How to Host Phoenix Applications

Introduction

This guide covers deploying Phoenix applications on Shard Cloud. Phoenix is a web framework for Elixir that delivers fast, fault-tolerant applications with real-time capabilities.

Creating Your Project

Ensure you have Elixir and Phoenix installed.

Creating a New Phoenix Project

mix phx.new my_phoenix_app
cd my_phoenix_app

Basic Application Structure

Your Phoenix application should have this structure:

my_phoenix_app/
├── lib/
│   ├── my_phoenix_app/
│   └── my_phoenix_app_web/
├── config/
├── priv/
├── assets/
├── mix.exs
└── .shardcloud

Configuring Port 80

Update config/runtime.exs to use port 80:

config/runtime.exs

config :my_phoenix_app, MyPhoenixAppWeb.Endpoint,
  http: [ip: {0, 0, 0, 0}, port: 80],
  server: true

Or configure via environment variable:

config/runtime.exs

config :my_phoenix_app, MyPhoenixAppWeb.Endpoint,
  http: [ip: {0, 0, 0, 0}, port: String.to_integer(System.get_env("PORT") || "80")],
  server: true

Shard Cloud Configuration

Create a .shardcloud file:

.shardcloud

DISPLAY_NAME=Phoenix Website
DESCRIPTION=Elixir Phoenix Application
MAIN=mix.exs
MEMORY=512
VERSION=recommended
SUBDOMAIN=my-phoenix-site
CUSTOM_COMMAND=mix phx.server

The CUSTOM_COMMAND=mix phx.server is required to start Phoenix in server mode.

Deploying

Verify Locally

Run mix phx.server to verify your application works locally.

Prepare Your Files

Ensure you have:

All source files (lib/, config/, priv/)
mix.exs
.shardcloud
assets/ folder (if using frontend assets)

Exclude Unnecessary Files

Remove:

_build/
deps/
.elixir_ls/
node_modules/ (if present in assets)

Create ZIP Archive

Zip the entire Phoenix application folder.

Upload to Shard Cloud

Go to Shard Cloud Dashboard and upload.

Database Configuration

If your Phoenix app uses a database, configure it in config/runtime.exs:

config/runtime.exs

config :my_phoenix_app, MyPhoenixApp.Repo,
  url: System.get_env("DATABASE_URL"),
  pool_size: String.to_integer(System.get_env("POOL_SIZE") || "10")

Set the DATABASE_URL environment variable in your Shard Cloud dashboard.

Additional Resources

Visit the official Phoenix documentation for more information.

Troubleshooting

Application fails to start

Ensure CUSTOM_COMMAND=mix phx.server is set in .shardcloud
Verify port 80 is configured in config/runtime.exs
Check that server: true is set in your endpoint config

Dependencies not found

Make sure mix.exs includes all required dependencies
Remove deps/ folder before uploading (Shard Cloud will fetch them)

Assets not loading

Ensure assets/ folder is included in your ZIP
Run mix assets.deploy locally before uploading for production assets

Database connection errors

Verify DATABASE_URL environment variable is set in dashboard
Check database credentials and connection string format

Introduction

Platform Features

Bot Platforms

API Frameworks

Website Frameworks

How to Host Phoenix Applications

Introduction

Creating Your Project

Creating a New Phoenix Project

Basic Application Structure

Configuring Port 80

Shard Cloud Configuration

Deploying

Database Configuration

Additional Resources

Troubleshooting

​Introduction

​Creating Your Project

​Creating a New Phoenix Project

​Basic Application Structure

​Configuring Port 80

​Shard Cloud Configuration

​Deploying

​Database Configuration

​Additional Resources

​Troubleshooting

Introduction

Creating Your Project

Creating a New Phoenix Project

Basic Application Structure

Configuring Port 80

Shard Cloud Configuration

Deploying

Database Configuration

Additional Resources

Troubleshooting