Hi team — I need help with a deployment issue that has been blocking my production service for days, despite following all the official docs.

**Project:** synqra-production / service: synqra-os  
**Domain:** https://synqra.co

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## ISSUE SUMMARY

No matter what configuration I apply, Railway continues to build with **Node 18**, even though my project requires **Node 20** and explicitly sets it.

As a result, the app deploys but immediately fails with:

**Application failed to respond → 502 error**

There are **no runtime logs**, only the splash error page.

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## WHAT I HAVE ALREADY TRIED (multiple times)

### ✔ 1. Added NIXPACKS_NODE_VERSION=20  
In the service → Variables panel:

Verified saved. Redeployed.  
**Still building with Node 18**.

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### ✔ 2. Created root-level nixpacks.toml  
File at repo root:

GitHub shows the file is committed and synced.  
Redeployed again.  
**Still building with Node 18**.

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### ✔ 3. Updated root package.json engines

Redeployed.  
**Still building with Node 18**.

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### ✔ 4. Updated app package.json start script  
Inside `apps/synqra-mvp/package.json`:

Build still forces Node 18.

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### ✔ 5. Deleted overrides  
Deleted:
- railway.json  
- .nvmrc  
- .node-version  

Pushed. Redeployed.  
**Still forces Node 18**.

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## THE CORE PROBLEM

Every single build log starts with:

This means the Nixpacks override is not being honored.

I need Railway to either:

1. Tell me exactly how to force Node 20 reliably, OR  
2. Confirm if there is a caching or version pin issue on Railway’s side, OR  
3. Point me to the correct file or setting that overrides Nixpacks.

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## EXPECTED OUTCOME

- A clean build with Node 20
- No more 502 failures
- The app actually starts and responds

At the moment, I can’t get past the incorrect Node version.

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## EXTRA INFO

- Monorepo structure  
- Next.js app located at: `apps/synqra-mvp`  
- Root workspace orchestrates build/start scripts  
- Railway project URL:
  https://railway.app/project/640aa279-0093-43b6-8269-ad264bc657eb

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I would greatly appreciate direct guidance or confirmation of what’s overriding Node 20 so I can finally get the production service running again.

Thank you!

Leroy