Deploy your first application

This is the payoff of the setup path: a project, an application, and a deployment that reaches running.

1. Create a project

Open Projects and create a new project — for example demo.
Give it a name; Notploy creates a default environment (usually production).

A project groups related services; the environment is the deployment context they run in. See Core concepts.

Expected result: you have an empty project with one environment.

2. Add an application

Inside the project, choose Create service → Application.
Pick the source you connected in the previous step (a repository, an image, or an upload).
Select the build type:
- Dockerfile if your repository contains one.
- Nixpacks / Railpack / buildpacks to let Notploy detect and build your stack.
- Static / Docker image when no build is needed.
Save. Notploy reads the repository and prepares the service.

See Build types if you are unsure which to choose.

No Dockerfile?

For common frameworks — Next.js, Vite/React, Remix, NestJS, Django and more — Nixpacks or buildpacks will build the app without a Dockerfile. The Examples pages show recommended settings per framework.

3. Configure environment

If your application needs configuration, add it in the Environment tab. Variables can be defined at the project, environment or service level; the more specific level wins. See Environment variables.

Never commit real credentials to the repository — put them in environment variables or a secrets provider.

4. Deploy

Click Deploy. Notploy:

fetches the source,
builds (or pulls) the image,
releases the container as a Swarm service,
registers the route with Traefik,
records a deployment.

Watch the build and runtime output in the Deployments tab.

Expected result: the latest deployment reaches a running state and the service is healthy.

5. Reach the app

By default the service is not published to a domain. To open it over HTTP for a quick test you can use a generated domain (a free traefik.me hostname). For a real address, continue to Domain and TLS.

When something goes wrong

Build fails — open the deployment log; the failing step is named. Common causes: a missing build dependency, a wrong build type, or a missing environment variable.
Deployment succeeds but the app is unreachable — check the container is listening on the expected port and that a domain is configured.
The process exits immediately — inspect runtime logs; the container likely needs configuration it did not receive.

See Troubleshooting for symptom-based guidance.