Deploy

DAX generates pure static HTML to site/. That means it deploys ANYWHERE - no runtime, no Node, no .NET on server.

Build command everywhere: dotnet run -- build or bin/DAX build

Publish directory: site

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1. GitHub Pages (Recommended - Free)

DAX includes a ready workflow .github/workflows/deploy.yml.

Steps:

1. Push your DAX project to GitHub (main branch)

2. Go to Repo > Settings > Pages > Source: GitHub Actions

3. Push to main - auto deploy in 30s

Workflow does:

setup-dotnet 9.0
dotnet publish -o bin
dotnet run -- build
upload ./site to Pages

Your site will be at https://username.github.io/dax/

Custom domain? Add public/CNAME file with yourdomain.com

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2. Vercel (Fastest - Edge)

Vercel auto-detects static but needs build command.

Option A: Vercel Dashboard

• Import GitHub repo
• Framework Preset: Other
• Build Command: dotnet publish -c Release -o bin && dotnet bin/DAX.dll build

- or if you commit DAX binary: ./bin/DAX build

• Output Directory: site
• Deploy

Option B: vercel.json

Create vercel.json in root:

{
  "buildCommand": "dotnet run -- build",
  "outputDirectory": "site",
  "framework": null
}

Vercel has .NET runtime, so dotnet run works. No node_modules.

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3. Netlify (Simple + Forms)

Netlify Dashboard:

• New site from Git
• Build command: dotnet run -- build
• Publish directory: site

netlify.toml (recommended):

[build]
  command = "dotnet publish -c Release -o bin && bin/DAX build"
  publish = "site"

[build.environment]
  DOTNET_VERSION = "9.0"

Bonus: Netlify Forms still work - add data-netlify="true" to

in your .dax templates.

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4. Cloudflare Pages (Fast + Free Unlimited Bandwidth)

Cloudflare Pages supports .NET via dotnet build.

Steps:

1. Cloudflare Dashboard > Workers & Pages > Create > Pages > Connect Git

2. Build settings:

- Build command: dotnet run -- build

- Build output directory: site

- Root directory: /

3. Environment variable: DOTNET_VERSION = 9.0.0

Or Wrangler:

npx wrangler pages deploy site --project-name=dax

Why Cloudflare? Free, no bandwidth limit, edge cache global, perfect for DAX static HTML.

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5. Manual Deploy (Any VPS / Nginx)

dotnet publish -c Release -o bin
bin\dax.exe build
:: upload site/* to /var/www/html/

Nginx:

server {
  root /var/www/dax/site;
  location / { try_files $uri $uri/index.html =404; }
}

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Comparison

Platform	Build Time	Bandwidth	Dotnet Needed	Cost
GitHub Pages	~45s	100GB	No (CI builds)	Free
Vercel	~30s	100GB	Yes (auto)	Free
Netlify	~40s	100GB	Yes	Free
Cloudflare	~25s	Unlimited	Yes	Free

Recommendation: GitHub Pages for docs/blogs, Cloudflare for high traffic.

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FAQ

Q: Why not Blazor GitHub Pages deployment?

A: Blazor needs WASM + _framework/ 1-2MB JS. DAX output is < 50KB per page, loads in 50ms vs 2s.

Q: Does Vercel/Netlify support dax.exe?

A: Yes, publish DAX as single file: dotnet publish -r linux-x64 --self-contained. But easier use dotnet run -- build.

Q: How to handle base path /repo/ on GitHub Pages?

A: Set site.url in _data/metadata.json to https://username.github.io/repo/ and use {{ site.url }} in templates. Or use relative URLs.

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Deploy Checklist

⬜ dotnet run -- build works locally, site/ has index.html

⬜ .gitignore ignores bin/, obj/, site/ (but CI will rebuild site/)

⬜ _data/metadata.json has correct url

⬜ site/sitemap.xml exists (auto generated)

⬜ Push to main