Introduction to Now
With Now's help, you can deploy and publish any kind of web application (or service) in under five minutes.
This quick-start guide will show you how to deploy an app, connect it to a domain name of your choice, and configure an SSL certificate.
The best way to get started with Now is by downloading Now Desktop, a minimal application that runs in the menu bar and comes with the following features:
- Installs Now CLI and keeps it up to date automatically (the command line interface for interacting with Now).
- Provides a real-time feed of the activity on your account and teams that you've joined.
- Lets you deploy any kind of application or file by simply dragging and dropping it onto its menubar icon or selecting it using a file picker.
Now Desktop running on macOS. Now Desktop is also available on Windows.
Alternatively, you can install Now CLI to use Now in your terminal, using npm:
Once you've downloaded Now Desktop open it and follow the instructions.
After you've completed the signup process (you can also use the form to log in), a window should open with your account's event feed inside.
Now that we're logged in, let's begin with deploying a simple static website.
First, create a directory called my-web-app
and add the following content to a file called index.html
:
<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <body> This is a static web app. </body> </html>
Alternatively, use Docker to deploy your dynamic applications, or use a
Dockerfile
to instruct Now to build and deploy your static applications.
After you have added the content, change to the my-web-app
directory in your terminal and run this command:
Now will deploy the app and give you a URL as shown below:
Getting a unique URL after the deployment.
This is a URL for the current deployment of the app. You can access this version of the app anytime with this URL.
Now you have a unique URL (https://my-web-app-avvuiuuwto.now.sh) for your app. But you probably want a nicer-sounding URL to send your users to. The next step is to map the "now.sh" URL to a domain name that you prefer.
Let's assume the domain name is my-web-app.com
, and you haven't bought it yet.
To map this domain name to the app's unique URL, run this command:
Since you haven't bought the domain name yet, you will be asked to enter your credit card information to buy it. You can do that by running this command:
You may choose to upgrade your account to the "Premium" plan by running this command:
Now, run the domain mapping command again and follow these instructions:
Once you've done that, you'll be able to access your app using https://my-web-app.com. It is automatically configured with a Let's Encrypt SSL certificate and served with HTTPS.
After mapping a domain name to a deployment.
If you've made any changes to your app, you will need to deploy the latest version of your app. To do that, run this command:
You will receive a unique URL for this deployment. Let's assume the new URL is https://my-web-app-ttfxzqwbwz.now.sh.
You can map this new URL to your domain name by running this command:
Now everything is ready.
Your users can access the updated web app at https://my-web-app.com.
These are just a few things you can do with Now. To do more with Now, follow the rest of the docs.