How to deploy my site with Git

Deploying with Git means you push code to your repository and pull it onto the server, instead of uploading files by FTP.

What's available

cPanel: Git Version Control

Step 1: Clone the repository

1. Go to Files → Git Version Control.
2. Click Create.
3. Leave Clone a Repository on.
4. Clone URL: paste the repository's clone URL. For a public repository, the HTTPS URL works. For a private repository, see Private repositories below.
5. Repository Path: a folder outside public_html, for example repositories/mysite. Don't clone straight into public_html, or the .git folder becomes web-accessible.
6. Repository Name: anything you like.
7. Click Create.

Step 2: Add a deployment file

cPanel deploys by running the tasks in a file called .cpanel.yml at the root of your repository. Commit this file to the repository:

---
deployment:
  tasks:
    - export DEPLOYPATH=/home/username/public_html/
    - /bin/cp -R public/* $DEPLOYPATH

Replace username with your cPanel username and public/* with the folder in your repository that holds the site's files. To copy the whole repository, use /bin/cp -R * $DEPLOYPATH.

Keep tasks simple: copying files, removing a cache folder. Run Composer, npm and build steps on your computer before committing, or over SSH.

Step 3: Deploy

1. In Git Version Control, click Manage next to the repository.
2. Open the Pull or Deploy tab.
3. Click Update from Remote to fetch the latest commit.
4. Click Deploy HEAD Commit. cPanel runs your .cpanel.yml tasks.

Repeat steps 3 and 4 after every push.

Deploy HEAD Commit is greyed out? Either the repository has no .cpanel.yml, or the copy on the server has uncommitted changes. Don't edit files inside the repository folder on the server; edit locally, commit, push, pull.

Private repositories

A private repository's HTTPS URL asks for a password, which the cPanel tool can't answer. Use an SSH deploy key instead:

1. In cPanel go to Security → SSH Access → Manage SSH Keys → Generate a New Key. Leave the passphrase blank and click Generate. If you don't see SSH Access, open a support ticket and we'll set the key up for you.
2. Back on Manage SSH Keys, click Manage next to the new public key and Authorize it.
3. Click View/Download next to the public key and copy it.
4. In GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket, open the repository → Settings → Deploy keys → Add deploy key. Paste the key. Read-only is enough.
5. In Git Version Control, clone using the SSH URL, for example git@github.com:you/mysite.git.

Automatic deployment on push

cPanel deploys when you click. To deploy on every push, use a GitHub Action or GitLab pipeline that uploads over FTP (many ready-made actions exist). Store the FTP details as secrets in the repository, never in the code.

DirectAdmin: Git over SSH

1. Have SSH enabled by support, then connect. See How to get SSH access and connect.

2. Clone the repository outside public_html:

   cd ~
   git clone git@github.com:you/mysite.git repositories/mysite
   

   For a private repository, first create a key with ssh-keygen -t ed25519, then add the contents of ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub as a deploy key on the repository.

3. Copy the site files into place (DirectAdmin's website folder is ~/domains/yourdomain/public_html):

   rsync -av --exclude '.git' ~/repositories/mysite/public/ ~/domains/yourdomain/public_html/
   

   Adjust public/ to your repository's web folder.

4. To update later:

   cd ~/repositories/mysite && git pull && rsync -av --exclude '.git' public/ ~/domains/yourdomain/public_html/
   

Save that line as a small script so deployment is one command.

Things not to commit

• .env files, wp-config.php, or anything with passwords. Create them on the server once.
• Uploaded user content (wp-content/uploads). Keep it on the server only.
• vendor and node_modules, unless you have no way to run the install on the server.

Common problems