Quickstart: Deploy from GitHub

This guide walks through deploying an application from a GitHub repository. By the end, your app will be built, running on your server, and accessible via a URL.

Prerequisites

• A Clank account (sign up at clank.host)
• At least one server connected with the Clank agent (install guide)
• A GitHub repository with a web application (Node.js, Python, Go, Rust, Ruby, or static HTML)

Steps

1. Create a project

Log in to the Clank dashboard. Open the Create modal by clicking the + button in the sidebar or pressing Cmd+K (Ctrl+K on Windows/Linux). Select New Project, give it a name, and choose the server where the project will be deployed.

2. Add a service from GitHub

Inside your new project, click Add Service and select GitHub Repository.

3. Connect GitHub

If this is your first GitHub deploy, Clank prompts you to install the Clank GitHub App. Click Connect GitHub, authorize the app, and select which repositories Clank can access. You can grant access to all repos or specific ones.

Note

The GitHub App is installed once per GitHub account or organization. After installation, all team members who have access to that GitHub account can deploy from its repositories.

4. Select repository and branch

Choose the repository from the list. Select the branch to deploy from (typically main or master). If your app lives in a subdirectory, set the root directory field.

5. Configure build settings

Clank inspects your repository and auto-detects the framework and build configuration:

• Node.js SPA (React, Vue, Angular) — detects package.json with a build script, serves static output via nginx
• Node.js server (Express, Fastify, Next.js) — detects a start script and exposes the configured port
• Python (Flask, Django, FastAPI) — detects requirements.txt or pyproject.toml
• Go, Rust, Ruby, static HTML — detected by their respective project files

Review the detected settings. Override the build command, start command, or port if needed.

Auto-Dockerfile detection

Clank generates a Dockerfile automatically based on your project structure. If your repo already contains a Dockerfile, Clank uses it instead. You can switch between auto-detected and custom Dockerfile in the build settings.

6. Deploy

Click Deploy. Clank clones the repository, builds a Docker image, pushes it to your server, and starts the container. The deployment log streams in real time so you can follow each step.

7. Verify

Once the deployment reaches Active status, click the URL shown in the service panel to open your app in the browser. The URL depends on your configured endpoint access mode — by default, services are accessible on your server’s IP and the assigned port.

What happens on subsequent pushes

If you enabled auto-deploy, every push to the configured branch triggers a new deployment automatically. Clank builds the new image, performs a health check, and swaps traffic to the new container. The previous container is kept as a rollback target.

Next steps

• Configure a custom domain for your service
• Set up environment variables for API keys and config
• Enable auto-deploy on push via the GitHub App