Auto-Deploy

Automatically deploy your Sails app when you push to GitHub. No manual deploys, no waiting.

How It Works

┌──────────┐     push     ┌──────────┐    webhook    ┌──────────┐
│  Local   │ ──────────▶ │  GitHub  │ ────────────▶ │ Slipway  │
│   Dev    │              │          │               │          │
└──────────┘              └──────────┘               └────┬─────┘
                                                          │
                                                          ▼
                                                    ┌──────────┐
                                                    │  Deploy  │
                                                    │  Started │
                                                    └──────────┘

You push code to GitHub
GitHub sends a webhook to Slipway
Slipway pulls the code and deploys
You get notified of success or failure

Setting Up Auto-Deploy

1. Enable Auto-Deploy in Slipway

Via CLI

bash

slipway project:update myapp --auto-deploy=true --auto-deploy-branch=main

Via Dashboard

Go to your project
Click Settings
Enable Auto-Deploy
Set the Deploy Branch (e.g., main)
Click Save

2. Get the Webhook URL

bash

slipway project:info myapp

Output includes:

Webhook URL: https://slipway.example.com/api/v1/webhook/github/abc123
Webhook Secret: whsec_xyz789

Or find it in the Dashboard under Settings → Webhooks.

3. Configure GitHub Webhook

Go to your GitHub repository
Click Settings → Webhooks → Add webhook
Configure:

Field	Value
Payload URL	`https://slipway.example.com/api/v1/webhook/github/abc123`
Content type	`application/json`
Secret	Your webhook secret from Slipway
Events	Just the push event

Click Add webhook

4. Test the Webhook

GitHub will send a ping. Check it was received:

bash

slipway webhook:logs myapp

Or push a commit to trigger a real deployment:

bash

git commit --allow-empty -m "Test auto-deploy"
git push origin main

Branch Configuration

Deploy Only from Main

bash

slipway project:update myapp --auto-deploy-branch=main

Pushes to main trigger deploys. Other branches are ignored.

Deploy from Multiple Branches

Configure different environments for different branches:

bash

# main → production
slipway project:update myapp \
  --auto-deploy=true \
  --auto-deploy-branch=main \
  --env=production

# develop → staging
slipway env:create myapp staging
slipway project:update myapp \
  --auto-deploy=true \
  --auto-deploy-branch=develop \
  --env=staging

Branch Pattern Matching

Deploy from branches matching a pattern:

bash

# Deploy from any release/* branch
slipway project:update myapp --auto-deploy-branch="release/*"

Deploy Conditions

Skip Deployment

Add [skip deploy] or [no deploy] to your commit message to skip auto-deploy:

bash

git commit -m "Update README [skip deploy]"
git push origin main
# No deployment triggered

Force Deployment

Add [force deploy] to deploy even if there are no code changes:

bash

git commit --allow-empty -m "Force rebuild [force deploy]"
git push origin main

Webhook Security

Signature Verification

Slipway verifies GitHub's webhook signature using HMAC-SHA256. This ensures:

The webhook is from GitHub
The payload wasn't tampered with

IP Allowlisting

For extra security, restrict webhook endpoints to GitHub's IPs:

bash

# GitHub's webhook IPs (check GitHub docs for current list)
192.30.252.0/22
185.199.108.0/22
140.82.112.0/20

Notifications

Get notified of auto-deploy results:

Slack Integration

bash

slipway notifications:add myapp slack https://hooks.slack.com/services/xxx

You'll receive messages for:

Deploy started
Deploy succeeded
Deploy failed

Discord Integration

bash

slipway notifications:add myapp discord https://discord.com/api/webhooks/xxx

Email Notifications

Configure in Dashboard under Settings → Notifications.

Viewing Auto-Deploy History

bash

slipway deployments myapp

Auto-deploys are marked with their trigger:

ID        STATUS    TRIGGER    COMMIT     BRANCH    DEPLOYED
def456    running   webhook    a1b2c3d    main      2 minutes ago
abc123    success   webhook    e4f5g6h    main      1 hour ago
xyz789    success   manual     i7j8k9l    main      1 day ago

Multi-App Auto-Deploy

In multi-app environments, a webhook push triggers deployments for all apps in the environment. Each app gets its own deployment record, build, and container.

Push to main
  ├── Deploy: web app     (Dockerfile)
  └── Deploy: worker app  (Dockerfile.worker)

Each deployment runs independently — if the web app build succeeds but the worker fails, the web app still goes live.

Deploy Queue

If multiple pushes happen quickly:

Slipway queues them
Deploys happen sequentially
Only the latest code is deployed if pushes are rapid

Push 1 → Queued
Push 2 → Queued (replaces push 1 in queue)
Push 3 → Queued (replaces push 2 in queue)
Deploy starts with Push 3's code

Troubleshooting

Webhook Not Received

Check GitHub webhook status:
- Go to repo → Settings → Webhooks
- Click your webhook
- Check "Recent Deliveries"
Verify URL is correct:
- Should include https://
- Check for typos
Check firewall:
- Slipway must be accessible from the internet
- Port 443 must be open

Deployment Not Starting

Check branch matches:

bash

slipway project:info myapp
# Verify auto-deploy-branch setting

Check webhook logs:
bash
```
slipway webhook:logs myapp
```
Verify webhook secret:
- Must match between GitHub and Slipway

Deployment Failing

Check deployment logs:
bash
```
slipway logs myapp --deployment=latest
```
Test locally:
bash
```
docker build -t test .
docker run test
```

Wrong Branch Deploying

Check branch configuration:
bash
```
slipway project:info myapp
```

Update if needed:

bash

slipway project:update myapp --auto-deploy-branch=main

GitHub Actions Alternative

If you prefer more control, use GitHub Actions instead of webhooks:

yaml

# .github/workflows/deploy.yml
name: Deploy to Slipway

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Install Slipway CLI
        run: npm install -g slipway

      - name: Deploy
        env:
          SLIPWAY_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLIPWAY_TOKEN }}
          SLIPWAY_SERVER: ${{ secrets.SLIPWAY_SERVER }}
        run: slipway slide --message "Deploy from GitHub Actions"

Benefits of GitHub Actions

More control over the deploy process
Can run tests before deploying
Conditional deploys based on paths changed
Integration with other workflows

Setting Up

Generate a Slipway API token in Dashboard → Settings → API Tokens
Add secrets to GitHub repo:
- SLIPWAY_TOKEN
- SLIPWAY_SERVER

GitLab CI/CD

For GitLab repositories:

yaml

# .gitlab-ci.yml
deploy:
  stage: deploy
  image: node:22
  only:
    - main
  script:
    - npm install -g slipway
    - slipway slide --message "Deploy from GitLab CI"
  variables:
    SLIPWAY_TOKEN: $SLIPWAY_TOKEN
    SLIPWAY_SERVER: $SLIPWAY_SERVER

Bitbucket Pipelines

For Bitbucket repositories:

yaml

# bitbucket-pipelines.yml
pipelines:
  branches:
    main:
      - step:
          name: Deploy to Slipway
          image: node:22
          script:
            - npm install -g slipway
            - slipway slide --message "Deploy from Bitbucket"

Best Practices

1. Protect Your Main Branch

Require pull requests before merging to main:

Code review
CI passing
No direct pushes

2. Use Staging First

Configure two environments:

develop → staging (test first)
main → production (after staging is verified)

3. Add Health Checks

Configure health checks so Slipway can verify deployments:

javascript

// api/controllers/health/check.js
module.exports = {
  fn: async function () {
    // Check database connection
    await User.count()

    // Check Redis
    await sails.helpers.cache.get('health')

    return { status: 'healthy' }
  }
}

Then configure in Slipway:

bash

slipway project:update myapp --health-check-path=/health/check

4. Set Up Notifications

Never miss a failed deploy:

bash

slipway notifications:add myapp slack https://hooks.slack.com/services/xxx

5. Use Deploy Locks

Prevent deploys during critical periods:

bash

# Lock deployments
slipway deploy:lock myapp --reason="Database migration in progress"

# Unlock when done
slipway deploy:unlock myapp

What's Next?

Set up Environment Variables for different environments
Configure Rollbacks for quick recovery
Learn about Team Management for access control

Auto-Deploy ​

How It Works ​

Setting Up Auto-Deploy ​

1. Enable Auto-Deploy in Slipway ​

Via CLI ​

Via Dashboard ​

2. Get the Webhook URL ​

3. Configure GitHub Webhook ​

4. Test the Webhook ​

Branch Configuration ​

Deploy Only from Main ​

Deploy from Multiple Branches ​

Branch Pattern Matching ​

Deploy Conditions ​

Skip Deployment ​

Force Deployment ​

Webhook Security ​

Signature Verification ​

IP Allowlisting ​

Notifications ​

Slack Integration ​

Discord Integration ​

Email Notifications ​

Viewing Auto-Deploy History ​

Multi-App Auto-Deploy ​

Deploy Queue ​

Troubleshooting ​

Webhook Not Received ​

Deployment Not Starting ​

Deployment Failing ​

Wrong Branch Deploying ​

GitHub Actions Alternative ​

Benefits of GitHub Actions ​

Setting Up ​

GitLab CI/CD ​

Bitbucket Pipelines ​

Best Practices ​

1. Protect Your Main Branch ​

2. Use Staging First ​

3. Add Health Checks ​

4. Set Up Notifications ​

5. Use Deploy Locks ​

What's Next? ​

Auto-Deploy

How It Works

Setting Up Auto-Deploy

1. Enable Auto-Deploy in Slipway

Via CLI

Via Dashboard

2. Get the Webhook URL

3. Configure GitHub Webhook

4. Test the Webhook

Branch Configuration

Deploy Only from Main

Deploy from Multiple Branches

Branch Pattern Matching

Deploy Conditions

Skip Deployment

Force Deployment

Webhook Security

Signature Verification

IP Allowlisting

Notifications

Slack Integration

Discord Integration

Email Notifications

Viewing Auto-Deploy History

Multi-App Auto-Deploy

Deploy Queue

Troubleshooting

Webhook Not Received

Deployment Not Starting

Deployment Failing

Wrong Branch Deploying

GitHub Actions Alternative

Benefits of GitHub Actions

Setting Up

GitLab CI/CD

Bitbucket Pipelines

Best Practices

1. Protect Your Main Branch

2. Use Staging First

3. Add Health Checks

4. Set Up Notifications

5. Use Deploy Locks

What's Next?