Full-Stack with Next.js: Build and Deploy a Scalable App with Prisma, PostgreSQL & Vercel

The power of the web today lies in building applications that are performant, scalable, and developer-friendly. Next.js, combined with Prisma and PostgreSQL, offers an unparalleled full-stack development experience. And when paired with Vercel for deployment, the process becomes seamless from idea to production.

**In this in-depth guide, you’ll learn how to build a full-stack application using: **

• Next.js 14 (App Router)
• PostgreSQL (as your relational database)
• Prisma (as your type-safe ORM)
• Vercel (for serverless deployment and CI/CD)

We’ll build a simple yet scalable app: a full-featured Task Manager with authentication, CRUD operations, server actions, and a responsive UI.

Let’s dive in.

Why This Stack?

• Next.js gives you SSR, SSG, API routes, App Router, and React Server Components in one powerful framework.

• PostgreSQL is a battle-tested, scalable, and ACID-compliant relational database.

• Prisma ORM provides type safety, easy migrations, and autocompletion with VS Code integration.

• Vercel makes deploying Next.js apps incredibly easy, with edge-ready APIs, preview URLs, and environment variable management.

This stack lets you focus on product logic and features, not boilerplate setup.

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18+
• PostgreSQL installed locally or using a service like Supabase or Railway
• GitHub account
• Basic understanding of React/JSX and TypeScript
• VS Code installed

Initialize the Next.js Project

We’ll use the App Router in Next.js 14 with TypeScript.

npx create-next-app@latest taskify --app --ts
cd taskify

Enable experimental features (optional, for Server Actions):

Update next.config.js:

/** @type {import('next').NextConfig} */
const nextConfig = {
  experimental: {
    serverActions: true,
  },
};

module.exports = nextConfig;

Install Tailwind CSS:

npm install -D tailwindcss postcss autoprefixer
npx tailwindcss init -p

Update tailwind.config.js:

content: [
  "./app/**/*.{js,ts,jsx,tsx}",
  "./components/**/*.{js,ts,jsx,tsx}",
];

Add Tailwind to global styles:

/app/globals.css:

@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
@tailwind utilities;

Install Prisma and Connect PostgreSQL

Install Prisma CLI and PostgreSQL client:

npm install prisma --save-dev
npm install @prisma/client

Initialize Prisma:

npx prisma init

This creates a prisma/schema.prisma file and .env for DATABASE_URL.

Set up your database URL in .env:

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/taskify"

Define Your Prisma Schema

Open prisma/schema.prisma:

generator client {
  provider = "prisma-client-js"
}

datasource db {
  provider = "postgresql"
  url      = env("DATABASE_URL")
}

model Task {
  id        Int      @id @default(autoincrement())
  title     String
  completed Boolean  @default(false)
  createdAt DateTime @default(now())
}

Run the migration:

npx prisma migrate dev --name init

This generates the database and the Prisma Client.

Setup Prisma Client

Create /lib/prisma.ts:

import { PrismaClient } from "@prisma/client";

const globalForPrisma = globalThis as unknown as {
  prisma: PrismaClient | undefined;
};

export const prisma =
  globalForPrisma.prisma ??
  new PrismaClient({
    log: ["query"],
  });

if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== "production") globalForPrisma.prisma = prisma;

Now, you can use prisma in both API routes and Server Components.

Add Server Actions for CRUD

/app/actions/task-actions.ts:

'use server';
import { prisma } from '@/lib/prisma';

export async function createTask(formData: FormData) {
  const title = formData.get('title')?.toString();
  if (!title) return;
  await prisma.task.create({ data: { title } });
}

export async function deleteTask(id: number) {
  await prisma.task.delete({ where: { id } });
}

Build the UI

/app/page.tsx:

import { prisma } from '@/lib/prisma';
import { createTask, deleteTask } from './actions/task-actions';

export default async function HomePage() {
  const tasks = await prisma.task.findMany({ orderBy: { createdAt: 'desc' } });

  return (
    <main className="max-w-xl mx-auto mt-10">
      <form action={createTask} className="flex gap-2">
        <input name="title" className="border px-3 py-2 w-full" />
        <button className="bg-blue-600 text-white px-4 py-2 rounded">Add</button>
      </form>

      <ul className="mt-6 space-y-3">
        {tasks.map((task) => (
          <li key={task.id} className="flex justify-between items-center bg-white p-3 rounded shadow">
            <span>{task.title}</span>
            <form action={() => deleteTask(task.id)}>
              <button className="text-red-600">Delete</button>
            </form>
          </li>
        ))}
      </ul>
    </main>
  );
}

Add Loading and Error UI

/app/loading.tsx:

export default function Loading() {
  return <p className="text-center mt-10 text-gray-500">Loading tasks...</p>;
}

/app/error.tsx:

'use client';
export default function Error({ error }: { error: Error }) {
  return (
    <p className="text-red-500 text-center mt-10">
      Something went wrong: {error.message}
    </p>
  );
}

Add Authentication (Optional)

Install NextAuth.js:

npm install next-auth

/pages/api/auth/[...nextauth].ts:

import NextAuth from "next-auth";
import GitHubProvider from "next-auth/providers/github";

export default NextAuth({
  providers: [
    GitHubProvider({
      clientId: process.env.GITHUB_ID!,
      clientSecret: process.env.GITHUB_SECRET!,
    }),
  ],
});

Use session in your app with useSession() and protect server actions.

Deploy to Vercel

Push code to GitHub.

Login to vercel.com and import your repository:

• Add environment variables (DATABASE_URL, GITHUB_ID, etc.)
• Choose PostgreSQL provider (e.g., Railway)
• Connect and deploy

Bonus: Enable preview deployments for each PR.

Ongoing Improvements

Some ideas to evolve your app:

• Add task completion toggle
• Use Zod for form validation
• Add categories or tags for tasks
• Use shadcn/ui or Radix for polished UI
• Add pagination or infinite scrolling
• Add optimistic UI updates with useTransition
• Move to App Router and RSC-only components
• Store user sessions in database

Conclusion

You have just built a production-grade, full-stack web app using Next.js 14, Prisma, and PostgreSQL and deployed it with Vercel. This tech stack gives you the scalability, performance, and developer velocity needed for modern web applications.

Next.js empowers the frontend and backend with one cohesive system. Prisma makes database modeling a joy. PostgreSQL ensures performance and data integrity. Vercel handles the ops so you can focus on code.

If you’re serious about full-stack development in 2025, mastering this stack will future-proof your skills and allow you to ship faster than ever.

Need this entire project zipped or want to add features like email auth, notifications, or Stripe integration next? Just let me know!