Next steps

You now have a full‑stack Tanstack Start app with:

• Server functions, server routes, and loaders for data fetching
• A persistent chat list (file‑based storage)
• A working AI chat backed by the AI SDK and OpenAI

This chapter shows how to ship it and where to take it next.

Deploying to Railway

Railway is an excellent platform for hosting Tanstack Start applications. It provides simple deployment with automatic builds and easy environment variable management.

1) Prepare your repo

• Commit your code to a Git provider (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket).
• Ensure .env is in .gitignore (never commit secrets).

2) Sign up and create a project

• Go to https://railway.app and sign up with GitHub
• Click New Project → Deploy from GitHub repo
• Select your repository
• Railway will auto-detect your project settings

3) Add environment variables

In Railway dashboard:

• Click on your deployment
• Go to the Variables tab
• Add your environment variable:
  • OPENAI_API_KEY: your OpenAI key

Locally, use .env:

bash

4) Configure build settings (if needed)

Railway should auto-detect Bun. If not, set these in Settings:

• Build Command: bun install && bun run build
• Start Command: bun run start

Railway will automatically build and deploy your app. Subsequent pushes to your default branch will trigger automatic deployments.

Move from file storage to a database

File storage is great to start, but you'll want a real database for reliability and scale. Popular options:

• Railway Postgres (managed, included with your deployment)
• Neon or Supabase (Postgres)
• Turso (SQLite, edge-ready)
• SQLite for simple/self‑hosted flows

Two common ORMs:

• Prisma (schema‑driven, batteries included)
• Drizzle (lightweight, SQL‑first)

Example (Prisma + Postgres)

1. Install and init

bash

2. Set DATABASE_URL in .env (and in Railway → Variables)

bash

Railway tip: You can add a PostgreSQL database directly in Railway by clicking New → Database → Add PostgreSQL. Railway will automatically set the DATABASE_URL environment variable for you.

3. Define a basic schema in prisma/schema.prisma

prisma

4. Create the DB and types

bash

5. Update src/db/chat.ts to read/write via Prisma instead of file utils. You may need to invalidate the router cache using router.invalidate() to refresh data after mutations.

Persisting messages

Add a Message model with chatId, role, content, and timestamps. Store/send the history in your server route so the AI has context after refreshes.

Production hardening checklist

• Error handling: Return helpful errors from server routes; guard empty inputs with proper validation
• Rate limiting: Protect your AI endpoint (e.g., Upstash Ratelimit or Railway's rate limiting)
• Secrets: Never expose OPENAI_API_KEY to the client; keep it in server routes only
• Logging/monitoring: Railway provides built-in logs; integrate Sentry or OpenTelemetry for deeper insights
• Performance: Use loaders effectively; leverage Tanstack Router's built-in caching and preloading
• Accessibility: Labels, focus management, keyboard navigation
• Testing:
  • Unit: Vitest for utilities and DB logic (Tanstack Start supports Vitest out of the box)
  • E2E: Playwright or Cypress for core chat flows

Ideas to extend the app

• Multiple models and providers: OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Anthropic, or local models
• Chat title auto‑generation: Update titles based on the first message using AI
• Message editing / regeneration: Allow users to edit their messages or regenerate AI responses
• Delete chats: Add delete functionality with confirmation dialogs
• Streaming UI polish: Add typing indicators, markdown rendering with syntax highlighting
• Authentication: Use Clerk or Auth.js to protect user data and enable multi-user support
• File uploads: Add support for image or document uploads in chat
• Export conversations: Allow users to download chat history as markdown or PDF

Wrap up

You've built a real, deployable Tanstack Start application! Ship it to Railway, move storage to a database when you're ready, and iterate on UX, reliability, and performance. From here, you can scale features confidently while enjoying Tanstack Start's excellent developer experience and type-safe routing.