Prepare your application

Each deployment gets a fresh repository checkout. Jakeloud runs the project’s Build and start command from that release directory using sh -c, with an assigned port in $PORT.

Default Docker deployment

Leave Use default command checked to build the repository’s root Dockerfile and start its image. For a project named my-project, the command is:

docker build -t my-project . && exec docker run -p "$PORT":80 --rm my-project

Your container must serve HTTP on port 80, listening on 0.0.0.0. Jakeloud maps the assigned host port to that container port. Docker must already be installed on the server.

For a static website whose files are in public/, a minimal Dockerfile is:

FROM nginx:alpine
COPY public/ /usr/share/nginx/html/
EXPOSE 80

For a site with a build step, build the files in an earlier stage and copy the actual output directory into Nginx. This documentation repository builds to _site/.

Custom build and start commands

Uncheck Use default command to supply a command. Install any tools it needs on the host, or run them inside a container.

For a Node.js application with a lockfile, a build script, and a server.js that reads process.env.PORT:

npm ci && npm run build && exec node server.js

For a Docker application that listens on container port 3000:

docker build -t my-project . && exec docker run --rm -p "$PORT":3000 my-project

Keep the process in the foreground. Avoid docker run -d, shell backgrounding with &, or a fixed host port: Jakeloud tracks the command’s process, and old and new releases may run at the same time. A command that exits is treated as an exited release, even if it exits successfully.

Commands execute under the Jakeloud service account, which the supplied systemd unit sets to root. Only deploy code and commands you trust on that server.

More runtime examples

For a Go application whose main package is ./cmd/server and which reads PORT, install Go on the host and use:

go build -o server ./cmd/server && exec ./server

For Podman, install it on the host and use a custom command with a Dockerfile serving port 80:

podman build -t my-project . && exec podman run --rm -p "$PORT":80 my-project

The dashboard’s Docker Cache action still invokes Docker; it does not manage Podman storage.

Workers and persistent data

Leave Enable domain and proxy unchecked for a long-running worker that does not need an HTTP domain. It still needs a foreground command, but it does not need to listen on $PORT.

Store durable data outside the release checkout. For containers, add an appropriate volume mount to the command. Keep secrets out of Git; provide them through server-side configuration, such as a Docker --env-file path. Previous releases may overlap with the new one, so account for concurrent workers and database migrations.

Continue to create a project.