Netlify

Netlify builds static sites and JavaScript frameworks from Git, puts them on a CDN, and runs serverless functions beside the files.

At a glance

What it is	A Git-based host for static output and for frameworks that need a serverless function at request time.
Use it for	Marketing sites, SPAs, and framework apps whose bill you want expressed in credits.
Don't use it for	A process that must stay running, or a workload that burns through credits on bandwidth.
Free tier (checked 2026-11-01)	The Free plan is $0 and includes 300 credits/month. When the credits run out, projects pause until the next cycle. Custom domains with SSL, unlimited deploy previews, and a global CDN are included. Pricing and pricing.md.
Pricing model (checked 2026-11-01)	Personal is $9/month for 1,000 credits, with optional auto-recharge. Pro is $20/month and starts at 3,000 credits (tiers up to 20,000). From pricing.md: a production deploy costs 15 credits, compute costs 10 credits per GB-hour, bandwidth costs 20 credits per GB, and web requests cost 2 credits per 10,000 requests. Extra credits: Personal $5 for 500, Pro $10 for 1,500.
CLI and latest version (checked 2026-11-01)	Netlify CLI v27.16.1, published 2026-10-30. GitHub release.
Official docs	docs.netlify.com

Core concepts

• Site: one project, one build configuration, one set of deploys.
• Deploy: the output of a build. Deploy previews exist for pull requests and for branch deploys.
• Production deploy: the deploy currently published to the site's domains.
• Credits: the meter. Builds, bandwidth, compute, and requests draw from the same monthly balance.
• Functions: serverless handlers. Background functions exist for longer work (verify the current duration cap on the functions docs).
• Environment variables: scoped to builds, to functions, or to both, and to a deploy context (production, deploy preview, branch).
• Rollback: publishing an earlier successful deploy. It does not rebuild.

Deploy

Dashboard

1. Add a site from Git and set the base directory, build command, and publish directory.
2. Add environment variables under Site configuration, Environment variables. Choose the deploy contexts that receive each one. Use a secret variable for tokens.
3. Push to the production branch. Netlify builds and publishes.
4. Add a custom domain under Domain management. Netlify provisions the certificate once DNS points at the site.
5. Roll back under Deploys: open an older deploy and choose Publish deploy.

CLI

1. netlify login, then netlify init in the repo (or netlify link if the site already exists).
2. netlify env:set NAME value to add a variable. Scopes and contexts: verify with netlify env:set --help.
3. netlify deploy uploads a draft. netlify deploy --prod publishes it.
4. Roll back from the dashboard (Publish deploy). A CLI rollback command was not confirmed on this pass (verify).

Config file

netlify.toml in the repository root, or in the package if you set the base. Reference: file-based configuration.

[build]
  command = "yarn build"
  publish = "build"

[build.environment]
  NODE_VERSION = "22"

[[redirects]]
  from = "/*"
  to = "/index.html"
  status = 200

Do not put secrets in the file. Set those in the UI or with netlify env:set. The domain is a site setting, not a toml key.

Common patterns

• Monorepo: set base in netlify.toml to the package directory so the build does not run at the repository root.
• Preview per pull request: enabled when the Git provider is connected. Give previews their own API URL via a deploy-preview context variable.
• Scheduled functions: Netlify can invoke a function on a cron expression (verify the current config key in the scheduled functions docs).
• External Postgres: store the URL as an environment variable. A function is short-lived, so use a pooler and a small client pool. See Supabase.

Gotchas

• Credits (checked 2026-11-01): 300 credits on Free. A production deploy alone is 15. Bandwidth is 20 credits per GB. A site that ships images can pause mid-month.
• Pause (checked 2026-11-01): when the balance hits zero, projects pause until the next cycle. That is a hard stop, not a bill.
• Build minutes are no longer the public meter. The public meter is credits (checked 2026-11-01). If an older note of yours says "300 build minutes", replace it with the credit figures above.
• Netlify Database and Blob are listed on the Free plan. The database engine and any cap beyond credits were not confirmed (verify).
• Region list: the CDN is described as global. A pin-to-region control was not confirmed (verify).

What's new in recent releases

From the changelog:

• 2026-10-23: build and deploy from Grok through the Netlify connector.
• 2026-10-16: Support Hub, for Enterprise.
• 2026-10-14: Next.js and React security note. Upgrade next to 15.5.28 or 16.4.1.
• 2026-10-13: TanStack Start 1.0 deploys on Netlify.
• 2026-10-02: SvelteKit 3 support.
• 2026-10-30: CLI v27.16.1 (dependency updates). Release.

Connects to

• Vercel and Cloudflare: the other frontend hosts.
• Next.js: a common framework on this host.
• CI/CD: when the credit meter or the build image is no longer enough.
• Supabase: Postgres and auth next to a Netlify frontend.