Guides
Plain answers to the questions people ask before they choose where to host something. Each one names the other options, including the ones that are not us.
- What is an MCP server?An MCP server offers tools, data and prompts to AI models over the Model Context Protocol. How tools/list and tools/call work, and how to keep one safe.Read the guide
- How to deploy a Next.js appFour ways to deploy Next.js: a Node server, Docker, a static export, or a platform adapter. What each supports and when to pick it.Read the guide
- Self-hosting Next.js: what works and what needs setting upWhat works when you self-host Next.js with next start, and the settings you need to run it on more than one instance. Checked against the Next.js 16 docs.Read the guide
How the guides are written
Each guide answers one question in its first paragraph, then earns the answer. Terms are defined before they are used, the other options are named, and anything said about someone else's software is dated, so a stale fact is visible as stale.
Guides are the reference version: one question, kept current. The blog is where the longer arguments, comparisons and worked examples live, and the guides link across to them.
Where to go next
- Deployment logs after a service is deleted
- Scoped API Credentials for AI Agents: A Checklist
- A Dry Run Deployment Plan Belongs in Every PaaS
- Custom Domain and Automatic SSL: Setup and Troubleshooting
- Free PostgreSQL Hosting and Free Docker Hosting in 2026
- Terraform vs Pulumi: Which One for a Small Team?
- How to Host a Next.js App: Every Option, Compared
- Vercel Cost for a Small Team: 1, 3, 5 and 10 Seats