Migrate from Render

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

What Needs an Alternative

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:

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

Option A — Temps managed Postgres (same server):

1. In the Temps dashboard, go to Managed Services → New Service → PostgreSQL
2. Temps creates a Postgres instance on your server accessible at localhost:16432
3. 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

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

1. Go to Project → Settings → 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

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

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

Install Temps on your server:

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

Then:

1. Go to Projects → New Project in the Temps dashboard
2. Connect your Git repository
3. Add your environment variables (update DATABASE_URL to your new database)
4. 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

Once your app works on the Temps preview URL:

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

In your DNS provider:

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:

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

Next Steps