Deployment notes.For agents and engineers.
Practical field notes on shipping applications, choosing infrastructure, and operating production with Dockup.
Start here
New to Dockup? These three, in this order.
Deployment Stuck in Queued: What to Check First
A deployment stuck in queued is usually waiting on something outside your build. Learn what queueing means, how to tell a wait from a hang, and how to get a stuck release moving.
Deploy Succeeded But the Site Is Down
Your dashboard says running and your users see an error. Learn why deploy success and application health are different signals, and how to make a green deploy mean the app actually answers.
Health Check Failing but the App Works
A health check failing on deployment while the app runs fine locally usually comes down to five causes. Work through binding, path, port, timing and dependencies in the order that finds it fastest.
Custom Domain Stuck on SSL Validation
A custom domain stuck validating usually fails on one of four things: the record type, a proxy in front of the challenge, propagation you cannot see, or CAA. Check them in this order.
Unexpected Egress Charges: Where Bandwidth Bills Come From
Unexpected egress charges usually trace to four habits: serving media from the app, no cache headers, chatty APIs, and cross-region traffic. Find the source and cut the bill without moving providers.
What Preview Environments Actually Cost
Preview environment cost grows with open pull requests, not with team size. Learn where the spend hides, which parts to share, and how to expire previews so five open PRs are not five stacks.
A Backup You Have Never Restored Is Not a Backup
Untested database backups fail in predictable ways: empty dumps, missing roles, wrong flags, no encryption key. Learn how to verify a restore so the file you are keeping is one that works.
Point-in-Time Recovery vs Snapshots: What You Lose
Point-in-time recovery vs snapshots comes down to one number: how much data you can afford to lose. Understand RPO, when nightly snapshots are enough, and when they quietly are not.
Build Failed With No Logs: How to Get Output
A build failed with no logs means the failure happened before your build did. Learn the four stages where that occurs, how to tell them apart, and how to get output from each one.
Environment Variables Not Reaching the Container
Environment variables not working in a container usually fail for one of five reasons: build time versus runtime, frontend bundling, quoting, restart timing, or the wrong scope. Check them in order.
Agent Skills vs MCP: Choosing the Right Interface
Agent skills vs MCP explained: compare instructions, tool connections, security boundaries, versioning, and when to combine both for reliable AI agents.
Build and Runtime Logs: Debug Dockup Deployments
Build and runtime logs on Dockup: use --build and --follow, separate failure stages, read NDJSON, preserve exit codes, and diagnose deploys faster.
AI Agent CI/CD with DOCKUP_TOKEN
AI agent CI/CD with DOCKUP_TOKEN: authenticate without a browser, deploy with terminal-state waiting, protect secrets, and fail pipelines correctly.
Claude Code Deployment: Production Guide
Claude Code deployment with Dockup: install the agent skill, authenticate safely, deploy from Git, verify success, and operate production safely.
AI Agent CLI Design: JSON, Exit Codes, and Wait
AI agent CLI design requires structured JSON, real exit codes, terminal-state waiting, stable errors, and safe confirmation for production automation.
Codex Deployment: End-to-End Dockup Workflow
Codex deployment with Dockup, from CLI and skill installation to Git service creation, JSON verification, health checks, rollback, and safe retries.
Custom Domain and Automatic TLS on Dockup
Custom domain and automatic TLS on Dockup: add DNS, verify ownership, issue HTTPS, expose extra ports, validate cutover, and troubleshoot safely.
Dockup vs Render vs Fly.io for Agent Deployment
Dockup vs Render vs Fly.io compared for AI agent deployment, build workflows, private networking, previews, operations, pricing models, and team fit.
dockup.yaml Config as Code: Plan and Apply Safely
dockup.yaml config as code with a read-only plan, additive apply, explicit prune, health checks, domains, resources, and safe secret handling.
Environment Variables and Secrets on Dockup
Environment variables and secrets on Dockup: set, import, mask, rotate, and redeploy configuration safely for services and autonomous agents.
Git Repository to Production: Dockup Deploy Guide
Git repository to production with Dockup: create a service, choose Nixpacks or Dockerfile, configure health checks, deploy, verify, and roll back.
Linux Cloud Boxes on Dockup: 7 Distribution Options
Linux cloud boxes on Dockup: choose seven distributions, provision CPU and RAM, retrieve SSH access, configure the operating system, and compare containers.
Managed PostgreSQL on Dockup: Complete Guide
Managed PostgreSQL on Dockup: create a database, connect a service securely, inspect size and logs, back up data, restore safely, and add read-only users.
Nixpacks vs Dockerfile: Which Build Should You Use?
Nixpacks vs Dockerfile for PaaS builds: compare detection, reproducibility, customization, debugging, security, and the right Dockup deployment path.
PaaS Pricing: Usage-Based vs Fixed Instance Costs
PaaS pricing explained: compare per-minute usage with fixed instance fees, calculate CPU/RAM/disk cost, understand Dockup plans, and forecast safely.
Persistent Volumes and Snapshots on Dockup
Persistent volumes and snapshots on Dockup: choose mount paths, inspect usage, take and schedule snapshots, restore safely, and protect durable data.
Private Networking and .internal Domains on Dockup
Private networking on Dockup connects project services and databases through .internal names, isolates projects, and gives previews read-only database access.
AI Agent Production Guardrails for Safe Autonomy
AI agent production guardrails for secrets, confirmations, audit logs, scoped access, structured errors, and safe autonomous deployment workflows.
Redis Cache and Queue Workloads on Dockup
Redis cache and queue patterns on Dockup: provision managed Redis, connect privately, define failure behavior, avoid data loss assumptions, and monitor usage.
Windows VM in the Cloud with RDP on Dockup
Windows VM in the cloud with Dockup: choose Server 2019/2022/2025 or Windows 10/11, provision CPU and RAM, retrieve RDP access, and operate securely.
How to Self-Host Actual Budget in 2026: Sync, HTTPS and Financial Data Backups
Run Actual Budget with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host AnythingLLM in 2026: Documents, Embeddings and Persistence
Run AnythingLLM with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Baserow in 2026: All-in-One Data, URLs and Backups
Run Baserow with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Beszel in 2026: Agents, Private Networking and Backups
Run Beszel with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Change Detection in 2026: Browser Fetching, Alerts and Persistence
Run Change Detection with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host CloudBeaver in 2026: Database Drivers, Workspace and Access
Run CloudBeaver with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host code-server in 2026: WebSockets, Workspaces and Access Control
Run code-server with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host ConvertX in 2026: Uploads, JWT Secrets and Resource Limits
Run ConvertX with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host CyberChef in 2026: Secure Access, Stateless Hosting and Updates
Run CyberChef with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Directus in 2026: Database, Uploads and Public URL
Run Directus with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host DocuSeal in 2026: Signing Links, SMTP and Audit Data
Run DocuSeal with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host DokuWiki in 2026: File Storage, ACLs and Backups
Run DokuWiki with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Duplicati in 2026: Encrypted Backups, Mounts and Restore Tests
Run Duplicati with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Etherpad in 2026: Pads, Plugins and Database Backups
Run Etherpad with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Excalidraw in 2026: Collaboration, TLS and Data Boundaries
Run Excalidraw with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Fathom Lite in 2026: Tracking Script, SQLite and Privacy
Run Fathom Lite with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host File Browser in 2026: Volumes, Accounts and Safe Sharing
Run File Browser with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Flowise in 2026: Credentials, Storage and Public URLs
Run Flowise with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host FreshRSS in 2026: Feed Refresh, Mobile API and Backups
Run FreshRSS with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Ghost in 2026: MySQL, Newsletters and Content Backups
Run Ghost with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Gitea in 2026: Repositories, SSH and Upgrade Safety
Run Gitea with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Gotenberg in 2026: HTML-to-PDF, Timeouts and Fonts
Run Gotenberg with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Grafana in 2026: Dashboards, Alerts and Persistent State
Run Grafana with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Grocy in 2026: Inventory Data, Timezone and Backups
Run Grocy with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Healthchecks in 2026: Cron Pings, Alerts and Database Backups
Run Healthchecks with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host HedgeDoc in 2026: WebSockets, OAuth and Uploaded Files
Run HedgeDoc with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Homarr in 2026: Dashboards, Secrets and Live Tiles
Run Homarr with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Homepage in 2026: Allowed Hosts, Widgets and Config
Run Homepage with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host IT Tools in 2026: TLS, Stateless Deploys and Updates
Run IT Tools with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host JupyterLab in 2026: Tokens, Kernels and Persistent Notebooks
Run JupyterLab with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Kanboard in 2026: SQLite, Plugins and Safe Upgrades
Run Kanboard with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Langflow in 2026: Flows, API Access and Persistent State
Run Langflow with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host LibreTranslate in 2026: Models, API Limits and Persistent Data
Run LibreTranslate with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Lobe Chat in 2026: Providers, Access Codes and Server Data
Run Lobe Chat with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Mealie in 2026: Recipe Imports, Users and Backups
Run Mealie with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Meilisearch in 2026: Master Keys, Indexes and Dumps
Run Meilisearch with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Memos in 2026: Notes, API Access and Backups
Run Memos with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Metabase in 2026: Application Database, TLS and Backups
Run Metabase with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host MinIO in 2026: S3 Endpoints, TLS and Durable Storage
Run MinIO with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host n8n in 2026: Deploy, TLS, Webhooks and Backups
Run n8n with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Navidrome in 2026: Music Mounts, Scans and Subsonic Apps
Run Navidrome with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host NocoDB in 2026: Database Links, Auth and Persistence
Run NocoDB with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host ntfy in 2026: Topics, Access Control and Delivery
Run ntfy with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Open WebUI in 2026: Model Endpoints, Storage and Security
Run Open WebUI with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host OpenClaw in 2026: Gateway, Channels and Security
Run OpenClaw with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host pgAdmin in 2026: Container Networking, Login and Storage
Run pgAdmin with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host phpMyAdmin in 2026: MySQL Networking, Uploads and Security
Run phpMyAdmin with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host PicoShare in 2026: Uploads, Shared Secrets and Storage
Run PicoShare with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Qdrant in 2026: Storage, API Keys and Backups
Run Qdrant with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host RedisInsight in 2026: Redis Connections, TLS and Persistent UI State
Run RedisInsight with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host SearXNG in 2026: Search API, Rate Limits and TLS
Run SearXNG with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Shiori in 2026: Archives, Accounts and Persistent Storage
Run Shiori with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Shlink in 2026: Domains, API Keys and Statistics
Run Shlink with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Stirling PDF in 2026: Uploads, OCR and Login Security
Run Stirling PDF with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Trilium Notes in 2026: Data Directory, WebSockets and Backups
Run Trilium Notes with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Typesense in 2026: API Keys, Collections and Backups
Run Typesense with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Uptime Kuma in 2026: Alerts, TLS and Persistent Data
Run Uptime Kuma with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Vaultwarden in 2026: Domains, SMTP and Secure Backups
Run Vaultwarden with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Verdaccio in 2026: npm Auth, Storage and TLS
Run Verdaccio with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Vikunja in 2026: Public URL, Database and File Storage
Run Vikunja with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Wallabag in 2026: Imports, Database and Background Jobs
Run Wallabag with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Wallos in 2026: Renewals, Notifications and SQLite
Run Wallos with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Whoogle in 2026: Privacy, Rate Limits and Proxy Settings
Run Whoogle with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
How to Self-Host Wiki.js in 2026: Database Setup, TLS and Restore Tests
Run Wiki.js with an application-specific production test covering its real dependency, durable state, public route and upgrade risk.
Zero Downtime Deployments: A Complete Guide
Learn how to deploy your applications without any service interruption using rolling updates and blue-green deployment strategies.
Kubernetes vs Docker: What You Are Really Choosing
Kubernetes and Docker are not alternatives -- one runs containers, the other schedules them across machines. Here is the question you actually meant to ask.
How AI is Transforming Software Development
Explore how AI-powered tools like Dockup Architect are revolutionizing the way we build and deploy applications.
Database Scaling Strategies for Growing Startups
From vertical scaling to sharding: learn the strategies that will keep your database performant as you grow.
10 Security Best Practices for Cloud Deployments
Protect your applications with these essential security measures every developer should implement.
Beyond the field notes
The guides above explain how something works. These are the pages that run it.