Hey there! We've found the following might help you get unblocked faster:

• 🧵 Next.js Service Fails on Startup (SIGTERM) - Even Clean Next.js App Affected

• 🧵 "Error: Project Token Not Found When Deploying with Railway CLI in GitHub Actions"

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• 🧵 Need Help deploy Strappi project

If you find the answer from one of these, please let us know by solving the thread!

Next.js version 16 now requires Node.js version 20 or higher to build and run. Railway currently uses Node 18 by default, which causes the deployment to fail.

Below is the complete solution to fix the problem:

1. Update the Node version in package.json

Open the package.json file and add the following section if it’s not already there:

"engines": {

"node": "22.x"

}

This tells Railway to use Node.js version 22 for the build process.

2. Add an .nvmrc file

In the root of the project (same place as package.json), create a file named .nvmrc and add:

22

This helps both locally and during deployment to ensure Node.js 22 is used.

3. Set the environment variable on Railway

In the Railway dashboard:

Go to the project service

Open the “Variables” tab

Add a new variable:

RAILWAY_NODE_VERSION = 22

Alternatively, you can use:

NODE_VERSION = 22

Do not use RAILPACK_NODE_VERSION — it is not a valid variable.

4. Clear build cache and redeploy

Railway sometimes caches previous builds that used Node 18. To fix this:

Go to the “Deployments” section in Railway

Click “Clear cache & redeploy”

Or, make a small change in your project (for example, update the README file), commit it, and push again. This will trigger a fresh deployment.

5. Verify build logs

After redeploying, open the build logs in Railway and confirm that it says:

Using Node.js version: 22.x

If it still shows Node 18, double-check the package.json, .nvmrc, and environment variable settings.

After completing these steps, the Next.js 16 project will build and deploy successfully on Railway using Node.js 22.

Thank you!