dockhold

dockhold

Put your app online straight from your computer. No GitHub, no Docker, no setup.

Point the CLI at a project folder and it uploads your code, builds it, and gives you a live URL. If your project has a Dockerfile it uses that. If it does not, Dockhold detects your stack and builds it for you, on any account with compute added (from $5/month). On a free account, add a Dockerfile at the root of your folder: without one the deploy stops before it uploads and tells you what to add. There are examples to copy at https://dockhold.eu/docs/concepts/dockerfiles.

Quickstart

npx dockhold login
npx dockhold deploy

login opens your browser once to connect your Dockhold account. deploy packs the current folder, uploads it, and prints your app's URL when it is live. Run deploy again any time to push a new version.

Commands

dockhold login [--token [<token>]]      Sign in (a bare --token prompts for a
                                        paste, keeping it out of shell history)
dockhold deploy [--name <name>]         Deploy the current folder
               [--env KEY=VALUE ...]    Set an environment variable (repeatable)
               [--db]                   Add a managed database
dockhold logs [--app <id>]              Show recent logs
              [--tail <n>] [--type app|build|db]
dockhold list                           List your apps
dockhold open [--app <id>]              Open an app in your browser

What gets uploaded

The CLI packs your project folder, with a few things always left out:

• .git and node_modules
• every .env file (see below)
• anything your .gitignore excludes

You can add a .dockholdignore file (same format as .gitignore) to exclude more. It takes priority over .gitignore.

How your folder gets built

The build picks its instructions in this order:

• A Dockerfile at the root of the folder.
• A dockhold.json at the root pointing at one:

{
  "build": {
    "dockerfile": "docker/Dockerfile.prod"
  }
}

• Automatic stack detection (Node, Python, Go, Rust, Ruby, Deno, Bun, Java, PHP), on accounts with compute added.

Free accounts stop at step 2. If neither file is there, deploy says so before uploading anything, so nothing is half-done while you go add one.

Environment variables

Your .env files are never uploaded. Set variables on the deploy instead:

npx dockhold deploy --env DATABASE_URL=... --env API_KEY=...

You can also manage them in the dashboard. They are stored encrypted and injected into your app at runtime.

Configuration

The CLI talks to Dockhold's hosted service by default. These environment variables override that when you need to:

• DOCKHOLD_TOKEN — use this access token instead of the signed-in one
• DOCKHOLD_API_URL — point at a different API endpoint
• DOCKHOLD_DASHBOARD_URL — point sign-in at a different dashboard

Your access token is stored in ~/.config/dockhold/config.json with owner-only permissions.

Requirements

Node.js 18 or newer.