Get your first project online.

Deployments

Creating an application deploys it. After that, the Deploy card on the application's Overview builds the branch again on demand, and the Deploy on push switch on that same card gives you a payload URL and a secret. Add them on GitHub under Settings, Webhooks, Add webhook, with the content type set to application/json and only the push event selected. Until that webhook exists, a push does nothing on its own.

A build runs your package manager, then whatever your build script says, and a Dockerfile in the repository root replaces both. Images keeps the build you are running and the one before it, so rolling back a bad deploy is one click; the storage allowance goes to your application rather than to build history.

Ports

We set PORT in your application's environment and route HTTPS to it. Read it and bind 0.0.0.0, because a hard-coded port builds perfectly and then answers nothing. A Dockerfile that EXPOSEs exactly one port works too: we read the port out of the built image.

Databases

MongoDB, PostgreSQL or MySQL. Open the Database section, pick the engine, and press Add a database. Pick whichever your project needs. It runs on the same machine as your application, so a query is a loopback call and never crosses the internet.

The connection string is set in your application for you, as DATABASE_URL, or MONGODB_URI on MongoDB. There is nothing to copy and nothing to commit. Vector search is included. PostgreSQL ships with pgvector switched on.

Configuration

The Environment section takes variables and whole files, for a service-account JSON or a certificate that does not fit in a variable. Saving restarts the application, which takes a few seconds. We read your repository and work out how to build it. If your language is not on that list, or you want the build done your way, add a Dockerfile and we build that instead. Rust, Elixir, Deno, Bun, C++, anything that starts and listens on a port.

Anything your application writes to /data stays there through a deploy. Anything your application writes to /data stays there through a deploy. Files it writes anywhere else are part of the container and go when you next push.

Domains

Your application answers on its dormhost.app address from the moment it deploys. To add your own: put the domain in the Domains section, add it to your own Cloudflare, point a CNAME at your dormhost.app address, then press Check. Cloudflare terminates HTTPS for the name you own, which is why the domain has to sit in your account rather than ours.

Troubleshooting

• The build failed. Open the build log. The failing command and its error are the last lines. A missing dependency, a typo in a config file, or a build script that expects secrets is the usual cause.
• The app deployed but shows an error. It is probably crashing at start. Live logs shows the traceback. Check that it binds 0.0.0.0 on the port in PORT, and that the variables it reads are set in Environment.
• The first visit is slow. On Nap the app sleeps after 15 minutes idle and wakes on the next request in about 300 milliseconds. Waking is usually faster than the page would have loaded anyway.
• The database is unreachable. Use the connection string from the dashboard, not one you remembered from your laptop. It is loopback, so there is nothing to open in a firewall.
• My custom domain is not loading. Check the CNAME points at your dormhost.app address, that the domain sits in your own Cloudflare, and press Check in the Domains section. We do not sell domains, so the record stays with you.
• I need help. Write to [email protected]. The person who replies is the person who built the platform.