Can't make railway my backend
jinzachie
HOBBYOP

3 months ago

I just got Railway and Github, I've tried searching around to see how to deploy railway as a backend but it for some reason isn't working. I don't see railway as an authorized Oauth app on github either. On Railway all i see is add service, then databases, and 4 ones that were already there. Does anyone know how I can make railway my backend?

$10 Bounty

3 Replies

alexxdf28-hue
FREE

3 months ago

The main hurdle is usually the initial connection between Railway and GitHub.

1. Fix the GitHub Connection

You need to force a fresh authorization for Railway to see your repositories.

  1. Revoke Access: Go to your GitHub Settings -> Applications. Find Railway and Revoke its access.

  2. Reconnect: Go to the Railway dashboard, click New Project -> $ Deploy from GitHub Repo.

  3. Authorize: GitHub will pop up. Authorize Railway fully to access your repos.

2. Deploy Your Service

Once connected, deploy and configure your backend service:

  1. Deploy: Select your repository and click Deploy Now.

  2. Variables: Go to the Variables tab for the service. Add all necessary environment variables (like database URLs, secret keys, etc.).

  3. Check Port:Crucially, ensure your backend code is configured to listen on the port provided by the environment variable $PORT.

  4. Start Command: Go to Settings -> Deploy and confirm the Start Command is correct for your application (e.g., npm start or a specific Gunicorn/Uvicorn command).

  5. Get URL: In Settings -> Networking/Domain, click Generate Domain to get the public URL for your backend.

dardameiz
PRO

3 months ago

click "New Project" → "Deploy from GitHub Repo" and it should prompt you to authorize Railway on github. once you do that you'll see your repos and can pick which one to deploy.

after it deploys, just make sure your app listens on process.env.PORT (or whatever language you're using) and generate a domain in Settings → Networking.

what kind of backend are you trying to deploy? (node, python, etc?)

anarchistmanifesto
TRIAL

3 months ago

hey @jinzachie

looks like youre hitting the github connection issue which is pretty common when you first start

the others already covered the oauth flow but heres the quick version:

  1. go to railway dashboard and hit "New Project"

  2. click "Deploy from GitHub Repo"

  3. itll popup asking you to authorize railway on github, just accept everything

  4. pick your backend repo from the list

once thats done and your service deploys, you need to make sure your code actually listens on the right port. railway gives you a PORT environment variable so in your code do something like:

const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;
app.listen(PORT, () => {
  console.log(`running on ${PORT}`);
});

(or whatever the equivalent is in your language)

then go to Settings → Networking and generate a domain. thats your public url

what backend framework are you using? node/express, flask, django, something else? might be able to give you more specific help if you drop some details or error logs

also if youre still not seeing railway in your github oauth apps after trying to connect, double check youre logged into the right github account on both sites

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