Deploy a CodeIgniter application

A CodeIgniter 4 application runs on Sevalla as an application built from your Git repository: Ingot builds it as a PHP application, installs the Composer packages and the PHP extensions the project requires, and starts FrankenPHP in the web process, which serves public/ on the port that Sevalla sets in the PORT environment variable. A job runs CodeIgniter’s migrations before each deployment, and the data lives in a Sevalla PostgreSQL database.

At a glance


Source	A Git repository
Build	Ingot (PHP 8.5, Composer), or the Dockerfile
Start command	`frankenphp run --config /etc/frankenphp/Caddyfile --adapter caddyfile`, which Ingot sets, serving `public/`
Port	The `PORT` environment variable, `8080` by default
Processes	Web process; `Migrate` job (`php spark migrate --all`, Before deployment)
Services	PostgreSQL 18 over an internal connection
Disk	None
Health check	None
Size	H1 for the web process and the job, DB1 for the database

Environment variables

Variable	Required	Available during	Secret	Value
`DB_HOST`	Yes	Runtime	No	Added by the internal connection: the database’s internal hostname
`DB_PORT`	Yes	Runtime	No	Added by the internal connection: `5432`
`DB_DATABASE`	Yes	Runtime	No	Added by the internal connection: the database name
`DB_USERNAME`	Yes	Runtime	No	Added by the internal connection: the database user
`DB_PASSWORD`	Yes	Runtime	Yes	Added by the internal connection: the database password
`DB_URL`	No	Runtime	Yes	Added by the internal connection: `postgres://<user>:<password>@<host>:<port>/<database>`. The application doesn’t read it.
`app_baseURL`	Yes	Runtime	No	`https://`, the application’s domain and `/`, for example `https://storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app/`
`PORT`	No	Runtime	No	Set by Sevalla to the web process port

CI_ENVIRONMENT isn’t set, so CodeIgniter runs in its production environment: it hides error details from visitors and logs only errors.

Before you begin

A Sevalla company with a payment method, and a GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket account for the repository. See Git providers.
PHP 8.5 with the intl and pgsql extensions, and Composer 2, on your computer. CodeIgniter 4.7 needs PHP 8.2 or later.

Create the project

Create a CodeIgniter project from the app starter:

composer create-project codeigniter4/appstarter storefront
cd storefront

The app starter installs CodeIgniter 4.7 and its .gitignore, which keeps vendor/, the local .env file and the files in writable/ out of the repository. Add a products table. Create a migration:

php spark make:migration CreateProducts

Spark writes a file in app/Database/Migrations/ whose name starts with the current date and time. Replace its contents with a migration that creates the table and adds one product:

app/Database/Migrations/2026-10-30-075934_CreateProducts.php

<?php

namespace App\Database\Migrations;

use CodeIgniter\Database\Migration;

class CreateProducts extends Migration
{
    public function up()
    {
        $this->forge->addField([
            'id'    => ['type' => 'INT', 'auto_increment' => true],
            'name'  => ['type' => 'VARCHAR', 'constraint' => 100],
            'price' => ['type' => 'INT'],
        ]);
        $this->forge->addPrimaryKey('id');
        $this->forge->createTable('products');

        $this->db->table('products')->insert(['name' => 'Coffee mug', 'price' => 12]);
    }

    public function down()
    {
        $this->forge->dropTable('products');
    }
}

Add a model for the table:

app/Models/ProductModel.php

<?php

namespace App\Models;

use CodeIgniter\Model;

class ProductModel extends Model
{
    protected $table         = 'products';
    protected $allowedFields = ['name', 'price'];
    protected array $casts   = ['id' => 'int', 'price' => 'int'];
}

Add a controller that returns the products as JSON:

app/Controllers/Products.php

<?php

namespace App\Controllers;

use App\Models\ProductModel;

class Products extends BaseController
{
    public function index()
    {
        return $this->response->setJSON(model(ProductModel::class)->findAll());
    }
}

Then add two routes at the end of app/Config/Routes.php: /products, and /catalog, which redirects to it:

app/Config/Routes.php

$routes->get('products', 'Products::index');
$routes->addRedirect('catalog', 'products');

CodeIgniter builds the redirect’s address from its base URL, so /catalog shows whether the application knows its own domain.

Prepare the project for Sevalla

Pin the PHP version and the PostgreSQL extension

composer require "php:~8.5.0" "ext-pgsql:*"

require.php pins the PHP line: Ingot builds on PHP 8.5 and follows its patch releases. The app starter’s ^8.2 would build on Ingot’s default line, which a new Ingot release can move. See Pin the PHP version.
CodeIgniter’s PostgreSQL driver, Postgre, uses PHP’s pgsql extension. CodeIgniter doesn’t require it in its own composer.json, so Ingot installs it only when your composer.json does.

Connect to the database from environment variables

CodeIgniter reads its database settings from app/Config/Database.php. In the class’s constructor, after parent::__construct();, point the default connection group at PostgreSQL with the variables that Sevalla adds when you connect the database:

app/Config/Database.php

    public function __construct()
    {
        parent::__construct();

        // PostgreSQL, with the variables Sevalla adds when you connect the database
        $this->default = [
            ...$this->default,
            'DBDriver' => 'Postgre',
            'hostname' => getenv('DB_HOST'),
            'port'     => getenv('DB_PORT'),
            'database' => getenv('DB_DATABASE'),
            'username' => getenv('DB_USERNAME'),
            'password' => getenv('DB_PASSWORD'),
            'charset'  => 'utf8',
        ];

Keep the rest of the constructor as it is. On your computer, put the same variables in a .env file, which CodeIgniter loads and Git ignores.

Set the base URL

CodeIgniter builds the URLs of site_url(), base_url() and redirects from app.baseURL, which is http://localhost:8080/ in app/Config/App.php. CodeIgniter reads an environment variable for any setting in a configuration class, with the dot written as an underscore, so you set app_baseURL on Sevalla to the application’s address and leave the file as it is.

Send the logs to the runtime logs

CodeIgniter writes its log to files in writable/logs/, which Sevalla resets on every deployment. Write it to PHP’s error log instead, which FrankenPHP prints to the runtime logs. In app/Config/Logger.php, import ErrorlogHandler in place of FileHandler, and replace the $handlers array:

app/Config/Logger.php

use CodeIgniter\Log\Handlers\ErrorlogHandler;

// ...

    public array $handlers = [
        // PHP's error log, which FrankenPHP writes to standard error: Sevalla's runtime logs
        ErrorlogHandler::class => [
            'handles'     => ['critical', 'alert', 'emergency', 'debug', 'error', 'info', 'notice', 'warning'],
            'messageType' => 0,
        ],
    ];

In production, the $threshold in the same file logs errors and the levels above them.

What Ingot reads

File	Why Sevalla needs it
`composer.json`	Tells Ingot that the application is PHP. `require.php` sets the PHP line, and `ext-pgsql` adds the `pgsql` extension.
`composer.lock`	Ingot installs exactly these versions. The locked `codeigniter4/framework` requires `ext-intl`, so Ingot installs `intl` too.
`public/index.php`	The front controller. FrankenPHP serves `public/`, so `app/`, `writable/` and `vendor/` next to it are never served.
`app/Database/Migrations/`	The migrations that the migration job runs.

How Ingot builds and starts the project

The project needs no build or start configuration. Ingot doesn’t recognize CodeIgniter by name, and doesn’t need to:

Runs composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader and installs the intl and pgsql extensions.
Starts FrankenPHP, which serves public/ on PORT (8080 by default). A request for a path without a file of its own goes to index.php, which runs CodeIgniter’s router. Files that start with a dot, such as .htaccess, are never served.
Passes HTTPS and the visitor’s IP address from Sevalla’s proxy to PHP: FrankenPHP sets HTTPS for requests that reached Sevalla over HTTPS, and REMOTE_ADDR to the visitor’s address.
Lets the application write to its own folder, so CodeIgniter’s cache, sessions and debug files work in writable/. What it writes there lasts until the next deployment and stays on the instance that wrote it.
Doesn’t run migrations: you create a job for them.

Commit everything and push it to your Git provider:

git init
git add .
git commit -m "Prepare for Sevalla"
git branch -M main
git remote add origin https://github.com/acme/storefront.git
git push -u origin main

Deploy to Sevalla

These steps build with Ingot. To build from your own Dockerfile instead, see Deploy with a Dockerfile.

Create the database

In the sidebar, click Databases, then click Create database. Under Database, click PostgreSQL and choose version 18. Enter storefront-db as the Display name, choose a Data center and a Size, then click Create database. See Create a database for every field.

Create the application

In the sidebar, click Applications, then click Create > Application. Under Source, click Private repository, then choose the Git provider, the Repository and the Branch. Under Location, choose the same Data center as the database. Keep the Size at H1 or choose a larger one, then click Create application. The application opens on its Overview tab with the status Not deployed yet: creating an application doesn’t deploy it.

Connect the database

Click the Networking tab. Under Connected services, click Add internal connection. Choose storefront-db as the Service, turn on Add environment variables to the application, and click Add internal connection. Sevalla adds DB_HOST, DB_PORT, DB_DATABASE, DB_USERNAME, DB_PASSWORD and DB_URL, the first five of which app/Config/Database.php reads. See Connect an application.

Add the base URL

Click the Environment variables tab, then click Add environment variables. Enter app_baseURL as the Key and the application’s URL with a trailing slash as the Value, for example https://storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app/. The domain is under the application’s name in the page header. Click Add environment variables.

Create the migration job

Click the Processes tab, then click Create process. Choose Job, enter Migrate as the Name and php spark migrate --all as the Custom start command. Keep the Start policy at Before deployment and the Resource at H1, then click Create process.

Deploy

Click the Overview tab, then click Deploy now under Recent deployments. Check the Branch and click Deploy.

Turn on auto-deploy

To deploy every push to the branch automatically, click the Settings tab, then click Update auto-deploy in the Auto-deploy section. Turn on Auto-deploy and click Update auto-deploy. See Deployments.

The Create process sheet with Job selected, the Name and Custom start command fields, the Start policy set to Before deployment, and the H1 resource

Verify the deployment

On the Deployments tab, click the deployment. Its Build log shows Ingot’s build plan: PHP 8.5 from composer.json, the pgsql and intl extensions and where each comes from, and public/ as the document root.

Build log

╭─ ■ PHP 8.5 application ──────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ PHP              8.5          composer.json require.php "~8.5.0" │
│ Extensions       pgsql        composer.json                      │
│                  intl         composer.lock                      │
│ Package manager  Composer     composer.lock                      │
│ Document root    /app/public  public/index.php                   │
├─ Image ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Build            dunglas/frankenphp:1-php8.5-trixie              │
│ Runtime          debian:trixie-slim                              │
│ User             1000:1000                                       │
│ Init             tini                                            │
│ Port             $PORT, default 8080                             │
╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────── Ingot v0.4.1 ─╯

Later, during the rollout, the build log shows Migrate has been successful. If the job fails, the deployment fails and nothing changes for visitors.

Wait for the deployment’s status to change to Deployed. The application’s status next to its name changes to Running.
Click the domain under the application’s name, for example storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app. CodeIgniter’s welcome page opens, and its footer shows Environment: production. Add /products to the address: the page shows the product that the migration added.

The application header with its name, Running status, repository, branch and the domain that opens the application

If the deployment fails, read its build log, then see Troubleshoot the deployment.

Check from a terminal

These checks need no dashboard. The API calls use API, H, APP_ID and DEPLOYMENT_ID as set in Deploy with the API.

The deployment’s status, from Get deployment (getDeploymentV3):

curl -s "$API/applications/$APP_ID/deployments/$DEPLOYMENT_ID" -H "$H" | jq -r .status

success

The rollout’s results in the build log, from Get application deployment logs (getApplicationDeploymentLogsV3). The messages carry terminal color codes, which gsub removes, and select drops the lines of the image build, which start with #:

curl -s "$API/applications/$APP_ID/deployments/$DEPLOYMENT_ID/logs?search=has%20been" -H "$H" \
  | jq -r '.[].message | gsub("\u001b\\[[0-9;]*m"; "") | select(startswith("#") | not)'

✅ Migrate has been successful
🚀 Web has been deployed successfully.

The migration job’s output, from Get application runtime logs (getApplicationRuntimeLogsV3), which searches the last hour by default:

curl -s "$API/applications/$APP_ID/runtime-logs?search=Migrations%20complete" -H "$H" | jq -r '.[].message'

Migrations complete.

The products, read from PostgreSQL, with your domain:

curl -s -w '\n' https://storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app/products

[{"id":1,"name":"Coffee mug","price":12}]

The redirect from /catalog, whose address CodeIgniter builds from app_baseURL:

curl -sI https://storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app/catalog | grep -i '^location'

location: https://storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app/products

The environment, from the welcome page:

curl -s https://storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app/ | grep -o 'Environment: [a-z]*'

Environment: production

Read the logs

With the ErrorlogHandler from Send the logs to the runtime logs, every message CodeIgniter logs appears on the application’s Logs tab. For example, when the application can’t reach the database, /products returns 500 and the runtime logs show:

Runtime logs

CRITICAL --> CodeIgniter\Database\Exceptions\DatabaseException: Unable to connect to the database.

In production, CodeIgniter logs error and the levels above it, critical, alert and emergency. To log warning, notice, info or debug messages from log_message() too, raise $threshold in app/Config/Logger.php. See Logs.

Deploy with a Dockerfile

Ingot needs no Dockerfile. Write your own when you want full control of the image: the base image, the PHP extensions, the system packages and every layer. Add a Dockerfile, a Caddyfile and a .dockerignore to the root of the repository:

Dockerfile

# PHP 8.5, the line composer.json requires, with FrankenPHP and the extensions CodeIgniter needs
FROM dunglas/frankenphp:1-php8.5-trixie AS php
SHELL ["/bin/bash", "-o", "pipefail", "-c"]
RUN install-php-extensions intl pgsql \
    && cp "$PHP_INI_DIR/php.ini-production" "$PHP_INI_DIR/php.ini" \
    && printf '%s\n' 'expose_php = Off' 'opcache.validate_timestamps = 0' 'opcache.memory_consumption = 256' \
        'opcache.max_accelerated_files = 20000' 'realpath_cache_size = 4096K' 'realpath_cache_ttl = 600' \
        > "$PHP_INI_DIR/conf.d/production.ini" \
    && setcap -r /usr/local/bin/frankenphp \
    && rm -rf /usr/local/bin/php-cgi /usr/local/bin/phpdbg /usr/local/include
# List the Debian packages whose libraries PHP, FrankenPHP and the extensions load, for the final stage
RUN ldd /usr/local/bin/frankenphp /usr/local/bin/php /usr/local/lib/php/extensions/*/*.so \
    | awk '$3 ~ /^\/(usr\/)?lib\// { print $3 }' | sort -u | xargs realpath | xargs dpkg -S \
    | cut -d: -f1 | sort -u > /usr/local/share/php-runtime-packages

FROM php AS build
COPY --from=composer:2 /usr/bin/composer /usr/local/bin/composer
# hadolint ignore=DL3008
RUN apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends unzip \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
ENV COMPOSER_ALLOW_SUPERUSER=1
WORKDIR /app
COPY composer.json composer.lock ./
RUN composer install --no-dev --no-interaction --no-progress --no-autoloader --no-scripts
COPY . .
RUN composer install --no-dev --no-interaction --no-progress --optimize-autoloader

FROM debian:trixie-slim
COPY --from=php /usr/local /usr/local
# hadolint ignore=DL3008
RUN apt-get update \
    && xargs -a /usr/local/share/php-runtime-packages \
        apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends ca-certificates media-types tzdata \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* \
    && ldconfig \
    && useradd --uid 1000 --user-group --no-create-home --home-dir /app app
ENV GODEBUG=cgocheck=0 PORT=8080 XDG_CONFIG_HOME=/tmp/caddy XDG_DATA_HOME=/tmp/caddy
COPY Caddyfile /etc/frankenphp/Caddyfile
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=build /app /app
RUN chown -R 1000:1000 writable
USER 1000:1000
EXPOSE 8080
CMD ["frankenphp", "run", "--config", "/etc/frankenphp/Caddyfile"]

Line or choice	Why
`dunglas/frankenphp:1-php8.5-trixie`	FrankenPHP’s official image with PHP 8.5, the line `require.php` pins, on Debian 13: the image Ingot builds on. A line tag, not a digest, so each build picks up PHP and FrankenPHP security fixes. Its `install-php-extensions` adds `intl`, which CodeIgniter requires, and `pgsql` for its PostgreSQL driver.
The `php.ini` settings	PHP’s production `php.ini`, without the PHP version in response headers. The code in the image never changes, so OPcache doesn’t check the files on every request.
`setcap -r`	FrankenPHP’s binary carries the capability to bind ports below 1024, which it doesn’t need on `8080`. A binary with that capability doesn’t start in a container that runs without capabilities.
`rm -rf` of `php-cgi`, `phpdbg` and `include`	The CGI binary, the debugger and the C headers, which a FrankenPHP server never uses, stay out of the final image.
The `ldd` line	Lists the Debian packages whose libraries PHP, FrankenPHP and the extensions load. The final stage installs exactly those, so adding an extension needs no other change.
`composer.json` and `composer.lock` copied before the source	The first `composer install` depends only on them, so a change to your code reuses its cached layer. The second writes the optimized autoloader.
Final stage `debian:trixie-slim`	Debian 13 with PHP, FrankenPHP, the application and only the libraries they load, without Composer or the compilers that the PHP image keeps for building extensions. The packages aren’t pinned to a version, so each build gets Debian’s security updates, which is why the lines before the `apt-get` commands tell hadolint to skip its version-pinning check.
`USER 1000:1000`	The application doesn’t run as root. Its files stay owned by root, so it can read its code but not change it; only `writable/`, where CodeIgniter keeps its cache and sessions, belongs to user 1000.
`CMD ["frankenphp", "run", ...]`	FrankenPHP is the container’s main process, so it gets Sevalla’s `SIGTERM` itself and finishes the requests in progress before it stops.
`ENV`	FrankenPHP keeps its own files in `/tmp`, which user 1000 can write to, and `GODEBUG=cgocheck=0` is set as FrankenPHP’s own image sets it. `EXPOSE 8080` documents Sevalla’s default `PORT`.

The Caddyfile configures FrankenPHP the way Ingot does, and runs no PHP file but index.php:

Caddyfile

{
	admin off
	frankenphp
	servers {
		trusted_proxies static private_ranges
		client_ip_headers CF-Connecting-IP X-Forwarded-For
	}
}

:{$PORT:8080} {
	root * public
	encode zstd br gzip

	@hidden path */.*
	respond @hidden 404

	@scripts {
		path *.php
		not path /index.php
	}
	respond @scripts 404

	@https {
		remote_ip private_ranges
		header X-Forwarded-Proto https
	}
	vars @https https on

	php_server {
		try_files {path} index.php
		env HTTPS {vars.https}
		env REMOTE_ADDR {client_ip}
	}
}

FrankenPHP listens on the port in PORT and serves public/. Files that start with a dot get 404, and so does every PHP file except index.php.
Requests from Sevalla’s proxy that arrived over HTTPS reach CodeIgniter with HTTPS on, and REMOTE_ADDR is the visitor’s address from the CF-Connecting-IP header rather than the proxy’s.

.dockerignore

.git
.env*
vendor
writable/cache/*
writable/debugbar/*
writable/logs/*
writable/session/*
writable/uploads/*
tests
Dockerfile
.dockerignore

The .dockerignore keeps installed packages, your local .env, the files CodeIgniter wrote to writable/ on your computer and the tests out of the build. The index.html files in writable/ stay, so its folders exist in the image. Commit and push the three files. Ingot doesn’t build from your Dockerfile or use your Caddyfile, and it adds the patterns in .dockerignore to its own (the build plan shows Ignored 11 patterns from .dockerignore), so you can keep the files in a repository that builds with Ingot. Then switch the application to the Dockerfile build strategy:

Choose the Dockerfile build strategy

On the application’s Settings tab, in the Build strategy section, click Update build strategy. Click Dockerfile, keep the Dockerfile path Dockerfile and the Docker context ., then click Update build strategy.

Deploy

Click the Overview tab, then click Deploy now under Recent deployments. Check the Branch and click Deploy.

The deployment’s build log shows 📦 Building and pushing docker image using Dockerfile... instead of Ingot’s build plan, then Migrate has been successful, and its Dockerfile tab shows your file. When the deployment’s status is Deployed, /products and /catalog answer as in Check from a terminal. The Migrate job and the environment variables work unchanged. See Dockerfile.

Deploy changes

With Auto-deploy on, every push to the branch starts a deployment; otherwise, click Deploy now for each change. Each deployment builds the image, runs the Migrate job, then replaces the web process’s instances. For a schema change, create a migration with php spark make:migration and commit it with the code. When you add a package, commit composer.lock with it. See Deployments.

Use environment variables

CodeIgniter reads an environment variable for any property of a configuration class in app/Config/: the class name in lower case, an underscore, then the property, as in app_baseURL for $baseURL in App.php or email_SMTPHost for $SMTPHost in Email.php. Add them on the application’s Environment variables tab instead of committing a .env file. Changes apply at the next deployment. See Environment variables.

Add a custom domain

To serve the application from your own domain, such as shop.example.com, add the domain on the application’s Domains tab and create the DNS records that Sevalla shows, then set app_baseURL to https://shop.example.com/ and deploy. Custom domains need a web process larger than H1, so scale the web process first. See Custom domains.

Troubleshoot the deployment

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Links and redirects point at `http://localhost:8080/`	`app_baseURL` isn’t set, so CodeIgniter uses the `$baseURL` in `app/Config/App.php`.	Add `app_baseURL` with the application’s URL and a trailing slash, then deploy.
`/products` returns `500`, and the runtime logs show `CRITICAL --> CodeIgniter\Database\Exceptions\DatabaseException: Unable to connect to the database.`	The `DB_` variables are missing or wrong, or the database isn’t Ready*.	Check the internal connection on the Networking tab and the `DB_` variables on the Environment variables* tab, then deploy.
The `Migrate` job fails, and its runtime logs show `The required PHP extension "pgsql" is not loaded. Install and enable it to use "Postgre" driver.`	`composer.json` doesn’t require `ext-pgsql`, so the image has no `pgsql` extension.	Run `composer require "ext-pgsql:*"`, commit `composer.json` and `composer.lock`, then deploy.

For more causes, see Troubleshoot Ingot builds and Troubleshoot builds and deployments.

Deploy with the API

The same deployment as Deploy to Sevalla, as calls to the Sevalla API that a script or an AI agent runs in order. Each step names the matching CLI command and Sevalla MCP server tool. The sequence needs:

An API key with the Company developer role, or the capabilities to create, read and update applications and databases, in SEVALLA_API_KEY.
The repository pushed to GitHub, and a GitHub account with access to it connected to Sevalla. Connecting one is a dashboard step, and the API has no call that reports it: if no connected account can read the repository, the step that creates the application fails with 400 and a message that starts with Cannot access repository and says where to connect one.
curl, jq and openssl.

Set the base URL, the authorization header and the repository:

API=https://api.sevalla.com/v3
H="Authorization: Bearer $SEVALLA_API_KEY"
REPO_URL=https://github.com/acme/storefront
BRANCH=main

Choose the location

List clusters (listClustersV3) returns every location your company can use, with its region ID in location. Pick one by region ID, here Frankfurt, Germany (eu-frankfurt-1); Locations lists the others. Display names differ between environments, so don’t select by them:

CLUSTER_ID=$(curl -s "$API/resources/clusters" -H "$H" \
  | jq -r '.[] | select(.location == "eu-frankfurt-1") | .id')

CLI: sevalla resources clusters. MCP: get_platform_options.

Look up the sizes

List database resource types (listDatabaseResourceTypesV3) and List process resource types (listProcessResourceTypesV3) give the IDs of DB1 and H1:

DB1_ID=$(curl -s "$API/resources/database-resource-types" -H "$H" | jq -r '.[] | select(.name == "db1") | .id')
H1_ID=$(curl -s "$API/resources/process-resource-types" -H "$H" | jq -r '.[] | select(.name == "h1") | .id')

CLI: sevalla resources db-types and sevalla resources process-types. MCP: get_platform_options.

Create the database

Create database (createDatabaseV3) with PostgreSQL 18. You choose the password, and the API never returns it, so keep it in a variable for the environment variables:

DB_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -hex 16)
DB_ID=$(curl -s -X POST "$API/databases" -H "$H" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "$(jq -n --arg cluster "$CLUSTER_ID" --arg size "$DB1_ID" --arg password "$DB_PASSWORD" \
    '{display_name: "storefront-db", type: "postgresql", version: "18", cluster_id: $cluster,
      resource_type_id: $size, db_name: "storefront", db_user: "storefront", db_password: $password}')" \
  | jq -r .id)

The database starts as creating. Poll Get database (getDatabaseV3) until it’s ready. On error, delete the database and create it again:

for i in $(seq 1 60); do
  DB_STATUS=$(curl -s "$API/databases/$DB_ID" -H "$H" | jq -r '.status // empty')
  case $DB_STATUS in ready|error) break ;; esac
  sleep 10
done
echo "$DB_STATUS"

ready

CLI:

sevalla databases create --name storefront-db --type postgresql --db-version 18 --cluster $CLUSTER_ID --resource-type $DB1_ID --db-name storefront --db-user storefront --db-password $DB_PASSWORD

. MCP: not available for this step. create_database generates a password that it never returns, and app/Config/Database.php needs it in DB_PASSWORD: run this call with the API or the CLI.

Create the application

Create application (createApplicationV3) creates it with a web process and doesn’t deploy it. List application domains (listApplicationDomainsV3) returns its sevalla.app domain as the primary one, for app_baseURL:

APP_ID=$(curl -s -X POST "$API/applications" -H "$H" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "$(jq -n --arg cluster "$CLUSTER_ID" --arg repo "$REPO_URL" --arg branch "$BRANCH" \
    '{display_name: "storefront", cluster_id: $cluster, source: "privateGit", git_type: "github",
      repo_url: $repo, default_branch: $branch}')" \
  | jq -r .id)
for i in $(seq 1 30); do
  APP_HOST=$(curl -s "$API/applications/$APP_ID/domains" -H "$H" | jq -r '.data[]? | select(.is_primary) | .name')
  [ -n "$APP_HOST" ] && break
  sleep 2
done
echo "$APP_HOST"

Sevalla adds the domain about 2 seconds after it creates the application, so the loop waits for it. Without the wait, the variable can be empty, and app_baseURL would be https:///.CLI:

sevalla apps create --name storefront --cluster $CLUSTER_ID --source privateGit --git-type github --repository $REPO_URL --branch $BRANCH

, then sevalla apps domains list --app-id $APP_ID. MCP: create_application with deploy: false, then get_application.

Size the web process

The API creates the web process at S1, not the dashboard’s H1. List processes (listProcessesV3) finds it, and Update process (updateProcessV3) sets H1:

WEB_ID=$(curl -s "$API/applications/$APP_ID/processes" -H "$H" | jq -r '.data[] | select(.type == "web") | .id')
curl -s -X PATCH "$API/applications/$APP_ID/processes/$WEB_ID" -H "$H" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "$(jq -n --arg size "$H1_ID" '{resource_type_id: $size}')" | jq -r .resource_type_id

CLI: sevalla apps processes update $WEB_ID --app-id $APP_ID --resource-type $H1_ID. MCP: scale_process with size_id and apply_now: false.

Connect the database

Create internal connection (createApplicationInternalConnectionV3):

curl -s -X POST "$API/applications/$APP_ID/internal-connections" -H "$H" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "$(jq -n --arg db "$DB_ID" '{target_id: $db, target_type: "database"}')" | jq -r .id

It prints the connection’s ID. If it prints nothing or null, the connection wasn’t created: run the call again, because without it the application can’t reach the database. Unlike the dashboard, the API doesn’t add the connection’s environment variables. The next step adds them.CLI: sevalla apps internal-connections create $APP_ID --target-id $DB_ID --target-type database. MCP: sevalla_api_create with createApplicationInternalConnectionV3 and the same body.

Add the environment variables

Create environment variable (createEnvironmentVariableV3) adds one variable per call. The loop adds the connection’s variables in the dashboard’s names and format, from Get database, then app_baseURL, all for runtime only:

DB_HOST=$(curl -s "$API/databases/$DB_ID" -H "$H" | jq -r .internal_hostname)
DB_PORT=$(curl -s "$API/databases/$DB_ID" -H "$H" | jq -r .internal_port)
for pair in "DB_HOST=$DB_HOST" "DB_PORT=$DB_PORT" "DB_DATABASE=storefront" "DB_USERNAME=storefront" \
  "DB_PASSWORD=$DB_PASSWORD" "DB_URL=postgres://storefront:$DB_PASSWORD@$DB_HOST:$DB_PORT/storefront" \
  "app_baseURL=https://$APP_HOST/"; do
  curl -s -X POST "$API/applications/$APP_ID/env-vars" -H "$H" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d "$(jq -n --arg key "${pair%%=*}" --arg value "${pair#*=}" '{key: $key, value: $value, is_runtime: true, is_buildtime: false}')" \
    | jq -r .key
done

It prints each of the 7 keys as it’s added. The build reads none of them.CLI: sevalla apps env-vars create $APP_ID --key app_baseURL --value https://$APP_HOST/, once per variable; the CLI makes each variable available during build and runtime, with no option for runtime only. MCP: set_environment_variables with runtime: true and buildtime: false for each variable.

Create the migration job

Create process (createProcessV3) needs the size, a scaling_strategy and, for a job, its job_start_policy:

curl -s -X POST "$API/applications/$APP_ID/processes" -H "$H" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "$(jq -n --arg size "$H1_ID" \
    '{display_name: "Migrate", type: "job", entrypoint: "php spark migrate --all", resource_type_id: $size,
      job_start_policy: "beforeDeployment", scaling_strategy: {type: "manual", config: {instanceCount: 1}}}')" \
  | jq -c '{display_name, job_start_policy}'

{"display_name":"Migrate","job_start_policy":"beforeDeployment"}

CLI:

sevalla apps processes create $APP_ID --name Migrate --type job --resource-type $H1_ID --command "php spark migrate --all" --job-start-policy beforeDeployment

. MCP: sevalla_api_create with createProcessV3 and the same body.

Deploy

Trigger deployment (triggerDeploymentV3):

DEPLOYMENT_ID=$(curl -s -X POST "$API/applications/$APP_ID/deployments" -H "$H" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "$(jq -n --arg branch "$BRANCH" '{branch: $branch}')" | jq -r .id)

CLI: sevalla apps deployments trigger $APP_ID --branch $BRANCH. MCP: trigger_deployment.

Wait for the deployment

Poll Get deployment (getDeploymentV3) until the status is final: success, failed, cancelled or skipped. The loop keeps polling through a failed request and stops after 30 minutes:

for i in $(seq 1 120); do
  STATUS=$(curl -s "$API/applications/$APP_ID/deployments/$DEPLOYMENT_ID" -H "$H" | jq -r '.status // empty')
  case $STATUS in success|failed|cancelled|skipped) break ;; esac
  sleep 15
done
echo "$STATUS"

success

CLI: sevalla apps deployments get $DEPLOYMENT_ID --app-id $APP_ID. MCP: get_deployment.

Read the build log

Get application deployment logs (getApplicationDeploymentLogsV3) returns the build log, oldest line first: the build plan from Verify the deployment, the build, the Migrate job and the rollout. Without limit, it returns only the latest 1,000 lines. When the status is failed, the last lines say why; see Troubleshoot the deployment:

curl -s "$API/applications/$APP_ID/deployments/$DEPLOYMENT_ID/logs?limit=5000" -H "$H" | jq -r '.[].message'

CLI: sevalla apps deployments logs $DEPLOYMENT_ID --app-id $APP_ID. MCP: get_deployment_logs.

Turn on auto-deploy

Update application (updateApplicationV3):

curl -s -X PATCH "$API/applications/$APP_ID" -H "$H" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"auto_deploy": true}' | jq -r .auto_deploy

true

To build from the Dockerfile instead of Ingot, send {"build_type": "dockerfile", "dockerfile_path": "Dockerfile", "docker_context": "."} with the same call before you deploy. CLI: sevalla apps update $APP_ID --data '{"auto_deploy": true}'. MCP: sevalla_api_update with updateApplicationV3 and the same body.

Then run the checks in Check from a terminal, with $APP_HOST as the domain.

Get started

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Deploy a CodeIgniter application

At a glance

Environment variables

Before you begin

Create the project

Prepare the project for Sevalla

Pin the PHP version and the PostgreSQL extension

Connect to the database from environment variables

Set the base URL

Send the logs to the runtime logs

What Ingot reads

How Ingot builds and starts the project

Deploy to Sevalla

Verify the deployment

Check from a terminal

Read the logs

Deploy with a Dockerfile

Deploy changes

Use environment variables

Add a custom domain

Troubleshoot the deployment

Deploy with the API

​At a glance

​Environment variables

​Before you begin

​Create the project

​Prepare the project for Sevalla

​Pin the PHP version and the PostgreSQL extension

​Connect to the database from environment variables

​Set the base URL

​Send the logs to the runtime logs

​What Ingot reads

​How Ingot builds and starts the project

​Deploy to Sevalla

​Verify the deployment

​Check from a terminal

​Read the logs

​Deploy with a Dockerfile

​Deploy changes

​Use environment variables

​Add a custom domain

​Troubleshoot the deployment

​Deploy with the API

At a glance

Environment variables

Before you begin

Create the project

Prepare the project for Sevalla

Pin the PHP version and the PostgreSQL extension

Connect to the database from environment variables

Set the base URL

Send the logs to the runtime logs

What Ingot reads

How Ingot builds and starts the project

Deploy to Sevalla

Verify the deployment

Check from a terminal

Read the logs

Deploy with a Dockerfile

Deploy changes

Use environment variables

Add a custom domain

Troubleshoot the deployment

Deploy with the API