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The shortest path: a GitHub repo, deployed, reachable on a port, redeploying itself on every push.

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1. Create a project

Projects → New project. A project groups related deployments, such as an app and its database. Give it a name; the slug is filled in for you.

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2. Deploy from GitHub

Open the project and choose Deploy from GitHub.
  1. Connect GitHub. If the owner has set up a GitHub OAuth app, this opens GitHub in a popup. Otherwise, paste a personal access token under Admin → GitHub Personal Access Tokens first. See From GitHub.
  2. Pick a repository. Private repositories work if your token can see them.
  3. Check what Mangrove detected. It reads the repo and picks a build strategy: a compose file, then a Dockerfile, then a plain index.html, then nixpacks for anything else. It suggests the port from the Dockerfile’s EXPOSE, and lists the environment variables the repo seems to expect. Fill those in, and mark anything sensitive as secret.
  4. Deploy.
Mangrove links the repo to the project, creates the deployment, and starts the first build. Every push to the chosen branch deploys again from now on.

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3. Watch it build

The deployment’s page shows the build as a run in the History tab, and the status at the top moves from building to running. A failed build or a failed health check leaves the previous version running, so a bad push never takes a working app down.

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4. Open it

Each public deployment gets its own port from Mangrove’s range (20000 to 21000 by default). The service card on the Overview tab shows it. Your app is at http://<your-box>:<port>. For a real domain with HTTPS, add one from the Domains card. See Domains and HTTPS.

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5. Give it a database

Deploy from template → PostgreSQL (or MySQL, MongoDB, Redis) in the same project. Database templates are internal-only, so nothing outside the box can reach them. Your app connects over Mangrove’s Docker network. See Databases.

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If the build fails

  • No Dockerfile, and nixpacks says “No start command could be found”. The repo is probably a static frontend. Re-create the deployment with the Static strategy, a build command (npm run build) and an output directory (dist). See Builds.
  • The health check never passes. The app is listening on a different port from the one configured, or only on 127.0.0.1 inside the container. Make it listen on 0.0.0.0 and the configured internal port.
  • It needs a database at build time. Run migrations when the app starts, not during the build. You can also run them by hand with Run command on the Overview tab.
The error from a failed run is on its page in the History tab. More in Troubleshooting.