Keep the site. Run the rest.

Split

Keep the site. Run the rest.

The frontend can stay on Vercel. The API, workers, and database run in production without their limits.

storefront-api · 4f1c9ae

site

git · main · 4f1c9ae

Vercel

Preview plane

CDN · serverless

1. URL

   preview-pr-142.vercel.app

2. Edge

   CDN

3. Run

   Serverless

dFlow

Owned node

Docker · workers · data

1. URL

   service.node.up.dflow.sh

2. Build

   Railpack · Static

3. TLS

   Let's Encrypt

Frontend still belongs on the preview plane

Vercel is the better preview machine. dFlow will ship the same repo onto a node you attach — it does not clone per-PR CDN previews.

Auto-deploy on push is GitHub and GitLab only. dFlow’s URL is the service on your node — not a per-PR CDN preview.

Scope

Keep what the site needs. Move the rest.

Stay on Vercel if the frontend is the whole product. Move the rest of production when it is not.

scope · layer rack

01 / 4

01 · git

Git DX

The push is shared. Per-PR preview URLs are not.

Vercel

• Sources

  GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket

• Auto-deploy

  Built in on supported git

• Preview promise

  Per-PR CDN URL

• Builders

  Frontend-first, Next.js-optimized

• Sources

  GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, Gitea

• Auto-deploy

  GitHub and GitLab on push

• Preview promise

  Service URL on the node you attach

• Builders

  BuildPacks, Railpack, Dockerfile, Static

Auto-deploy on push is GitHub and GitLab only. ClickHouse backups are not available yet.

Placements

When the product is more than a site.

If the product is a frontend, stay on Vercel. These are the jobs that need production without their limits.

• 01 · api

  routing slip

  preview plane

  Vercel: Serverless function

  to

  owned node

  dFlow: web process on the node

  APIs that outgrew functions

  Next.js teams adding a real backend

  Keep Vercel for the frontend if you want it. Run the API as a web process on a worker node — Docker or Railpack, not a function timeout.

  Next.js · Docker · Railpack · GitHub · PostgreSQL

• 02 · worker

  routing slip

  preview plane

  Vercel: Request-scoped or cron-shaped work

  to

  owned node

  dFlow: worker · scheduler · replicas 1–5

  Queues and jobs that have to stay up

  Products with sustained background work

  Worker and scheduler process types get CPU, memory, and replicas you set. Applied on the next release — not fitted into a serverless request.

  Redis · Docker · GitHub · PostgreSQL · Railpack

• 03 · data

  routing slip

  preview plane

  Vercel: Managed add-on

  to

  owned node

  dFlow: Engine on the node, or bring your own

  Postgres beside the app

  Teams that do not want a storage SKU

  Postgres, Redis, MySQL, MongoDB, MariaDB, and ClickHouse run on the same node, wired by reference. ClickHouse backups are not available yet.

  PostgreSQL · Redis · MySQL · MongoDB · MariaDB · Docker

• 04 · mesh

  routing slip

  preview plane

  Vercel: Public edge

  to

  owned node

  dFlow: Tailscale mesh

  Private backends behind the edge

  Teams that need service-to-service paths

  Keep the public frontend on a CDN if that is the right plane. Backend traffic between the control plane and nodes rides Tailscale.

  Tailscale · Docker · PostgreSQL · Cloudflare · Dokku