What you need to connect
Before The Deployer can put your app online, it needs permission to do two things on your behalf: read your code, and set things up inside your cloud account. You grant that by connecting a couple of accounts on the Connections page — a one-time setup you'll rarely touch again.
The two things you must connect
You need at least one of each:
- A code host — GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket. This is where your app's code lives. The Deployer reads your repository, lists its branches, and (if you like) sets up automatic re-deploys whenever you push a change. See Connect GitHub or Connect GitLab or Bitbucket.
- A cloud account. This is where your app will actually run — on servers in your own account, not ours. You can connect Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, or DigitalOcean.
You only need one cloud account to get started. If you connect more than one, you'll choose which to use each time you create a project.
Where the Connections page is
Open The Deployer, and in the left sidebar click Connections. You'll see two areas: Cloud providers at the top and Git accounts below. Each has an Add button. If you haven't connected anything yet, you'll see a friendly empty state prompting you to start.
Which cloud should I pick?
Any of the four supported clouds works. Pick the one you already have an account with. If you don't have a cloud account yet, start with DigitalOcean: in Connections, click Add provider, choose I don't have one yet, and The Deployer walks you through signing up and creating a token. AWS, Google Cloud and Azure, the big three, work just as well if you already use one. Each has its own step-by-step page:
You may also spot Hetzner Cloud in the list marked "Coming soon" — it's shown but not yet available to deploy to, so it can't be selected. For now, choose AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, or DigitalOcean.
Every connection is checked before it's saved
When you add a connection, The Deployer immediately verifies it — it signs in with the details you gave to confirm they actually work (a real identity check). A green verified badge means you're good to go; an error badge means something in the details needs fixing. You can re-run the check any time with the verify action on the card.
Connect once, reuse everywhere
Connections are not tied to a single project. Connect your cloud and git accounts once, and you can reuse them across as many projects as you like. Each connection appears as a card showing its label, a masked hint of the stored key (so you can tell two accounts apart without exposing the secret), its verification status, and quick actions to view, replace, or delete it.
Keeping your keys safe
The details you paste in are sensitive, and The Deployer treats them that way: every key is encrypted before it's stored and is used by the engine that builds and deploys your app, not placed in AI prompts. Connections currently use long-lived keys with broad access, so we recommend a dedicated cloud account or project for The Deployer. To learn exactly what access we ask for, why, and what's planned, see Permissions & security.
What's next
Once you have one cloud account and one git account both showing verified, you're ready to create your first project.