Deploy FastAPI Free in 60 Seconds — No Dockerfile [Guide]

FastAPI has become the go-to framework for building Python APIs. It's fast, modern, and developer-friendly. This guide shows you how to deploy a FastAPI application in minutes, not hours.

Prerequisites

• A FastAPI application on GitHub
• A SnapDeploy account (free tier available)

The FastAPI Application

# main.py
from fastapi import FastAPI

app = FastAPI(title="My API")

@app.get("/")
def read_root():
    return {"status": "healthy"}

@app.get("/items/{item_id}")
def read_item(item_id: int):
    return {"item_id": item_id}

Deploy Fast

Seconds 0-15: Connect GitHub

Log into SnapDeploy, click "New Container", select your repository.

Seconds 15-30: Configure

Name your container. Port 8000 is auto-detected for FastAPI.

Seconds 30-45: Environment Variables

Add any secrets: DATABASE_URL, API_KEY, etc.

Seconds 45-60: Deploy

Click "Deploy". SnapDeploy automatically detects Python, installs dependencies, and starts uvicorn.

Smart Detection

SnapDeploy scans your codebase for:

• requirements.txt - Identifies Python project
• FastAPI import - Detects the framework
• App variable - Finds app = FastAPI()

Adding a Database

1. Go to "Add-ons" in SnapDeploy
2. Click "Create Add-On" and select PostgreSQL
3. Link to your container during deployment

Environment variables are automatically injected:

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/mydb
POSTGRES_HOST=internal-host
POSTGRES_PORT=5432

Automatic API Docs

FastAPI's built-in docs work automatically:

• Swagger UI: https://your-app.snapdeploy.app/docs
• ReDoc: https://your-app.snapdeploy.app/redoc