Migrate from Render to Self-Hosted

Render and Temps share a similar deployment model — connect a Git repo, push to deploy, get a URL. The main differences are that Render manages the infrastructure for you while Temps runs on a VPS you control, and Temps replaces Render's add-ons (databases, disks, cron jobs) with self-hosted equivalents.

What Transfers Without Changes

Feature	Render	Temps
Web services	Auto-deploy from Git	Same — auto-deploy from Git
Build command	Detected or manual	Same — detected or set in project settings
Start command	`node server.js`, `gunicorn`, etc.	Same — set in project settings
Environment variables	Dashboard or render.yaml	Temps dashboard or CLI
Health checks	`/healthz` path	Same — configurable health check path
HTTPS	Automatic	Same — Let's Encrypt, auto-renewed
Preview environments	Pull request previews	Same — every PR gets a URL

What Needs an Alternative

Render feature	Temps equivalent
Render Postgres	Temps managed Postgres or external (Neon, Supabase)
Render Redis	Temps managed Redis
Persistent Disks	Project volumes (VPS-mounted directories)
Render Cron Jobs	Temps Cron Jobs
Render Static Sites	Static site deployment
Render Private Services	Temps internal networking (services on the same server communicate over localhost)

Pre-Migration Checklist

SSH access to a VPS running Ubuntu 22.04+ (choosing a server)
Domain name with DNS access (or use a Temps subdomain while testing)
Render environment variables exported (see Step 1)
Database backup exported if you are migrating data

Step 1: Export Environment Variables

In Render, go to your service → Environment → copy all key-value pairs. You can also use the Render CLI:

render env list --service YOUR_SERVICE_NAME

Note which variables are Render-specific and need to be changed:

Render variable	Action
`DATABASE_URL`	Replace with your new database URL after migration
`REDIS_URL`	Replace with your new Redis URL after migration
`PORT`	Remove — Temps sets this automatically
`RENDER_SERVICE_NAME`	Remove — Render-specific
`RENDER_EXTERNAL_URL`	Remove or replace with your Temps URL
`RENDER_INTERNAL_HOSTNAME`	Remove — use localhost or Temps service names

Step 2: Migrate Your Database

Export from Render Postgres

In Render, go to your database → Info → copy the External Connection String.

pg_dump "$RENDER_DATABASE_URL" \
  --no-acl \
  --no-owner \
  -Fc \
  -f render_backup.dump

Set Up the New Database

Create a managed Postgres service

Three ways to do this

1
In the Temps dashboard, go to Managed Services, then New Service, then PostgreSQL.
2
Give the service a name (e.g. my-app-db) and create it.
3
Temps creates a Postgres instance on your server accessible at localhost:16432.
Checkpoint: Open the service detail page and confirm the connection string is shown before restoring data into it.

Option A — Temps managed Postgres (same server):

In the Temps dashboard, go to Managed Services → New Service → PostgreSQL
Temps creates a Postgres instance on your server accessible at localhost:16432
The connection string is shown in the service detail page

Option B — External Postgres (Neon, Supabase, etc.): Create a database with your chosen provider and copy the connection string.

Restore Your Data

# Test on a copy first
pg_restore \
  --clean \
  --if-exists \
  -d "$NEW_DATABASE_URL" \
  render_backup.dump

# Verify row counts match
psql "$NEW_DATABASE_URL" -c "SELECT schemaname, tablename, n_live_tup FROM pg_stat_user_tables ORDER BY n_live_tup DESC;"

Step 3: Handle Persistent Disks

Add a project volume

Two ways to do this

1
Open your project and go to Settings, then Volumes.
2
Click Add Volume.
3
Set the Container path to match what you used in Render (e.g. /var/data).
4
Temps mounts a directory from your VPS at that path.
Checkpoint: Confirm the volume appears in the Volumes list with the expected container path, then migrate existing data from the Render disk with rsync or scp before cutting over.

Render persistent disks mount a directory that survives deployments. On Temps, use project volumes:

Go to Project → Settings → Volumes
Click Add Volume
Set the Container path to match what you used in Render (e.g. /var/data)
Temps mounts a directory from your VPS at that path

To migrate existing data from a Render disk, use rsync or scp via the Render shell before you cut over.

Step 4: Set Up Cron Jobs

Add a cron job

Two ways to do this

1
Open your project and go to Settings, then Cron Jobs.
2
Click Add Cron Job.
3
Set the schedule (e.g. 0 2 * * *) and the command (e.g. node scripts/cleanup.js).
4
Save the cron job. See the Cron Jobs guide for details.
Checkpoint: Run bunx @temps-sdk/cli environments crons list -p my-app -e production to confirm the cron job is registered.

Render cron jobs (schedule: in render.yaml) become Temps cron jobs:

# render.yaml (what you had)
services:
  - type: cron
    name: daily-cleanup
    schedule: "0 2 * * *"
    buildCommand: npm run build
    startCommand: node scripts/cleanup.js

In Temps, go to Project → Settings → Cron Jobs → Add Cron Job and set the schedule and command. See the Cron Jobs guide for details.

Step 5: Install Temps and Deploy

Create a project and deploy

Three ways to do this

1
In the Temps dashboard, go to Projects, then New Project.
2
Connect your Git repository.
3
Add your environment variables, updating DATABASE_URL to your new database connection string.
4
Click Deploy. Your app gets a preview URL at https://your-project.yourdomain.com.
Checkpoint: Open the preview URL and test the app thoroughly before cutting over DNS.

Install Temps on your server:

curl -fsSL https://temps.sh/deploy.sh | bash

Then:

Go to Projects → New Project in the Temps dashboard
Connect your Git repository
Add your environment variables (update DATABASE_URL to your new database)
Click Deploy

Your app gets a preview URL at https://your-project.yourdomain.com. Test it thoroughly before cutting over DNS.

Step 6: Cut Over DNS

Add your custom domain

Three ways to do this

1
In your project, go to Settings, then Domains, and click Add Domain.
2
Enter your domain (e.g. app.yourdomain.com). Temps shows you the DNS records to add.
3
At your DNS provider, add an A record for app pointing to YOUR_SERVER_IP, and lower the TTL to 60 seconds before the cutover.
Checkpoint: Run dig +short app.yourdomain.com and confirm it returns your server's IP, then confirm the domain status shows active in Temps.
4
Keep your Render services running for 48 hours as a fallback in case you need to revert.

Once your app works on the Temps preview URL:

In Project → Settings → Domains, click Add Domain
Enter your domain (e.g. app.yourdomain.com)
Temps shows you the DNS records to add

In your DNS provider:

Type	Name	Value
A	`app`	YOUR_SERVER_IP

Lower your TTL to 60 seconds before the cutover so you can revert quickly if needed.

Keep your Render services running for 48 hours as a fallback. DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate everywhere, though most resolvers pick up changes within minutes.

Rollback Plan

If you encounter problems after cutting over:

Update your DNS A record back to Render's IP
Wait for propagation (fast if you lowered TTL)
Your Render service is still running and receives traffic again

Next Steps

Managed databases on Temps

Manage environment variables

Set up cron jobs

Set up backups and monitoring

Migrate from Render to Self-Hosted

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