Quickstart: Deploy a Docker Image

This guide walks through deploying a pre-built Docker image to your server. No build step, no source code required — specify an image and Clank runs it.

Prerequisites

A Clank account (sign up at clank.host)
At least one server connected with the Clank agent (install guide)

Steps

1. Create a project

Log in to the Clank dashboard. Open the Create modal (Cmd+K or click + in the sidebar) and select New Project. Name the project and choose which server it deploys to.

If you already have a project, skip this step and add a service to it directly.

2. Add a service

Inside the project, click Add Service and select Docker Image.

3. Enter the image

Type the full image reference. Examples:

# Docker Hub official image
nginx:latest

# Docker Hub user image
yourname/myapp:v2.1

# GitHub Container Registry
ghcr.io/your-org/api-server:main

# Private registry
registry.example.com/app:latest

4. Set the port

Enter the port your container listens on. For example, 80 for nginx, 3000 for a Node.js app, or 8080 for a Go service. Clank configures Traefik to route traffic to this port.

5. Add environment variables (optional)

Click Environment Variables to add configuration. Enter key-value pairs for any settings your image expects. Toggle the Secret switch for sensitive values like API keys or database passwords — these are encrypted at rest and masked in the dashboard.

6. Add persistent storage (optional)

If your service needs data to survive redeployments (databases, file uploads, application state), click Volumes and add a mount path. For example, mount /var/lib/postgresql/data for a PostgreSQL container. Clank creates a named Docker volume that persists across deployments.

7. Deploy

Click Deploy. Clank pulls the image on your server, starts the container with the configured environment and volumes, and routes traffic through Traefik. The deployment log streams progress in real time.

8. Verify

When the status shows Active, your service is running. Click the URL in the service panel to open it in your browser. If you set a health check path, Clank waits for a successful response before marking the deployment active.