Fix Railway Start Command Not Found

Railway needs a clear start command for many Node apps. Add a start script or configure the service command.

Book $50 Deploy Rescue Generate a checklist

Common symptoms

Build succeeds but service crashes immediately.
Logs say missing script: start.
Railway cannot detect how to run the app.

What to check first

Platform: Railway
Error: Start command not found

Railway needs a clear start command for many Node apps. Add a start script or configure the service command.

Step-by-step fix

Add a start script to package.json.
For Next.js, build first and run next start.
Set Railway service start command only if package scripts are not enough.
Confirm the app listens on process.env.PORT.

"scripts": {
  "build": "next build",
  "start": "next start"
}

Common mistake to avoid

Do not hardcode a port; Railway injects PORT at runtime.

Still stuck?

Send the deploy log, repository link, target platform, and expected URL. ShipFast Deploy Rescue is a fixed-price debugging service for indie projects and MVPs.

Get Deploy Rescue Email project details