About Deployer
Deployer is an open source command-line tool for deploying PHP applications to servers. It is built around releases that switch over in a single step.
What it does
You describe a deployment in a PHP file, then run one command to release to one or more servers. Each release is placed in its own folder, and a symlink switches to it once it is ready. If a release causes problems, you can return to an earlier one with one command.
Key features
- Zero-downtime releases with symlink switching
- Rollback to a previous release in one command
- Deploys to several servers in parallel
- Server setup for firewall, PHP, database and HTTPS
- Recipes for Laravel, Symfony and WordPress
Who it's for
PHP developers and agencies that deploy similar sites for many clients. Teams that already reach their servers over SSH will find the workflow familiar.
Pricing and good to know
Deployer is free and released under the MIT licence. Recipes are included for many PHP frameworks and content systems, including Drupal, Magento and TYPO3. The tool is distributed as a PHAR file, so PHP needs to be installed on the machine that runs it.
Highlights
- Zero-downtime releases with symlink switching
- Roll back to an earlier release in one command
- Deploy to several servers in parallel
- Set up a server with firewall, PHP and HTTPS
- Ready-made recipes for common PHP frameworks
