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. It's 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. From top to bottom you'll see Cloud providers (with Add provider), Your own servers, Git accounts (with Add account) and Package repositories. If you haven't connected anything yet, each area tells you how 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.
Optional: your own servers
Besides the four clouds, your app can run on a machine you already have: a VPS from a hosting company, a lab machine, or a server in your office. In the Your own servers section, click Add a server and run one setup command on it. See Your own servers.
Optional: a company package repository
Some companies require builds to download packages through their own repository, such as JFrog Artifactory or Sonatype Nexus. If yours does, the workspace owner can connect it in the Package repositories section of the Connections page. Most teams don't need this: if nobody has asked you to use one, skip it and builds download from the public registries. See Package repositories.
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.
If you're a teammate
The connections on this page belong to the workspace owner. When you work in someone else's workspace, you see only the connections they shared with you, and a note at the top says so. A cloud or Git account you can see but not choose for new work is marked see only. Only the owner can add, replace, reveal or delete a connection, so those buttons aren't shown to you. See sharing services and connections.
What's next
Once you have one cloud account and one git account both showing verified, you're ready to create your first project.