node
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="pnpm" icon="pnpm">
```sh
pnpm add @astrojs/node
```
  </TabItem>
</Tabs>

```js title="astro.config.mjs"
import { defineConfig } from 'astro/config';
import node from '@astrojs/node';

export default defineConfig({
  output: 'server',
  adapter: node({ mode: 'standalone' }),
});
```

### Stack

The `Fargate` construct creates an ECS cluster, a Fargate task definition, and an Application Load Balancer.

```ts title="stack/prod.ts"
import { Cdk, Fargate, type FargateProps } from '@thunder-so/thunder';

const config: FargateProps = {
  env: { account: 'YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID', region: 'us-east-1' },
  application: 'myapp',
  service: 'web',
  environment: 'prod',
  rootDir: '.',
  serviceProps: {
    dockerFile: 'Dockerfile',
    architecture: Cdk.aws_ecs.CpuArchitecture.ARM64,
    cpu: 512,
    memorySize: 1024,
    port: 4321,
    desiredCount: 1,
    healthCheckPath: '/',
  },
};

new Fargate(new Cdk.App(), `${config.application}-${config.service}-${config.environment}-stack`, config);
```

### Dockerfile

Create a `Dockerfile` in your project root. The multi-stage build keeps the final image lean by separating the build environment from the runtime.

```dockerfile title="Dockerfile"
FROM public.ecr.aws/docker/library/node:22-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY package.json bun.lockb ./
RUN curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash && export PATH="$HOME/.bun/bin:$PATH"
RUN bun install --frozen-lockfile
COPY . .
RUN bun run build

FROM public.ecr.aws/docker/library/node:22-alpine AS runner
WORKDIR /app
ENV NODE_ENV=production
ENV HOST=0.0.0.0
ENV PORT=4321
COPY --from=builder /app/dist ./dist
COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY --from=builder /app/package.json ./
EXPOSE 4321
CMD ["node", "./dist/server/entry.mjs"]
```

<Aside type="tip" title="No Dockerfile?">
If you omit `dockerFile` from `serviceProps`, Thunder will use [Nixpacks](https://nixpacks.com/) to automatically generate a container image from your project. This is a good option for getting started quickly without writing a Dockerfile.
</Aside>

### Environment Variables and Secrets

Runtime environment variables are injected into the Fargate task at deploy time. For sensitive values, store them in [AWS Secrets Manager](https://aws.amazon.com/secrets-manager/) and reference them by ARN — Thunder fetches and injects them automatically.

```ts title="stack/prod.ts"
const config: FargateProps = {
  // ...
  serviceProps: {
    // ...
    variables: [
      { NODE_ENV: 'production' },
    ],
    secrets: [
      {
        key: 'DATABASE_URL',
        resource: 'arn:aws:secretsmanager:us-east-1:123456789012:secret:/myapp/DATABASE_URL-abc123',
      },
    ],
  },
};
```

### Deploy

CDK builds the Docker image, pushes it to [ECR](https://aws.amazon.com/ecr/), and deploys it to Fargate. No manual Docker commands needed.

<Tabs syncKey="package-manager">
  <TabItem label="bun" icon="bun">
```sh
npx cdk deploy --app "bunx tsx stack/prod.ts" --profile default
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="npm" icon="seti:npm">
```sh
npx cdk deploy --app "npx tsx stack/prod.ts" --profile default
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="pnpm" icon="pnpm">
```sh
pnpm exec cdk deploy --app "pnpm exec tsx stack/prod.ts" --profile default
```
  </TabItem>
</Tabs>

After deployment, CDK outputs the **Load Balancer DNS** for your application.

---

## Astro Serverless Fullstack Deployment

Deploy Astro with SSR using [AWS Lambda](https://aws.amazon.com/lambda/) for server-side rendering, [S3](https://aws.amazon.com/s3/) for static assets, and [CloudFront](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/) to unify both behind a single domain. This pattern scales to zero and charges only for actual requests.

### Install Adapter for Lambda

The `@astro-aws/adapter` package adapts Astro's SSR output to the [Lambda function handler](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/nodejs-handler.html) format expected by API Gateway.

<Tabs syncKey="package-manager">
  <TabItem label="bun" icon="bun">
```sh
bun add @astro-aws/adapter
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="npm" icon="seti:npm">
```sh
npm install @astro-aws/adapter
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="pnpm" icon="pnpm">
```sh
pnpm add @astro-aws/adapter
```
  </TabItem>
</Tabs>

### Configure Astro for AWS Lambda

Set `output: 'server'` to enable SSR and point the adapter at `@astro-aws/adapter`. The build will produce a Lambda handler in `dist/lambda/` and static assets in `dist/client/`.

```js title="astro.config.mjs"
import { defineConfig } from 'astro/config';
// @ts-ignore package does not provide types
import aws from '@astro-aws/adapter';

export default defineConfig({
  output: 'server',
  adapter: aws(),
});
```

### Stack (Zip mode)

The `Astro` construct wires up Lambda, API Gateway, S3, and CloudFront automatically. By default, Thunder packages your Lambda handler as a Zip deployment — the fastest option for most apps.

```ts title="stack/prod.ts"
import { Cdk, Astro, type AstroProps } from '@thunder-so/thunder';

const config: AstroProps = {
  env: { account: 'YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID', region: 'us-east-1' },
  application: 'myapp',
  service: 'web',
  environment: 'prod',
  rootDir: '.',
};

new Astro(new Cdk.App(), `${config.application}-${config.service}-${config.environment}-stack`, config);
```

### Container Mode

Zip deployments have a 250 MB unzipped size limit. If your app has large dependencies — native modules, ML libraries, or heavy assets — switch to container mode. Thunder builds a Docker image, pushes it to [ECR](https://aws.amazon.com/ecr/), and deploys it as a [container Lambda](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/images-create.html), which supports up to 10 GB.

#### Stack (Container mode)

Add `dockerFile` to `serverProps` to enable container mode.

```ts title="stack/prod.ts"
const config: AstroProps = {
  // ...
  serverProps: {
    dockerFile: 'Dockerfile',
    memorySize: 2048,
  },
};
```

#### Dockerfile

```dockerfile title="Dockerfile"
FROM public.ecr.aws/lambda/nodejs:22

# Copy all lambda files
COPY . ./

CMD ["index.handler"]
```

### Environment Variables and Secrets

Runtime environment variables are injected into the Lambda function at deploy time. For sensitive values, store them in [AWS Secrets Manager](https://aws.amazon.com/secrets-manager/) and reference them by ARN — Thunder fetches and injects them automatically.

```ts title="stack/prod.ts"
const config: AstroProps = {
  // ...
  serverProps: {
    variables: [
      { NODE_ENV: 'production' },
      { PUBLIC_API_URL: 'https://api.example.com' },
    ],
    secrets: [
      {
        key: 'DATABASE_URL',
        resource: 'arn:aws:secretsmanager:us-east-1:123456789012:secret:/myapp/DATABASE_URL-abc123',
      },
    ],
  },
};
```

### Deploy

Build your Astro app first to generate the Lambda handler and static assets, then deploy with CDK.

<Tabs syncKey="package-manager">
  <TabItem label="bun" icon="bun">
```sh
bun run build
npx cdk deploy --app "bunx tsx stack/prod.ts" --profile default
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="npm" icon="seti:npm">
```sh
npm run build
npx cdk deploy --app "npx tsx stack/prod.ts" --profile default
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="pnpm" icon="pnpm">
```sh
pnpm run build
pnpm exec cdk deploy --app "pnpm exec tsx stack/prod.ts" --profile default
```
  </TabItem>
</Tabs>

After deployment, CDK outputs a **CloudFront URL** that serves both your SSR responses and static assets.