What is Slipway?

Slipway is an open-source, self-hostable deployment platform purpose-built for Sails.js and The Boring JavaScript Stack applications. Think Coolify meets Laravel Forge meets Nova meets Tinkerwell—but designed from the ground up to understand Sails applications deeply.

The Goal

One platform to deploy, manage, monitor, and administrate all your Sails applications and their databases.

Slipway provides:

• Deployment — Deploy Sails apps with a single command
• Database management — Provision PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis with one click
• Admin panel — Auto-generated CRUD for your Sails models (Bridge)
• Production REPL — Query your production data safely (Helm)
• Queue monitoring — Sails Quest integration (Quest Dashboard)

The Slipway Suite

Slipway isn't just a deployment tool—it's a suite of integrated tools that work together:

Component	Equivalent To	Description
Slipway Deploy	Forge/Coolify	Deployment & infrastructure
Slipway Helm	Tinkerwell	Production REPL for Sails
Slipway Bridge	Nova/AdminJS	Auto-generated data management
Quest Dashboard	Laravel Horizon	Queue monitoring for Sails Quest

Helm

Named after the ship's helm—where you steer and command the vessel. Helm is a production REPL accessible from the Slipway dashboard that understands your Sails environment:

// Query models directly
await User.find({ role: 'admin' })
// → [{ id: 1, email: '[email protected]', role: 'admin' }]

// Use helpers
await sails.helpers.email.send({ to: '[email protected]', subject: 'Test' })
// → { success: true }

// Check config
sails.config.custom.stripeKey
// → 'sk_live_xxx...'

Bridge

Named after the ship's bridge—the command center where the captain navigates and controls the vessel. Bridge auto-generates an admin panel from your Sails models:

• CRUD operations for all your models
• Relationship management (hasMany, belongsTo)
• Customizable list views with filtering and sorting
• File upload handling
• Role-based access control

Quest Dashboard

If your app uses Sails Quest for job queues, Slipway automatically provides a queue dashboard:

• View job status (pending, processing, completed, failed)
• Retry failed jobs with one click
• Monitor worker status
• Queue throughput metrics

How It Works

1. Install Slipway on your VPS — One command to bootstrap
2. Connect your Sails app — Via Git or CLI deploy
3. Slipway detects your app — Reads your models, config, and hooks
4. Deploy with one command — slipway slide deploys your app
5. Manage everything from the dashboard — Bridge, Helm, logs, domains

Architecture

Under the hood, Slipway uses:

• Docker for container isolation
• Caddy for automatic HTTPS and reverse proxying
• SQLite for Slipway's own data (lightweight)
• Sails.js + Vue + Inertia for the dashboard

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    SLIPWAY PLATFORM                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐  │
│  │   Web UI    │  │   CLI Tool  │  │    REST API     │  │
│  │ (Dashboard) │  │  (slipway)  │  │  (Sails Actions)│  │
│  └──────┬──────┘  └──────┬──────┘  └────────┬────────┘  │
│         │                │                   │           │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │                 SLIPWAY CORE                      │   │
│  │  ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐  │   │
│  │  │ Deployer│ │Database │ │  Proxy  │ │ Monitor │  │   │
│  │  │ Service │ │ Manager │ │ Manager │ │ Service │  │   │
│  │  └─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘  │   │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                          │                               │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │           CONTAINER RUNTIME (Docker)              │   │
│  │                                                    │   │
│  │  ┌───────┐  ┌───────┐  ┌───────┐  ┌───────────┐   │   │
│  │  │ caddy │  │ myapp │  │ redis │  │ postgres  │   │   │
│  │  └───────┘  └───────┘  └───────┘  └───────────┘   │   │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

When to Use Slipway

Slipway is great for:

• Sails.js applications — Purpose-built for the Sails ecosystem
• The Boring JavaScript Stack — Vue/React + Inertia + Sails
• Self-hosted deployments — Run on your own VPS or bare metal
• Small to medium teams — No Kubernetes complexity needed
• Developers who want control — Own your infrastructure and data

Slipway is not for:

• Non-Sails applications — Use Coolify or Dokku for generic apps
• Serverless-first architectures — Use Vercel or Railway
• Large-scale enterprise — Consider Kubernetes for massive scale