Deploy to Render

Render offers a free tier suitable for testing and low-traffic applications. AspFox includes a render.yaml file that configures all services via Render’s Blueprints feature.

render.yaml

Add this file to the root of your repository:

# render.yaml
services:
  - type: web
    name: acme-api
    env: docker
    dockerfilePath: ./Dockerfile
    plan: starter
    healthCheckPath: /health
    envVars:
      - key: ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT
        value: Production
      - key: DATABASE_URL
        fromDatabase:
          name: acme-db
          property: connectionString
      - key: REDIS_URL
        fromService:
          name: acme-redis
          type: redis
          property: connectionString
      - key: JWT_PRIVATE_KEY
        sync: false
      - key: JWT_PUBLIC_KEY
        sync: false
      - key: JWT_ISSUER
        sync: false
      - key: JWT_AUDIENCE
        sync: false
      - key: STRIPE_SECRET_KEY
        sync: false
      - key: STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET
        sync: false
      - key: STRIPE_PRO_PRICE_ID
        sync: false
      - key: STRIPE_BUSINESS_PRICE_ID
        sync: false
      - key: RESEND_API_KEY
        sync: false
      - key: EMAIL_FROM_ADDRESS
        sync: false
      - key: EMAIL_FROM_NAME
        sync: false
      - key: APP_URL
        sync: false
      - key: API_URL
        sync: false

  - type: web
    name: acme-frontend
    env: static
    buildCommand: cd frontend && npm install && npm run build
    staticPublishPath: ./frontend/dist
    routes:
      - type: rewrite
        source: /*
        destination: /index.html
    envVars:
      - key: VITE_API_URL
        sync: false

  - type: redis
    name: acme-redis
    plan: starter
    maxmemoryPolicy: allkeys-lru

databases:
  - name: acme-db
    plan: starter
    databaseName: acme
    user: acme

Variables marked sync: false must be entered manually in the Render Dashboard after the Blueprint is deployed.

Deploying

Push render.yaml to your repository

Commit render.yaml to the root of your repository and push to GitHub.

Create a Render account and Blueprint

Sign up at render.com
Click New → Blueprint
Connect your GitHub account and select your repository
Render detects render.yaml and shows a preview of all services to be created
Click Apply

Fill in manual environment variables

After the Blueprint deploys, go to the acme-api service:

Environment tab → fill in all sync: false variables:
- JWT keys (generate new ones — see JWT Key Generation)
- Stripe live keys
- Resend API key and email address
- APP_URL and API_URL (use the Render-provided URLs initially)
Do the same for the acme-frontend service:
- VITE_API_URL = the URL of your acme-api service
Click Save Changes — Render triggers a new deploy

Run migrations

From the Render Dashboard:

Click on the acme-api service
Click Shell (top right)
In the shell:

dotnet ef database update \
  --project src/Acme.Infrastructure \
  --startup-project src/Acme.Api

Run the database seeder

In the same shell:

dotnet run --project src/Acme.Api -- --seed-only

Add a custom domain (optional)

Go to your acme-api service → Settings → Custom Domains
Add api.yourdomain.com
Add the CNAME record Render provides to your DNS
Repeat for the frontend service at yourdomain.com
Update APP_URL, API_URL, and VITE_API_URL environment variables with the new domain names

Stripe Dashboard → Developers → Webhooks → Add endpoint

URL: https://api.yourdomain.com/api/v1/webhooks/stripe
Events: checkout.session.completed, customer.subscription.updated, customer.subscription.deleted, invoice.payment_failed, invoice.payment_succeeded
Copy signing secret → update STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET in Render

Render’s free tier spins down services after 15 minutes of inactivity and takes ~30 seconds to wake up on the next request. This is noticeable for evaluation but not suitable for a real application. Upgrade to the Starter plan ($7/mo) to keep services always running.

​render.yaml

​Deploying

render.yaml

Deploying