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How it works

The freepod client works with four objects: projects, deployments, builds and releases.

project directory ──freepod deploy──▶ build ──▶ release ──▶ deployment (https://<hostname>)
   .freepod.json                      image      rollout     runs the image, owns the
                                                             database, bucket and vars

Project​

A directory with a .freepod.json file, created by freepod init. Commands run from the project directory or any directory below it.

.freepod.json records the deployment's settings and, after the first deploy, which deployment the project belongs to:

.freepod.json
{
  "version": 1,
  "deployment": {
    "id": "4de58a32-09c7-443f-8b86-694cfc818494",
    "name": "custom-user-app-l2dhi5"
  },
  "user_values": {
    "hostname": "myapp.alice.freepod.eu"
  }
}
FieldContents
versionFile format version
deploymentThe deployment this project updates. Written by the first freepod deploy.
user_valuesDeployment settings: hostname, and optionally auth (see Authentication). Edit them and run freepod deploy to apply them.

Commit the file. Every checkout of the project, on any machine and in CI, then deploys to the same deployment.

Deployment​

A running application on Freepod. A deployment has:

The first freepod deploy of a project creates the deployment. Until its first build is released, it serves a placeholder page.

Deployments are also listed on the dashboard, where they appear as apps.

Build​

A container image built from an upload of the project directory. freepod deploy uploads and builds; freepod builds lists a project's builds. A build belongs to one deployment. See Builds.

Release​

One numbered rollout of a deployment. Each of these creates a release:

  • freepod deploy, with a new build;
  • freepod deploy --no-build, with the current image;
  • freepod var set and freepod var rm, without --stage.

freepod releases lists a deployment's releases and marks the one that is running. See Deployments and releases.