Name, root directory, framework, instance size, and region - the settings that define what an application is and where it runs.
Application settings
The first card on the Create page describes what the application is: what it's called, where its code lives, what framework it runs, and where it runs. Detection pre-fills most of it for repository sources; everything stays editable.
Name#
The display name for the app across your dashboard.
It also seeds suggested defaults - the repository name for a starter copy, the database name for a stack - which you can change independently. Lowercase letters, numbers and dashes travel best, because the name feeds generated identifiers and the app's *.light-cloud.io URL.
Example: my-shop
Root directory#
For monorepos: the folder Light Cloud builds from. Blank means the repository root.
Setting it re-runs detection against that folder, so the framework, build command and output directory describe the app you're deploying rather than the repository as a whole. The folder button next to the field browses the repository so you don't have to guess the path. Webhook builds also honour it - a push that doesn't touch the root directory doesn't rebuild the app.
Example: apps/web in a repository laid out as:
apps/
web/ <- deploy this
api/
packages/
ui/
Tip
Deploying several apps from one repository? Create one application per folder, each with its own root directory. Each app then builds only when its folder changes.
Framework#
What the app is built with. This decides the whole build recipe: static frameworks are built and served from the edge CDN; server frameworks run as containers.
For repositories the framework is detected from the code - the badge above the form says what was found and from which files. Change it if the guess is wrong; the Frameworks page lists everything supported and how detection works.
Size#
The memory and CPU each running instance gets. Bigger sizes serve more load per instance and cost more per hour - the rates are on Pricing.
| Size | vCPU | Memory | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nano | 1 | 256 MB | Always scales to zero; smallest and cheapest |
| Micro | 1 | 512 MB | The default |
| Small | 1 | 1 GB | |
| Medium | 2 | 2 GB | |
| Large | 4 | 4 GB |
Larger sizes, up to 8 vCPUs and 32 GB, are coming. Each size also caps concurrency - how many requests one instance serves at once.
Two things can constrain the choice:
- Nano can't keep CPU allocated while idle, so it always sleeps when traffic stops (scale to zero).
- Server-rendered frontends (Next.js, Nuxt, SvelteKit, Remix, Astro in SSR mode) are pinned platform-wide to the Micro size - the edge serves your audience and the origin only renders cache misses, so a bigger origin buys nothing. See the SSR policy.
If the form moves your selection - because your plan doesn't include a size, or the SSR policy applies - it says so in the row it changed.
Region#
The data centre the app runs in:
| Region | Location |
|---|---|
europe-west1 | Belgium (Europe) |
us-central1 | Iowa (US Central) |
us-east1 | South Carolina (US East) |
us-west1 | Oregon (US West) |
Every request travels there and back, so pick the region closest to your users - and keep an app next to its database. More regions are coming; see Pricing.
Static sites don't have a region; they're served from the CDN everywhere. Server-rendered frontends are offered tier-1 regions only, since the edge sits in front of the origin anyway.
GitHub repo (starter templates)#
When you create an app from a starter template with a GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket account connected, the starter is copied into a new private repository you own, under the account shown in the row. The row holds a dropdown of the connected providers (each with the account it is connected as) when there is more than one, and the name is checked for availability under the chosen account as you type. Pushes to your copy deploy automatically - see Git automation.
Without any account connected, the app deploys read-only from the shared template; connect GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket first to get an editable copy. See Git providers.
Example: my-shop becomes your-account/my-shop