Build and Deploy

When you add an application from a Git repository, Kinsta uses Nixpacks to build your application and set up the container image, by default. Nixpacks takes your application’s code from the source directory in your Git provider and automatically detects the application’s language, framework, and runtime dependencies to configure your environment. Nixpacks uses fewer resources and supports many languages/frameworks.

Within your application’s Settings, you can also choose to use one of the following to build your application:

• Buildpacks – Similar to Nixpacks, Buildpacks are scripts that run when your application deploys to install dependencies and configure your environment; however, Buildpacks support fewer languages. 
• Dockerfiles – If your application’s language is not supported through Nixpacks or Buildpacks, you can use a Dockerfile to set up your container image. Dockerfiles give you more control, and you can use almost any language.

At Kinsta, you can manually deploy your application or set up automatic deployments so your application deploys every time a commit is made to the branch in the Git repository.

If you choose to use a Docker image when you add your application, you don’t need to select the build package, as the Docker image contains everything you need, including the code, runtime, libraries, dependencies, and configuration files.