Deploying JS Apps Free with GitHub Student Plan

The GitHub Student Developer Pack gives students free access to professional hosting platforms. If you have a school email address, you can deploy JavaScript applications with automatic continuous deployment, custom domains, and SSL certificates -- all without paying anything.

This guide walks through the two best free options for JavaScript apps: Vercel and Netlify. Both connect directly to your Git repository and redeploy automatically on every push.

Step 1: Get the GitHub Student Pack

Go to education.github.com/pack and click "Get your pack". Sign in with your GitHub account, then verify your student status using your school email address. Verification usually takes a few minutes, though during peak periods it can take up to a few days.

Once verified, you have access to dozens of free tools. The relevant ones for JavaScript deployment are Vercel and Netlify, both of which offer upgraded plans through the student pack.

Step 2: Choose and Connect a Hosting Platform

Vercel

Vercel is the company behind Next.js and offers the best experience for framework-based JavaScript apps. Sign up at vercel.com using your GitHub account. Vercel automatically detects your framework and configures the build settings.

The student pack gives you the Pro plan for free, which includes:

• 1 TB of bandwidth per month
• 6,000 build minutes per month
• Serverless function support with longer timeouts
• Team collaboration features

Netlify

Netlify is an excellent alternative with a generous free tier that does not even require the student pack for basic use. The student pack upgrades you to the Pro plan with additional build minutes and team features. Sign up at netlify.com with your GitHub account.

Step 3: Deploy Your First App

From your platform dashboard, click "Add New Project" and select your GitHub repository. The platform scans your repository and suggests build settings. For most JavaScript projects, the defaults work without changes.

A typical Vite project needs these settings:

text

Build command: npm run build
Output directory: dist

A Create React App project needs a slightly different output directory because CRA outputs to a folder named build instead:

text

Build command: npm run build
Output directory: build

Click deploy. Within a minute or two, your app is live at a generated URL like my-app.vercel.app or my-app.netlify.app.

Step 4: Connect a Custom Domain

Generated URLs work for testing, but a custom domain makes your app look professional. From your platform dashboard, go to the Domains settings and add your domain. The platform provides DNS records you need to add at your domain registrar.

After adding the records, SSL certificates are provisioned automatically. Both Vercel and Netlify handle certificate renewal in the background, so you never need to think about it.

Step 5: Configure Environment Variables

API keys and secrets should never be committed to your repository. Both platforms provide a secure environment variables dashboard. Add your keys there, and they become available to your app at build time and runtime.

In Vercel, go to Settings > Environment Variables. In Netlify, go to Site Settings > Environment Variables.

The same variable names you use locally in your .env file work in production. The platform injects them automatically during the build process.

Step 6: Set Up Automatic Deployments

Both platforms automatically deploy when you push to your main branch. For more control, you can configure deploy previews for pull requests, which create temporary URLs where you can test changes before merging.

This flow means your production site always reflects the latest commit on your main branch. Push your code, wait a minute, and see the changes live. No manual FTP uploads or server configuration required.

For more on building and optimizing JavaScript apps before deployment, see the guide on ES6 modules and imports and bundler selection.