Express is a fast, unopinionated, minimalist web framework for Node.js, and it deploys to Vercel with zero configuration. On Vercel, your Express app runs as a single Vercel Function on Fluid compute, with response streaming and preview deployments available with minimal configuration.
Vercel maintains an Express template directory with starters from both Vercel and the community, so you can begin from a working project instead of a blank repo.
These templates range from a minimal API to AI, Bun, and full-stack apps:
| Template | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Express.js on Vercel | A minimal Express app that serves HTML, JSON, and a simulated API route, and deploys with zero configuration. Start here if you're new to Express on Vercel. |
| Express on Bun | An Express backend that runs on the Bun runtime instead of Node.js, ready to deploy and to develop locally with Bun. |
| Express + AI SDK | An Express server wired up with AI SDK to generate and stream text and structured objects from your routes. |
| SaaS Microservices | A Next.js dashboard paired with an Express API service, running under one domain with Vercel microfrontends. |
If you're not sure where to begin, deploy the Express.js on Vercel starter and add routes, middleware, or a frontend as your project grows.
Every Express template deploys to Vercel the same way. Open the template you want, select Deploy, and Vercel clones the repository into your Git provider, creates a project, and ships it to a live URL.
- Open the template: Choose a template from the table above, then select Deploy.
- Connect your Git provider: Vercel creates a new repository for the template in your GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket account.
- Deploy the project: Vercel builds and deploys the template, then returns a production URL. Each later push to the repository triggers a new deployment.
After deploying, clone your new repository, install dependencies, and start the development server with Vercel CLI:
Vercel CLI serves your app at http://localhost:3000 and runs it the same way it does in production. Edit your route handlers to make it your own.
To scaffold the Express example with Vercel CLI, run:
This clones the Express boilerplate into an express directory, so you can develop locally first and deploy with vercel when you're ready.
- Follow the end-to-end How to ship an Express app on Vercel guide to deploy and configure your app
- Read the full Express on Vercel documentation
- Learn how Vercel Functions run your server code
- Understand pricing and scaling with Fluid compute
- Run code before requests with Routing Middleware
- Serve static assets from the CDN