Why I Built DeployFastDiscover the journey behind creating DeployFast, a tool for fast Next.js deployments on AWS with no cold starts.
ByAnis Mer_

Why I Built DeployFast

I’ve been building apps since 2015, and during all that time, I found myself doing the same manual tasks over and over again — setting up DNS, configuring HTTPS certificates, and launching apps on Digital Ocean, Netlify, and others. Initially, it was frustrating, but over time, it became second nature.

I got pretty fast at it, too. Clicking through screens, setting everything up in dashboards — it was almost like muscle memory. I didn’t even think about automating it because, quite frankly, the thought of it intimidated me. I didn’t have the DevOps skills or experience back then to even know where to begin.

Then, I decided to give Vercel a try. At first, it felt like everything just worked — all the clicking and configurations fell into place easily, and integrating environment variables and connecting GitHub for CI/CD was a breeze. But that’s when I hit the dreaded cold start issue. If you’ve ever experienced it, you know how frustrating it can be: waiting 7 seconds (or more) for a Lambda function to wake up when it’s been idle for a while.

The Turning Point

That frustration was a wake-up call. I realized I needed to get better at DevOps, and over the next 12 months, I immersed myself in learning. I started with AWS CDK and eventually discovered Terraform, and I was hooked. With Terraform, I could write code to automate DNS setups, create HTTPS certificates, and manage deployments — all with a single line of code. That one-liner felt like magic.

But I didn’t stop there. I explored more AWS services, such as Elastic Beanstalk, EC2 instances, AWS CodePipeline, and S3. I learned how to automate infrastructure setup and configuration so I’d never have to touch a dashboard again. And best of all? No more cold starts.

Creating DeployFast

With each new AWS service I learned, I realized that I was solving problems I’d encountered for years. I could finally deploy apps without dealing with the same old headaches, and I thought: If I’m facing this, other indie makers must be too.

A few months ago, I came across Marc’s Next.js boilerplate, ShipFast. Seeing how well it simplified front-end development made me think: Why can’t the same be done for deployments? And that’s when DeployFast was born.

DeployFast tackles the very issues that drove me to build it in the first place:

  • Deploy with One Command — One Line, That’s It: No more manual setup — just deploy and be done.
  • No Surprise Costs: Know exactly what you’re paying for — no hidden fees or extra charges.
  • No Cold Starts: Your app stays fast and responsive, every single time.

No More Deployment Nightmares

DeployFast isn’t just a tool — it’s my answer to years of deployment frustrations. It’s a way to ensure that no one else has to go through the same repetitive, time-consuming tasks I did. If you’ve been dealing with deployment issues like I have, I hope it helps make your dev life a little bit easier.

Want to see how it works? I put together a quick demo video showing just how easy it can be. It’s available on the homepage — check it out when you have a moment. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

So, what deployment frustrations have you been dealing with? Let’s chat — I’m always looking to learn more and help out however I can. 😊

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