INSTANT GRATIFICATION!

Production Deployment in minutes

This guide will walk you through deploying a simple FastAPI application to Vercel in under 10 minutes.

Step 1: Sign Up for Vercel

1. Open your web browser and navigate to https://vercel.com
2. Click the Sign Up button in the top right corner
3. Select Hobby (for personal projects)
4. Enter your name
5. Choose one of the following sign-up methods:
   • GitHub (recommended) - Click "Continue with GitHub" and authorize Vercel
   • GitLab - Click "Continue with GitLab" and authorize Vercel
   • Bitbucket - Click "Continue with Bitbucket" and authorize Vercel
   • Email - Enter your email address and follow the verification steps
6. Complete the onboarding (you can skip team creation)

Step 2: Install Cursor IDE

Note: You can use a different IDE if you prefer (VS Code, PyCharm, etc.), but these instructions assume you're using Cursor.

Windows:

1. Visit https://cursor.com
2. Click "Download for Windows"
3. Run the downloaded .exe installer
4. Follow the installation wizard
5. Launch Cursor from your Start Menu or Desktop

Mac:

1. Visit https://cursor.com
2. Click "Download for Mac"
3. Open the downloaded .dmg file
4. Drag Cursor to your Applications folder
5. Launch Cursor from Applications or Spotlight (Cmd+Space, type "Cursor")

Linux:

1. Visit https://cursor.com
2. Click "Download for Linux"
3. Extract the .tar.gz file:

   tar -xzf cursor-*.tar.gz

4. Move to /opt and create a symlink:

   sudo mv cursor /opt/
   sudo ln -s /opt/cursor/cursor /usr/local/bin/cursor

5. Launch by typing cursor in terminal

Create Your Project Folder

1. Open Cursor
2. Windows/Linux: Click File → Open Folder → Create a new folder called "instant"
3. Mac: Click File → Open → Create a new folder called "instant"
4. Select and open the "instant" folder

Step 3: Create Your FastAPI Application

In Cursor, create a new file called instant.py with the following content:

from fastapi import FastAPI

app = FastAPI()

@app.get("/")
def instant():
    return "Live from production!"

Save the file (Ctrl+S on Windows/Linux, Cmd+S on Mac).

Step 4: Create Requirements File

Create a new file called requirements.txt with the following content:

fastapi
uvicorn

Save the file.

Step 5: Create Vercel Configuration

Create a new file called vercel.json with the following content:

{
    "builds": [
        {
            "src": "instant.py",
            "use": "@vercel/python"
        }
    ],
    "routes": [
        {
            "src": "/(.*)",
            "dest": "instant.py"
        }
    ]
}

Save the file.

Step 6: Install Node.js

Node.js is required for the Vercel CLI.

1. Visit the official Node.js download page: https://nodejs.org/en/download

2. Choose your preferred installation method:

   • Direct Download: Download the installer for your operating system
   • Package Manager: Use the package manager for your platform (Homebrew for Mac, Chocolatey for Windows, etc.)
   • Version Manager (recommended): Use nvm, fnm, or volta for easy version management

3. After installation, open a new terminal window

4. Verify installation:

   node --version
   npm --version

Both commands should return version numbers if installed correctly.

Step 7: Deploy to Vercel

Open Terminal in Cursor

• Click Terminal → New Terminal (or press Ctrl+` on Windows/Linux, Cmd+` on Mac)

Make sure you're in your "instant" project folder - you should see your three files (instant.py, requirements.txt, vercel.json) when you list files.

Install Vercel CLI and Deploy

1. Install Vercel CLI globally:

   npm install -g vercel

2. Login to Vercel:

   vercel login

   • Enter the email address you used to sign up for Vercel
   • Check your email for a verification link and click it
   • Return to the terminal - it should confirm you're logged in

3. Deploy to Vercel (development):

   vercel .

   • When prompted "Set up and deploy?" → Press Enter (Yes)
   • "Which scope?" → Select your personal account
   • "Link to existing project?" → Type n and press Enter (No)
   • "What's your project's name?" → Type instant and press Enter
   • "In which directory is your code located?" → Press Enter (current directory)
   • Wait for deployment to complete (usually 30-60 seconds)
   • You'll see a URL like https://instant-xxxxxx.vercel.app

4. Test your development deployment:

   • Click the URL provided (or copy and paste into browser)
   • You should see: "Live from production!"

Congratulations! 🎉

You've successfully deployed your first API to production! Your API is now:

• ✅ Live on the internet
• ✅ Automatically scaled
• ✅ Secured with HTTPS
• ✅ Accessible from anywhere in the world

What You've Learned:

• How to create a simple FastAPI application
• How to configure a project for Vercel deployment
• How to use the Vercel CLI for deployment

Next Steps:

• Try modifying the message in instant.py and redeploying
• Add more API endpoints
• Explore Vercel's dashboard at https://vercel.com/dashboard

Troubleshooting

"vercel: command not found"

• Make sure you opened a new terminal after installing Node.js
• Try running npm install -g vercel again

"Python version not supported"

• Vercel supports Python 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, and 3.12
• The default should work, but if you have issues, add a runtime.txt file with: python-3.12

Deployment fails

• Check that all three files (instant.py, requirements.txt, vercel.json) are in your project folder
• Make sure you're in the correct directory when running vercel
• Ensure your vercel.json has the exact JSON structure shown above

Need Help?

• Check Vercel's documentation: https://vercel.com/docs
• Ask in class or post in the course forum