PHP Deployment

Deploy Laravel/PHP applications using FrankenPHP containers, LinuxKit VMs, or Coolify.

Quick Start

# Build production image
core php build --name myapp --tag v1.0

# Run locally
core php serve --name myapp -d

# Deploy to Coolify
core php deploy --wait

Building Images

Docker Image

Build a production-ready Docker image with FrankenPHP:

# Basic build
core php build

# With custom name and tag
core php build --name myapp --tag v1.0

# For specific platform
core php build --name myapp --platform linux/amd64

# Without cache
core php build --name myapp --no-cache

LinuxKit Image

Build a bootable VM image:

# Build with default template (server-php)
core php build --type linuxkit

# Build QCOW2 for QEMU/KVM
core php build --type linuxkit --format qcow2

# Build ISO for bare metal
core php build --type linuxkit --format iso

# Custom output path
core php build --type linuxkit --output ./dist/server.qcow2

Build Options

Flag	Description	Default
--type	Build type: docker or linuxkit	docker
--name	Image name	project directory
--tag	Image tag	latest
--platform	Target platform	linux/amd64
--dockerfile	Custom Dockerfile path	Dockerfile
--format	LinuxKit format: qcow2, iso, raw, vmdk	qcow2
--template	LinuxKit template	server-php
--no-cache	Build without cache	false

Running Production Containers

Local Testing

Run a production container locally before deploying:

# Run in foreground
core php serve --name myapp

# Run detached (background)
core php serve --name myapp -d

# Custom ports
core php serve --name myapp --port 8080 --https-port 8443

# With environment file
core php serve --name myapp --env-file .env.production

Shell Access

Debug running containers:

# Open shell in container
core php shell <container-id>

# Run artisan commands
docker exec -it <container-id> php artisan migrate:status

Deploying to Coolify

Coolify is a self-hosted PaaS for deploying applications.

Configuration

Add Coolify credentials to .env:

COOLIFY_URL=https://coolify.example.com
COOLIFY_TOKEN=your-api-token
COOLIFY_APP_ID=production-app-id
COOLIFY_STAGING_APP_ID=staging-app-id

Or configure in .core/php.yaml:

version: 1

deploy:
  coolify:
    server: https://coolify.example.com
    project: my-project

Deploy Commands

# Deploy to production
core php deploy

# Deploy to staging
core php deploy --staging

# Force deploy (even if no changes)
core php deploy --force

# Wait for deployment to complete
core php deploy --wait

Check Status

# Current deployment status
core php deploy:status

# Staging status
core php deploy:status --staging

# Specific deployment
core php deploy:status --id abc123

Rollback

# Rollback to previous deployment
core php deploy:rollback

# Rollback staging
core php deploy:rollback --staging

# Rollback to specific deployment
core php deploy:rollback --id abc123

# Wait for rollback to complete
core php deploy:rollback --wait

Deployment History

# List recent deployments
core php deploy:list

# Staging deployments
core php deploy:list --staging

# Show more
core php deploy:list --limit 20

CI/CD Pipeline

GitHub Actions

name: Deploy

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup Core CLI
        run: |
          curl -fsSL https://get.host.uk.com | bash
          echo "$HOME/.core/bin" >> $GITHUB_PATH

      - name: Build image
        run: core php build --name ${{ vars.IMAGE_NAME }} --tag ${{ github.sha }}

      - name: Push to registry
        run: |
          echo "${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}" | docker login ghcr.io -u ${{ github.actor }} --password-stdin
          docker push ${{ vars.IMAGE_NAME }}:${{ github.sha }}

      - name: Deploy
        env:
          COOLIFY_URL: ${{ secrets.COOLIFY_URL }}
          COOLIFY_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.COOLIFY_TOKEN }}
          COOLIFY_APP_ID: ${{ secrets.COOLIFY_APP_ID }}
        run: core php deploy --wait

GitLab CI

deploy:
  stage: deploy
  image: hostuk/core:latest
  script:
    - core php build --name $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE --tag $CI_COMMIT_SHA
    - docker login -u $CI_REGISTRY_USER -p $CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD $CI_REGISTRY
    - docker push $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:$CI_COMMIT_SHA
    - core php deploy --wait
  only:
    - main

Environment Configuration

Production .env

APP_ENV=production
APP_DEBUG=false
APP_URL=https://myapp.com

# Database
DB_CONNECTION=pgsql
DB_HOST=db.internal
DB_DATABASE=myapp
DB_USERNAME=myapp
DB_PASSWORD=${DB_PASSWORD}

# Cache & Queue
CACHE_DRIVER=redis
QUEUE_CONNECTION=redis
SESSION_DRIVER=redis
REDIS_HOST=redis.internal

# FrankenPHP
OCTANE_SERVER=frankenphp
OCTANE_WORKERS=auto
OCTANE_MAX_REQUESTS=1000

Health Checks

Ensure your app has a health endpoint:

// routes/web.php
Route::get('/health', fn () => response()->json([
    'status' => 'ok',
    'timestamp' => now()->toIso8601String(),
]));

Deployment Strategies

Blue-Green

# Build new version
core php build --name myapp --tag v2.0

# Deploy to staging
core php deploy --staging --wait

# Test staging
curl https://staging.myapp.com/health

# Switch production
core php deploy --wait

Canary

# Deploy to canary (10% traffic)
COOLIFY_APP_ID=$CANARY_APP_ID core php deploy --wait

# Monitor metrics, then full rollout
core php deploy --wait

See Also

• Docker Deployment - Container orchestration
• LinuxKit VMs - VM-based deployment
• Templates - Pre-configured VM templates
• PHP CLI Reference - Full command documentation