Render Static Hosting Guide

Your Medusa backend already runs elsewhere (Railway), so the only thing Render needs to host is the public gallery at apps/media-gallery/index.html. The gallery is a plain HTML file with Tailwind via CDN, so Render’s Static Site product is enough—no Node build or backend required.

1. Prepare the repo

The gallery lives at apps/media-gallery/. Keep index.html (and any supporting assets you add later) committed to Git so Render can pull them.

2. Create a Render Static Site

1. Log into Render → New + → Static Site.
2. Pick your GitHub/GitLab repo.
3. When prompted:
   • Name: e.g. media-gallery.
   • Root Directory: leave empty (repo root).
   • Publish Directory: apps/media-gallery.
   • Build Command: leave blank (Render will just copy the directory). If you prefer to be explicit, use:

     mkdir -p $RENDER_OUTPUT && cp -R apps/media-gallery/* $RENDER_OUTPUT

4. Click Create Static Site. Render will deploy as soon as the repo syncs.

3. Configure share links

Once the static site URL is live (e.g. https://media-gallery-yourteam.onrender.com):

1. Set VITE_MEDIA_GALLERY_BASE_URL in your admin UI environment (or .env) to that domain.
2. Newly generated share links will embed this base, so copying from the admin opens the Render-hosted gallery.

4. Updating the gallery

• Any commit touching apps/media-gallery will trigger a redeploy.
• If you need to hotfix without a build, use Render’s Manual Deploy → Sync from Repo or upload assets through the dashboard.

5. Troubleshooting

• Blank page: Make sure index.html is at the publish directory root.
• Mixed content warnings: The gallery calls your Railway backend via fetch('/api/web/media/folder/...'). Ensure the backend is HTTPS and CORS allows the Render domain.
• Bad share links: Re-check VITE_MEDIA_GALLERY_BASE_URL matches the Render static site URL exactly (no trailing slash).

That’s all you need on Render—just a static site that serves index.html, while Railway continues to run the Medusa API powering the gallery.*** End Patch