Introduction

What FrankenDeploy is, who it is for, and where to start

In one sentence

FrankenDeploy puts a Symfony application online on a server you own, with one command, and keeps it online while you ship new versions.

frankendeploy deploy prod

Behind that command: a Docker image built for your app, a server prepared with a firewall and HTTPS, a health check before every traffic switch, a database backed up before every migration, and a rollback when something goes wrong. You keep a plain VPS, a plain Symfony project, and no vendor to depend on.

Where to start

I have never deployed anything
You have a Symfony app that works on your machine and you want it on the Internet. Start with Before You Start, then follow Your First Deployment step by step. About an hour, no prior server knowledge.
Before You Start →
I know Docker and SSH
You want the commands, then the details. The Quick Start is ten lines; Under the Hood and the frankendeploy.yaml reference tell you exactly what runs on the server.
Quick Start →

What it does

  • Reads your project and writes one configuration file, frankendeploy.yaml: PHP version and extensions, database, assets, Messenger, worker mode, all detected from your code.
  • Prepares a bare Ubuntu or Debian server: Docker, UFW firewall, Fail2ban, and Caddy as a reverse proxy with automatic Let’s Encrypt certificates. frankendeploy doctor checks the machine, the server and your DNS, and names the command that fixes each problem.
  • Deploys without downtime: the new version starts next to the old one, runs its migrations, passes a health check, and only then receives the traffic. If anything fails first, the old version keeps serving and nothing changed for your visitors.
  • Runs the database for you: PostgreSQL, MySQL or MariaDB in a container, credentials generated and injected, a dump before every migration.
  • Operates the app: logs, exec, shell, env set for secrets applied without downtime, rollback to any kept release with the same health check as a deploy.
  • Hosts several apps on one server, each on its own isolated Docker network.

What it is not

  • Not a PaaS: there is no dashboard, no account, no monthly fee. The server is yours, and so is its maintenance (system updates, backups off the machine). The Security Model says exactly what FrankenDeploy handles and what it leaves to you.
  • Not a cluster: one VPS, one copy of your app. Enough for most projects; not built for horizontal scaling.
  • Not magic: it runs standard Docker, Caddy and shell commands on an ordinary Linux server. Everything it does can be read in Under the Hood and in the source code.

Built on FrankenPHP

FrankenDeploy is a deployment layer on top of FrankenPHP, the PHP application server created by Kévin Dunglas: Caddy and PHP in a single binary, HTTP/2 and HTTP/3, and a worker mode that keeps your Symfony kernel in memory between requests. FrankenDeploy generates the Docker image, FrankenPHP runs it.

Status

FrankenDeploy is open source (MIT) and young: the command set is stable, but breaking changes can still happen between minor versions. Each one is listed in the changelog.