Your First Deploy

Deploy your first application on sh0 in under five minutes. This guide walks you through every step, from creating a stack to seeing your app live.

Overview

Deploying an app on sh0 follows a simple flow:

1. Create a Stack -- A stack groups related services together (like an app and its database).
2. Add an App -- Point sh0 to a Git repository or choose a template.
3. Configure Domain -- Assign a domain or use the default *.sh0.app subdomain.
4. Deploy -- sh0 builds and launches your app automatically.
5. Verify -- Visit your app and confirm everything works.

Step 1: Create a Stack

Stacks are the top-level organizational unit in sh0. Think of a stack as a project folder that groups an app with its related services (databases, caches, workers).

1. From the dashboard, click the New Stack button in the top-right corner.
2. Enter a name for your stack (e.g., my-first-app).
3. Optionally add a description to help identify the stack later.
4. Click Create Stack.

Your new stack appears in the stack list. Click on it to open the stack detail view, where you will add your first app.

Step 2: Add an App

Inside your stack, click Add App. You can deploy from a Git repository, a Docker image, or a pre-built template.

From Git Repository

The most common way to deploy. Provide a Git URL and sh0 handles the rest:

1. Select Git Repository as the source.
2. Enter the repository URL. For this example, use our demo app:
   Repository URL

   Copy

   https://github.com/sh0-dev/demo-node-app

3. Choose the branch to deploy (defaults to main).
4. sh0 automatically detects the project stack (Node.js, Python, Go, etc.) and selects the appropriate build configuration.
5. Click Add App.

From Template

If you want to deploy a popular application without writing any code, use a template:

1. Select Template as the source.
2. Browse or search the template library (170+ options including WordPress, Ghost, Plausible, Uptime Kuma, and more).
3. Click on a template to see its details -- required resources, included services, and default configuration.
4. Click Deploy Template.

Step 3: Configure Domain

Every app needs a domain to be accessible. sh0 offers two options:

To configure a domain for your app:

1. In your app settings, go to the Domains tab.
2. Click Add Domain.
3. Enter your domain name (or keep the default .sh0.app subdomain).
4. If using a custom domain, add an A record at your DNS provider pointing to your server's IP address.
5. Click Save. sh0 will automatically provision an SSL certificate.

Step 4: Deploy

With your app configured, it is time to deploy. Click the Deploy button. sh0 will:

1. Clone the Git repository (or pull the Docker image)
2. Detect the project stack and generate a Dockerfile
3. Build the container image
4. Start the new container and run health checks
5. Configure the reverse proxy to route traffic
6. Mark the deployment as live

You can watch the build logs in real time. A typical deployment for a Node.js app takes 30-90 seconds, depending on the size of your dependencies.

Step 5: Verify

Once the deployment completes, your app is live. Verify it is running:

1. Click the domain link shown in the app overview to open your app in a new tab.
2. Check the app status indicator -- it should show a green Running badge.
3. Review the deployment entry in the Deployments tab to see the full history.

You can also verify from the command line:

curl -I https://my-first-app.sh0.app

HTTP/2 200
content-type: text/html; charset=utf-8
server: Caddy
x-powered-by: sh0

What's Next

Congratulations -- your first app is deployed. Here are some recommended next steps: