How to Auto-Deploy Apps to a VPS Using GitHub Actions on Every Git Push
Developers can eliminate manual server deployments by configuring GitHub Actions to automatically run deploy commands over SSH whenever code is pushed to the main branch. The setup requires a VPS with the app already running, a dedicated non-root Linux deploy user, and a dedicated SSH key pair generated specifically for GitHub Actions. The private SSH key and server credentials are stored as encrypted GitHub repository secrets, keeping sensitive data out of the codebase. A YAML workflow file instructs GitHub's runners to SSH into the server and execute commands such as pulling the latest code, installing dependencies, running migrations, and restarting the app service. This approach introduces a few seconds of downtime during restart and builds on the server itself, with a zero-downtime upgrade described as a later step in the series.
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