> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://manifest.build/llm-gateway/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Deploy the LLM Gateway on Heroku

> Deploy the Manifest LLM Gateway with a container-stack web dyno and Heroku Postgres.

<Card title="Open Heroku deploy" icon="external-link" href="https://www.heroku.com/deploy?template=https://github.com/mnfst/llm-gateway">
  Deploy-button guide with Heroku Postgres, generated secrets, and required
  values for the app URL and S3-compatible recording storage.
</Card>

## Overview

Heroku can deploy the gateway with the repository `app.json` and `heroku.yml`. The deploy button creates a Cedar container-stack app, provisions Heroku Postgres, generates gateway secrets, and builds a tiny Heroku Dockerfile that uses the public Manifest image.

Heroku asks for a few values before it can deploy. Set `BETTER_AUTH_URL` to the public URL for the app name you choose. Heroku dynos have an ephemeral filesystem, so [request logs](/llm-gateway/docs/llm-gateway/docs/request-logs) write to external S3-compatible storage rather than local disk: set the bucket, region, and access key for that storage too.

## Prerequisites

* A Heroku account with billing enabled.
* Permission to create apps, add-ons, and config vars.
* A private S3-compatible bucket and an access key limited to it, for request logs.

This stack creates paid resources. Heroku no longer provides free dynos or free Heroku Postgres plans.

## Deploy

1. Open the [Heroku deploy link](https://www.heroku.com/deploy?template=https://github.com/mnfst/llm-gateway).
2. Choose an app name.
3. Set `BETTER_AUTH_URL` to:

```text theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
https://<your-app-name>.herokuapp.com
```

4. Fill in the recording storage values: `REQUEST_RECORDING_S3_BUCKET`, `REQUEST_RECORDING_S3_REGION`, `REQUEST_RECORDING_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID`, and `REQUEST_RECORDING_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`. Leave `REQUEST_RECORDING_S3_ENDPOINT` blank only when using AWS S3.
5. Deploy the app.

Heroku generates `BETTER_AUTH_SECRET` and `MANIFEST_ENCRYPTION_KEY`, provisions Postgres as `DATABASE_URL`, builds `Dockerfile.heroku`, and starts the web dyno.

## Open the gateway

Open the deployed app and create the first admin account. Fresh installs redirect to `/setup`; the first account you create becomes the admin.

Verify the deployment:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
curl -fsS https://<your-app-name>.herokuapp.com/api/v1/health
```

View logs:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
heroku logs --tail -a <your-app-name>
```

## Production notes

* Heroku sets `PORT` automatically, so the template does not pin a port.
* `PGSSLMODE=no-verify` enables TLS for Heroku Postgres without editing the managed `DATABASE_URL`.
* `DB_POOL_MAX=8` and `AUTH_DB_POOL_MAX=4` leave headroom under the Essential-0 connection limit.
* Use a custom domain before configuring production OAuth callbacks.
* Heroku's filesystem is ephemeral, which is why the deploy collects S3-compatible storage for [request logs](/llm-gateway/docs/llm-gateway/docs/request-logs) up front. Recordings live in your bucket, not on the dyno.

## Tearing it down

Destroy the app when testing is done to stop billing:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
heroku apps:destroy -a <your-app-name>
```

Relevant Heroku docs:

* [Deploy to Heroku Button](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/heroku-button)
* [app.json schema](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/app-json-schema)
* [Building Docker Images with heroku.yml](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/build-docker-images-heroku-yml)