The Deployer documentation
Getting started

Quick start: your first deploy

This is a complete, hand-held walkthrough of your first deployment — from signing in to seeing a live web address, in about ten minutes. Each step links to a fuller page if you want more detail.

Before you start, have two things handy: a GitHub account (where your app's code lives) and a cloud account — AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, or DigitalOcean (where your app will run). A deployment creates real cloud resources in that account, so keep in mind your cloud provider bills you for them — The Deployer shows a monthly cost estimate before anything is created.

1. Sign in

  1. Open The Deployer and choose Create an account.
  2. Enter your name, email, and a strong password, then submit.
  3. If email verification is on, open the email we send and click the confirmation link, then come back and log in.

More detail: Creating an account & signing in.

2. Connect GitHub and a cloud account

  1. In the left sidebar, open Connections.
  2. Connect GitHub so the app can read your code. Follow the on-screen steps.
  3. Connect one cloud provider (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, or DigitalOcean) — this is the account your app will run in.

You need at least one of each before you can create a project. Step-by-step for every provider: what you need to connect.

3. Create a project

  1. Go to Projects in the sidebar and choose New project. The deploy guide opens: a conversation beside your plan.
  2. Tell it which app to deploy, or pick the repository (the code folder) in the panel. It uses the repository's default branch (a version of that code, usually main) unless you name another.
  3. From here on, the guide explains each step below and shows you the panel for it. Prefer forms? Switch to Step by step at the top of the page; your progress carries over.

Full details: create a project.

4. Let it analyze your code

The app now scans your repository to understand it — the programming languages, the frameworks, the web addresses it serves, the settings it needs, and whether it uses a database. Just wait for the scan to finish; there's nothing to type.

A deployment puts one service online. If your repository has several, say a website and an API, one is chosen for you (the API first, since the website calls it) and you can pick another. Once it's live, deploy each of the others as its own project with one click. Learn more: how we read your code.

5. Review environment variables

Environment variables are your app's settings and secret keys (for example, a password to another service). The Env Doctor agent helps you fill in anything that's missing or misplaced.

  1. Look over the suggested variables.
  2. Add or fix any values the app flags.
  3. Continue.

More: environment variables.

6. Run the Code Readiness checks

The Code Doctor agent proposes small, safe changes that make your app easier to deploy — for example, a "health check" the system can ping to confirm your app is alive.

  1. Review each suggestion.
  2. Approve the ones you're happy with (the agent can apply them for you).

More: Code Readiness checks.

7. Pick an architecture

The app proposes a few ways to run your app, each with a monthly cost estimate.

  1. Compare the options.
  2. Choose the one that fits your needs and budget.

More: choosing an architecture.

8. Review the workflow

You'll see a visual pipeline — a map of everything that will happen (building, deploying, monitoring). Have a quick look so you know what's coming, then continue. More: the deployment workflow.

9. Launch and watch the logs

  1. Click Launch.
  2. Watch the live logs stream as the deployment runs.
  3. If a step fails, the Recovery Agent automatically tries to fix it (a limited number of attempts) — so don't panic if you see it retry.

More: launching & reading the logs.

10. You're live

When it finishes, you'll get a genuine, shareable public URL (web address) for your app, running on real resources in your own cloud account. From here, manage everything — URLs, activity, monitoring — from the Dashboard.

What next?

Congratulations — you've just completed a full deployment from start to finish.