Host on Vercel

Use these instructions to enable continuous deployment from a GitHub repository. The same general steps apply if you are using Bitbucket or GitLab for version control.

Prerequisites

Please complete the following tasks before continuing:

1. Create a Vercel account
2. Log in to your Vercel account
3. Create a GitHub account
4. Log in to your GitHub account
5. Create a GitHub repository for your project
6. Create a local Git repository for your project with a remote reference to your GitHub repository
7. Create a Hugo project within your local Git repository and test it with the hugo server command
8. Commit the changes to your local Git repository and push to your GitHub repository

Procedure

Step 1

Create a vercel.json file in the root of your project.

vercel.json

{
  "$schema": "https://openapi.vercel.sh/vercel.json",
  "buildCommand": "chmod a+x build.sh && ./build.sh",
  "outputDirectory": "public"
}

Step 2

Create a build.sh file in the root of your project.

build.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash

#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# @file
# Builds a Hugo site hosted on Vercel.
#
# The Vercel build image automatically installs Node.js dependencies.
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Exit on error, undefined variables, or pipe failures
set -euo pipefail

build_temp_dir=""

# Perform cleanup
cleanup() {
  if [[ -n "${build_temp_dir:-}" && -d "${build_temp_dir}" ]]; then
    rm -rf "${build_temp_dir}"
  fi
}

# Register the cleanup trap
trap cleanup EXIT SIGINT SIGTERM

main() {
  # Define tool versions
  DART_SASS_VERSION=1.100.0
  GO_VERSION=1.26.3
  HUGO_VERSION=0.163.0
  NODE_VERSION=24.16.0

  # Set the build timezone
  export TZ=Europe/Oslo

  # Create and move into a temporary directory for downloads
  build_temp_dir=$(mktemp -d)
  pushd "${build_temp_dir}" > /dev/null

  # Create the local tools directory
  mkdir -p "${HOME}/.local"

  # Install Dart Sass
  echo "Installing Dart Sass ${DART_SASS_VERSION}..."
  curl -sLJO "https://github.com/sass/dart-sass/releases/download/${DART_SASS_VERSION}/dart-sass-${DART_SASS_VERSION}-linux-x64.tar.gz"
  tar -C "${HOME}/.local" -xf "dart-sass-${DART_SASS_VERSION}-linux-x64.tar.gz"
  export PATH="${HOME}/.local/dart-sass:${PATH}"

  # Install Go
  echo "Installing Go ${GO_VERSION}..."
  curl -sLJO "https://go.dev/dl/go${GO_VERSION}.linux-amd64.tar.gz"
  tar -C "${HOME}/.local" -xf "go${GO_VERSION}.linux-amd64.tar.gz"
  export PATH="${HOME}/.local/go/bin:${PATH}"

  # Install Hugo
  echo "Installing Hugo ${HUGO_VERSION}..."
  curl -sLJO "https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/download/v${HUGO_VERSION}/hugo_${HUGO_VERSION}_linux-amd64.tar.gz"
  mkdir -p "${HOME}/.local/hugo"
  tar -C "${HOME}/.local/hugo" -xf "hugo_${HUGO_VERSION}_linux-amd64.tar.gz"
  export PATH="${HOME}/.local/hugo:${PATH}"

  # Install Node.js
  echo "Installing Node.js ${NODE_VERSION}..."
  curl -sLJO "https://nodejs.org/dist/v${NODE_VERSION}/node-v${NODE_VERSION}-linux-x64.tar.xz"
  tar -C "${HOME}/.local" -xf "node-v${NODE_VERSION}-linux-x64.tar.xz"
  export PATH="${HOME}/.local/node-v${NODE_VERSION}-linux-x64/bin:${PATH}"

  # Return to the project root
  popd > /dev/null

  # Verify installations
  echo "Verifying installations..."
  echo Dart Sass: "$(sass --version)"
  echo Go: "$(go version)"
  echo Hugo: "$(hugo version)"
  echo Node.js: "$(node --version)"

  # Configure Git
  echo "Configuring Git..."
  git config --global core.quotepath false
  if [ "$(git rev-parse --is-shallow-repository)" = "true" ]; then
    git fetch --unshallow
  fi

  # Build the site
  echo "Building the site..."
  hugo build --gc --minify --baseURL "https://${VERCEL_PROJECT_PRODUCTION_URL}"
}

main "$@"

Step 3

Commit the changes to your local Git repository and push to your GitHub repository.

Step 4

In the upper right corner of the Vercel dashboard, press the Add New button and select “Project” from the drop down menu.

Step 5

Press the “Continue with GitHub” button.

Step 6

Press the Authorize Vercel button to allow the Vercel application to access your GitHub account.

Step 7

Press the Install button to install the Vercel application.

Step 8

Select the GitHub account where you want to install the Vercel application.

Step 9

Authorize the Vercel application to access all repositories or only select repositories, then press the Install button.

Your browser will be redirected to the Cloudflare dashboard.

Step 10

Press the Import button to the right of the name of your GitHub repository.

Step 11

On the “New Project” page, leave the settings at their default values and press the Deploy button.

Step 12

When the deployment completes, press the **Continue to Dashboard" button at the bottom of the page.

Step 13

On the “Production Deployment” page, click on the link to your published site.

In the future, whenever you push a change from your local Git repository, Vercel will rebuild and deploy your site.