How to deploy an app built with Claude Code (2026 guide)

You asked Claude Code to build an app, and it works on your computer. Now you want a real link you can send to friends or customers. This guide shows how to get there, step by step, even if you've never put anything online before. You can copy every prompt in it straight into Claude.

Can Claude Code deploy an app by itself?

Yes. Claude Code connects to outside services through MCP (Model Context Protocol), an open standard for AI tools. Once a host is connected, Claude can upload your app, start it, read the errors, fix the code and try again. See Anthropic's guide to connecting Claude Code to tools with MCP. Codex works the same way: see MCP in Codex.

Step 1: Know what kind of app you have

Ask Claude:

What kind of app is this, and what does it need to run online?

The answer is usually one of three:

• A plain website, with only pages and no server.
• A frontend app made with Next.js or React.
• An app with its own server: an API, a bot, a dashboard with a backend, a Python or Node app.

RightSide runs all three, because it runs your app as a normal server in its own container. Also ask whether the app saves data. If it keeps data in a file on your computer (like SQLite), ask Claude to move it to a real database before you launch.

Step 2: Fix the 3 things that break most first deploys

Why does an app work on localhost but not online? It's almost always one of these:

1. It only listens on "localhost". On a server the app must listen on 0.0.0.0 and read its port from the PORT setting the host gives it. This is one of the most common first-deploy failures.
2. Addresses point at your own computer. Links like http://localhost:3000 in the code won't work for anyone else.
3. Missing settings and keys. API keys in a .env file on your laptop don't travel with the code. They need to be added to the host as secrets, never pasted into the code or the chat.

One prompt covers all three:

Get this app ready to run on a server: listen on 0.0.0.0 and the PORT
environment variable, remove hard-coded localhost URLs, and list every
secret it needs without showing me their values.

Step 3: Connect Claude Code to a host

With RightSide, one command installs the tool, connects it to Claude Code (or Codex) and signs you in through your browser. You never paste a password into the chat:

curl -fsSL https://get.rightside.host/install | sh

RightSide is free during early access. The installer runs on Linux, Windows with WSL2, and Apple-silicon Macs. Full steps are in the quickstart.

Two details Claude handles for you, but they're good to know. Your project needs a Dockerfile (a recipe for running the app), and Claude can write one. And apps can't reach the internet unless you allow it. If yours calls outside services like payments, email or an AI API, Claude turns that on with "egress": "internet" in rightside.json.

Step 4: Ask Claude to deploy, and to keep going until it works

Be specific about what "done" means. This one sentence makes a big difference:

Deploy this app with RightSide. Fix any errors yourself and don't stop
until the public HTTPS address opens and works.

Deploys fail all the time, even for experts. What matters is who deals with it. On RightSide, every failed deploy comes back to Claude as a short error code and a suggested fix, so Claude changes the code and tries again, and you never have to read a log.

The 5 deploy errors you might see, and what they mean

These are the real error codes RightSide sends back to Claude. You don't need to fix them yourself; this table just tells you what's going on.

More detail is in the troubleshooting guide.

Step 5: Check that it's really live

"Deployed successfully" doesn't always mean it works. A deploy can finish and still show an error page to visitors. Before you share the link:

• Open it on your phone, off your home Wi-Fi.
• Click through the main pages and try the main action (sign up, add an item, send a form).
• Ask Claude to fetch the address and confirm it answers.

RightSide only switches a new version live after its health check passes, and Claude checks the public address before it reports done. If the new version is broken, the old one keeps running.

Step 6: Know how to undo a bad update

You'll change your app many times, and sometimes an update will break it. On RightSide, you just tell Claude:

Roll back to the last version that worked.

Your last 5 releases are kept, so there's always one to go back to.

Which host should you pick?

Pick a host built for the way you work. If you build by talking to Claude, pick one where Claude can do the whole job: deploy, fix failures, check the live link and roll back. RightSide was built for exactly this, and it runs any app that works as a web server. To see how it compares with the best-known option, read RightSide vs Vercel.

Checklist

• The app listens on 0.0.0.0 and the PORT setting.
• No localhost links left in the code.
• Secrets added to the host, not the code or the chat.
• Claude was told to keep going until the live address works.
• You opened the link on your phone.
• You know how to roll back.

Questions

Do I need to know Docker or servers?

No. Claude writes the Dockerfile and handles the deploy. You only need to describe what you want and check the live link at the end.

Does this work with Codex too?

Yes. RightSide connects to both Claude Code and OpenAI Codex over MCP, and the prompts in this guide work in either.

How much does it cost to put a Claude Code app online?

RightSide is free during early access, and we'll tell you at least 30 days before any fees start.

How long does it take?

Connecting takes one install command and a browser sign-in. After that, each deploy is one sentence to Claude.

Built something with Claude Code? Get early access, then ask Claude to put it online.