---
title: 'Deploy Nuxt on AWS'
description: 'Deploy Nuxt applications on AWS using client-side rendering 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="Nuxt" title={frontmatter.title} />
Deploy your [Nuxt](https://nuxt.com/) 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 Nuxt 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 nuxi@latest init my-nuxt-app
cd my-nuxt-app
bun install
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="npm" icon="seti:npm">
```sh
npx nuxi@latest init my-nuxt-app
cd my-nuxt-app
npm install
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="pnpm" icon="pnpm">
```sh
pnpm dlx nuxi@latest init my-nuxt-app
cd my-nuxt-app
pnpm install
```
  </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>

---

## Nuxt Static Site Deployment

Deploy a client-side rendered Nuxt app to [S3](https://aws.amazon.com/s3/) with [CloudFront](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/) as the CDN. In this mode, Nuxt disables server-side rendering and outputs a fully client-rendered SPA — no server required.

<Aside type="caution" title="Nuxt Content limitation">
Projects using `@nuxt/content` cannot use this pattern due to SQLite dependencies that require a server runtime. Use the Serverless or Fargate pattern instead.
</Aside>

### Configure

Disable SSR in your Nuxt config to switch to client-side rendering mode. The build output will be placed in `.output/public/`.

```ts title="nuxt.config.ts"
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  ssr: false,
})
```

### Stack

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: '.output/public',
};

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

### Deploy

Build your Nuxt app first, then deploy with CDK. CDK uploads the static 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 app is live.

---

## Nuxt Containerized Deployment with Fargate

Run your Nuxt 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

Nuxt's default build output (`.output/`) is already compatible with a Node.js server — no additional adapter is needed. Just ensure your `nuxt.config.ts` does not have `ssr: false`.

### 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: 3000,
    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 oven/bun:latest AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY package.json bun.lockb ./
RUN bun install --frozen-lockfile
COPY . .
RUN bun run build

FROM oven/bun:latest AS runner
WORKDIR /app
ENV NODE_ENV=production
ENV HOST=0.0.0.0
ENV PORT=3000
COPY --from=builder /app/.output ./
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["bun", "run", "server/index.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.

---

## Nuxt Serverless Fullstack Deployment

Deploy Nuxt 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.

### Configure Nuxt for AWS Lambda

Nuxt uses [Nitro](https://nitro.unjs.io/) as its server engine. Set the `aws-lambda` preset to tell Nitro to output a Lambda-compatible handler instead of a Node.js HTTP server. You can set this via an environment variable or directly in your config.

<Tabs syncKey="method">
  <TabItem label=".env">
```sh title=".env"
NITRO_PRESET=aws-lambda
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="nuxt.config.ts">
```ts title="nuxt.config.ts"
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  nitro: {
    preset: 'aws-lambda',
  },
})
```
  </TabItem>
</Tabs>

The build will produce `.output/server/` (Lambda handler) and `.output/public/` (static assets for S3).

### Stack (Zip mode)

The `Nuxt` 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, Nuxt, type NuxtProps } from '@thunder-so/thunder';

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

new Nuxt(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: NuxtProps = {
  // ...
  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: NuxtProps = {
  // ...
  serverProps: {
    variables: [
      { NODE_ENV: 'production' },
    ],
    secrets: [
      {
        key: 'DATABASE_URL',
        resource: 'arn:aws:secretsmanager:us-east-1:123456789012:secret:/myapp/DATABASE_URL-abc123',
      },
    ],
  },
};
```

### Deploy

Build your Nuxt 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.