Self Hosting - Kleap Documentation

Kleap provides built-in hosting by default (your site goes live automatically at https://your-app.kleap.io). But you own your code — it’s a standard Astro project, so you can build it and host it anywhere that serves static or edge sites.

Self-hosting means hosting the static Astro build. Features backed by Kleap services — Kleap Database, KleapForm submissions, and built-in user accounts — are provided by Kleap. If your site uses them, keeping the site on Kleap Hosting is simplest; self-hosted copies would need those services to stay reachable.

Getting Your Code

Export to GitHub

Connect GitHub in settings
Push your code to a repository
Clone the repository locally

git clone https://github.com/you/your-app.git
cd your-app

Download ZIP

Go to Settings > Export
Click Download ZIP
Extract and open in your editor

Running Locally

Prerequisites

Node.js 18.20.8+ (or 20+/22+)
npm or pnpm

Setup

npm install
npm run dev

Visit http://localhost:4321 (Astro’s default dev port).

Build for Production

Astro outputs a static site to the dist/ folder:

npm run build      # builds to ./dist
npm run preview    # preview the production build locally

Hosting Options

Any static or edge host works. Point it at the dist/ output.

Cloudflare Pages

Connect your GitHub repo
Build command: npm run build
Output directory: dist

Netlify

[build]
  command = "npm run build"
  publish = "dist"

Vercel

Import the GitHub repo
Vercel auto-detects Astro
Output directory: dist

Static Host / VPS

dist/ is plain static files — serve it with Nginx, Caddy, an S3 bucket + CDN, GitHub Pages, or any static host.

# Simple static container
FROM nginx:alpine
COPY dist/ /usr/share/nginx/html
EXPOSE 80

Environment Variables

Astro exposes variables prefixed with PUBLIC_ to the browser via import.meta.env. If your site calls any external service, set its variables in your hosting platform:

PUBLIC_SOME_SERVICE_URL=https://...

Never commit .env files. Add them to .gitignore and configure secrets in your hosting platform.

Custom Domains

On Kleap Hosting

If you stay on Kleap, point your domain with an A record to Kleap’s proxy:

A record  @    178.104.71.55

Use an A record on the root/apex domain (root domains can’t use CNAME), keep Cloudflare DNS in DNS-only mode if you use Cloudflare, and Kleap issues SSL automatically. You can also buy a domain directly in-app.

On Your Own Host

Most platforms support custom domains from their dashboard:

Add the domain in your host’s dashboard
Configure DNS per that host’s instructions (A record for root, CNAME for subdomains)
SSL is usually automatic

CI/CD Setup

GitHub Actions

name: Deploy
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm run build
      # Add a step to publish ./dist to your platform

Monitoring

Analytics

Add analytics by including their script in your base layout:

Plausible - Privacy-focused
Google Analytics - Comprehensive
PostHog - Product analytics

Uptime Monitoring

UptimeRobot - Free monitoring
Pingdom - Professional monitoring
Better Uptime - Status pages

Performance

A static Astro build is already fast — it ships HTML with minimal JavaScript (React only hydrates the interactive islands). To go further:

Put a CDN in front of your static host (Cloudflare, CloudFront, Fastly)
Keep images optimized and lazy-loaded
Limit interactive islands to what actually needs them

Comparison

Platform	Ease	Cost	Control
Kleap Hosting	⭐⭐⭐	Included	Low
Cloudflare Pages	⭐⭐⭐	Free tier	Medium
Netlify	⭐⭐⭐	Free tier	Medium
Static host / VPS	⭐	$	Full

Troubleshooting

Build fails

Check the Node.js version (18.20.8+, or 20+/22+)
Verify all dependencies install (npm ci)
Check any required environment variables are set
Review build logs for the specific error

Pages 404 on my host

Make sure the publish/output directory is set to dist
Serve dist/ at the site root, not a subfolder
Check your host supports clean URLs for static files

Kleap features stopped working

Forms, Kleap Database, and accounts are Kleap-backed services
Self-hosted copies need those services to remain reachable, or you’ll need to replace them
Keeping the site on Kleap Hosting avoids this entirely

Publishing with Kleap

The easiest deployment option

​Getting Your Code

​Export to GitHub

​Download ZIP

​Running Locally

​Prerequisites

​Setup

​Build for Production

​Hosting Options

​Cloudflare Pages

​Netlify

​Vercel

​Static Host / VPS

​Environment Variables

​Custom Domains

​On Kleap Hosting

​On Your Own Host

​CI/CD Setup

​GitHub Actions

​Monitoring

​Analytics

​Uptime Monitoring

​Performance

​Comparison

​Troubleshooting

Publishing with Kleap

Getting Your Code

Export to GitHub

Download ZIP

Running Locally

Prerequisites

Setup

Build for Production

Hosting Options

Cloudflare Pages

Netlify

Vercel

Static Host / VPS

Environment Variables

Custom Domains

On Kleap Hosting

On Your Own Host

CI/CD Setup

GitHub Actions

Monitoring

Analytics

Uptime Monitoring

Performance

Comparison

Troubleshooting