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First Deployment

This guide walks you through deploying your first application with DaoFlow.

Prerequisites​

  • DaoFlow running locally or on a server (Installation)
  • A server registered with DaoFlow (or use the local Docker engine)
  • A Docker Compose file or Docker image to deploy

Step 1: Register a Server​

Before deploying, you need a target server. Today, server registration happens through the dashboard or admin API. The CLI provides read and deploy flows, but not server creation yet.

Via Dashboard​

  1. Navigate to Servers in the sidebar
  2. Click Add Server
  3. Enter the server name, host IP, and SSH key
  4. Review the discovered SSH host-key algorithm and SHA-256 fingerprint in the server's Identity tab
  5. As an owner or admin, approve the exact key; DaoFlow then verifies SSH connectivity and detects Docker

Verify the server is connected:

daoflow status --json

Step 2: Choose a Deployment Path​

You can either:

  • deploy a Compose file directly, letting DaoFlow infer project, environment, and service records
  • deploy an existing DaoFlow service definition that you already created in the dashboard

For a first greenfield rollout, the direct Compose path is the shortest path.

Step 3: Deploy​

Docker Compose Preview​

Create a compose.yaml for your application:

services:
  web:
    image: nginx:alpine
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    volumes:
      - ./html:/usr/share/nginx/html:ro

Preview it:

# Preview the deployment plan (safe, no changes)
daoflow deploy \
  --server srv_my_vps \
  --compose ./compose.yaml \
  --dry-run

# Execute the deployment
daoflow deploy \
  --server srv_my_vps \
  --compose ./compose.yaml \
  --yes

The dry-run response tells you whether DaoFlow will create a new project, environment, and service record for this stack and whether local build contexts must be bundled and uploaded.

Existing Service Deployment​

If you already modeled a service in the dashboard, deploy it by service ID:

daoflow deploy \
  --service svc_my_api \
  --image ghcr.io/myorg/my-api:latest \
  --yes

Step 4: Verify​

Check the deployment status:

# View logs for the queued deployment
daoflow logs --deployment <deployment-id> --json

# Check server status
daoflow status --json

Or view it in the dashboard under Deployments.

Step 5: Rollback (If Needed)​

If something goes wrong, roll back to the previous deployment:

# List rollback targets for the existing service
daoflow rollback --service svc_my_web_app --json

# Preview the rollback
daoflow rollback --service svc_my_web_app --target <deployment-id> --dry-run

# Execute the rollback
daoflow rollback --service svc_my_web_app --target <deployment-id> --yes

What's Next?​