Deploy a Laravel application

A Laravel application runs on Sevalla as an application built from your Git repository: Ingot installs its Composer packages, builds its Vite assets during the build and serves it with FrankenPHP in the web process, and a job runs the migrations before each deployment. Its data, sessions and cache live in a Sevalla PostgreSQL database that the application reaches over an internal connection.

At a glance


Source	A Git repository
Build	Ingot (PHP 8.5, Composer, Node.js 24, npm), or the Dockerfile
Start command	Ingot’s `/usr/local/bin/ingot-laravel-start`, which runs `php artisan optimize`, then FrankenPHP serving `public/`
Port	The `PORT` environment variable, `8080` by default
Processes	Web process; `Migrate` job (`php artisan migrate --force`, Before deployment)
Services	PostgreSQL 18 over an internal connection
Disk	None
Health check	`GET /up` returns `200` (readiness probe)
Size	H1 for the web process and the job, DB1 for the database

Environment variables

Variable	Required	Available during	Secret	Value
`APP_KEY`	Yes	Runtime	Yes	Generate with `php artisan key:generate --show`, or `echo "base64:$(openssl rand -base64 32)"`
`DB_CONNECTION`	Yes	Runtime	No	`pgsql`
`APP_URL`	No	Runtime	No	`https://` and the application’s domain, for example `https://storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app`
`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>`
`PORT`	No	Runtime	No	Set by Sevalla to the web process port

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 and Composer 2 on your computer, and Node.js 24 or later with npm for the front-end build. Laravel 13 needs PHP 8.3 or later; this guide pins PHP 8.5.

Create the project

Create a Laravel project named storefront and install its front-end packages:

composer create-project laravel/laravel storefront
cd storefront
npm install

composer create-project installs Laravel 13, writes a .env file with a new APP_KEY for local development, and migrates a local SQLite database. npm install installs Vite and Tailwind CSS and writes package-lock.json. Laravel’s .gitignore already keeps .env, vendor/, node_modules/ and the built assets in public/build out of the repository. Sevalla doesn’t use .env: you set the production values as environment variables.

Prepare the project for Sevalla

Pin the PHP version

Ingot builds on PHP 8.5, its default line, unless the project sets a version. Pin the 8.5 line in require.php, so the build doesn’t change when a new Ingot release moves its default line:

composer require "php:~8.5.0"

See Pin the PHP version.

What Ingot reads

The project needs no build or start configuration. Ingot reads these files:

File	Why Sevalla needs it
`composer.json` and `composer.lock`	Ingot recognizes Laravel by `laravel/framework`, takes the PHP version from `require.php`, and installs the locked versions with `composer install --no-dev`.
`package.json` and `package-lock.json`	The `build` script, `vite build`, tells Ingot to build the front-end assets. It installs the locked versions with `npm ci`.
`bootstrap/app.php`	Registers the health route `/up`, which the web process’s readiness probe requests.
`database/migrations/`	The tables for users, sessions, cache and queued jobs, which the migration job creates.

Choose the database

Laravel 13 keeps sessions, the cache and queued jobs in the database by default (SESSION_DRIVER, CACHE_STORE and QUEUE_CONNECTION are database), and its migrations create their tables, so one database serves the whole application and every instance of the web process shares the same sessions. This guide uses PostgreSQL because Laravel runs each migration on PostgreSQL in a transaction, so a migration that fails in the job leaves the schema as it was, while MySQL commits each schema change as it runs it.

How Ingot builds and starts the project

Build. Ingot installs the PHP extensions Laravel uses (bcmath, intl, pcntl, pdo_mysql, pdo_pgsql and redis), runs composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader and php artisan storage:link, then npm ci and npm run build, which writes the Vite assets to public/build.
Start. The web process runs Ingot’s Laravel start script. It runs php artisan optimize with the deployment’s environment variables, so the cached configuration never holds values from the build, then starts FrankenPHP on the port in the PORT environment variable (8080 by default), serving public/.
HTTPS. FrankenPHP trusts the X-Forwarded-Proto header from Sevalla’s proxy, so Laravel sees HTTPS requests as HTTPS and generates https:// URLs for assets and redirects without trusted proxy settings.
Logs. Ingot sets LOG_CHANNEL=stderr, so Laravel writes its log to the runtime logs instead of storage/logs, which resets on every deployment.
Migrations. Ingot doesn’t run them. A job runs them once per deployment, before the new version starts.

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, choose PostgreSQL and the newest version. Enter orders-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 orders-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 names Laravel’s config/database.php reads. See Connect an application.

Add the environment variables

Click the Environment variables tab, then click Add environment variables. Add these variables and click Add environment variables:

Variable	Value
`APP_KEY`	A new key: run `php artisan key:generate --show` in the project and paste what it prints, which starts with `base64:`.
`APP_URL`	The application’s URL: `https://` and the domain under the application’s name, for example `https://storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app`. Laravel uses it for URLs it builds outside a request, such as links in queued mail.
`DB_CONNECTION`	`pgsql`

Don’t set APP_ENV or APP_DEBUG: without them, Laravel runs as production with debug mode off.

Create the migration job

Click the Processes tab, then click Create process. Choose Job, enter Migrate as the Name and php artisan migrate --force as the Custom start command. Keep the Start policy at Before deployment and the Resource at H1, then click Create process. --force confirms the migration, which Laravel otherwise asks for in production.

Turn on the readiness probe

On the Processes tab, click ⋯ on the Web process, then click Update process. Under Health checks, turn on Readiness probe, set the Path to /up and keep the Port at the web process’s port, 8080 unless you changed it. Click Update process. During a deployment, each new instance gets traffic only once /up answers. See Health checks.

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, wait for the deployment’s status to change to Deployed. The application’s status next to its name changes to Running. Open the deployment to read its build log. Ingot’s build plan comes first:

Build log

╭─ ■ Laravel · PHP 8.5 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ PHP                  8.5                                               composer.json require.php "~8.5.0" │
│ Framework            Laravel                                           composer.json                      │
│ Extensions           bcmath, intl, pcntl, pdo_mysql, pdo_pgsql, redis  Laravel defaults                   │
│ Package manager      Composer                                          composer.lock                      │
│ Document root        /app/public                                       public/index.php                   │
│ Node.js              24                                                default                            │
│ JavaScript packages  npm                                               package-lock.json                  │
│ Assets               npm run build                                     package.json scripts.build         │
├─ 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, the build log shows vite build writing the assets to public/build/assets, and, during the rollout, Migrate has been successful. If the job fails, the deployment fails and nothing changes for visitors. See Read the build plan.

Click the domain under the application’s name, for example storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app. Laravel’s welcome page opens with Let's get started and the Laravel version, styled by the CSS that Vite built. Its stylesheet link uses https://:
curl -s https://storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app | grep -o '<link rel="stylesheet"[^>]*>'
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app/build/assets/app-6jSCucsl.css" />
The page also starts a session, which Laravel saves in the sessions table: it works only when the database connection and the migrations do.
Add /up to the address. The page reads Application up: it’s what the readiness probe sees.

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

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 health route that the readiness probe requests, with your domain:

curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}\n' https://storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app/up

The stylesheet link, as in Verify the deployment, which shows that the Vite assets, the database session and HTTPS work:

curl -s https://storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app | grep -o '<link rel="stylesheet"[^>]*>'

<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app/build/assets/app-6jSCucsl.css" />

Read the logs

Laravel writes to the log channel in LOG_CHANNEL, which Ingot sets to stderr, so every log call and every error the application reports appears on the application’s Logs tab. For example, Log::info('Order 42 confirmed') appears as:

Runtime logs

[2026-10-29 18:21:37] production.INFO: Order 42 confirmed

The web process’s runtime logs also show each start: php artisan optimize caching the configuration, routes, events and views, then FrankenPHP started. Laravel logs every level from debug up by default; set the LOG_LEVEL environment variable to info or warning to log less. 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

FROM dunglas/frankenphp:1-php8.5-trixie AS php
SHELL ["/bin/bash", "-o", "pipefail", "-c"]
RUN install-php-extensions pdo_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
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
# hadolint ignore=DL3008
RUN apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends unzip \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
COPY --from=composer:2 /usr/bin/composer /usr/bin/composer
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 \
    && php artisan optimize --except=config

FROM node:24-trixie-slim AS assets
WORKDIR /app
COPY package.json package-lock.json ./
RUN npm ci
COPY . .
COPY --from=build /app/vendor ./vendor
RUN npm run build

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
COPY Caddyfile /etc/frankenphp/Caddyfile
ENV GODEBUG=cgocheck=0 LOG_CHANNEL=stderr XDG_CONFIG_HOME=/tmp/caddy XDG_DATA_HOME=/tmp/caddy
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=build /app ./
COPY --from=assets /app/public/build ./public/build
RUN chown -R 1000:1000 storage bootstrap/cache
USER 1000:1000
EXPOSE 8080
CMD ["sh", "-c", "php artisan config:cache && exec 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 `pdo_pgsql` for PostgreSQL; add any other extension the application needs to that line.
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, and the cache sizes fit a framework’s thousands of files, as in Ingot’s image.
`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.
Four stages	`php` adds the extensions and the settings. `build` installs the Composer packages. `assets` builds the Vite assets with Node.js 24, the line Ingot uses; Tailwind CSS reads Laravel’s views in `vendor/`, so the stage copies it from `build`. The final stage is `debian:trixie-slim` with PHP, FrankenPHP, the application and only the libraries they load, without Composer, Node.js or the compilers the PHP image keeps for building extensions. Its 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.
`composer.json`, `composer.lock`, `package.json` and `package-lock.json` copied before the source	A change to your code reuses the cached `composer install` and `npm ci` layers, so only the steps after them run again.
`php artisan optimize --except=config`, then `php artisan config:cache` at start	Routes, views and events don’t depend on environment variables, so the build caches them in the image. The configuration does, so the container caches it when it starts, with the deployment’s variables, and no secret is written into the image.
`USER 1000:1000`	The `app` user the final stage creates, not root. The application’s files stay owned by root, so it can read its code but not change it; only `storage` and `bootstrap/cache`, where Laravel writes, belong to user 1000.
`exec frankenphp run`	`exec` makes FrankenPHP the container’s main process, so it gets Sevalla’s `SIGTERM` itself and finishes the requests in progress before it stops.
`ENV`	`LOG_CHANNEL=stderr` sends Laravel’s log to the runtime logs, as with Ingot. 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`, which the `Caddyfile` reads when FrankenPHP starts.

The Caddyfile configures FrankenPHP the way Ingot does:

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

	@assets path /build/assets/*
	header @assets Cache-Control "public, max-age=31536000, immutable"

	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 Laravel with HTTPS on, so it generates https:// URLs, and $request->ip() returns the visitor’s address from the CF-Connecting-IP header rather than the proxy’s. Laravel needs no trusted proxy settings.
Vite gives built assets a new name when they change, so browsers and the Sevalla CDN may cache them for a year.

.dockerignore

.git
.env*
node_modules
vendor
public/build
public/hot
public/storage
bootstrap/cache/*.php
storage/framework/views/*.php
storage/logs/*.log
database/*.sqlite
tests
Dockerfile
.dockerignore

The .dockerignore keeps your local .env, installed packages, built assets, caches and tests out of the build, so the image gets what composer install and npm run build produce from the lock files. 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 14 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, the welcome page and /up answer as in Verify the deployment, with https:// asset URLs. The Migrate job, the readiness probe 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 once the new ones answer on /up. For a schema change, create a migration with php artisan make:migration and commit it with the code. When you add a package, commit composer.lock or package-lock.json with it. See Deployments.

Use environment variables

Add configuration on the application’s Environment variables tab and read it in config/ files with env(), as Laravel’s own configuration does. Ingot’s start script and the Dockerfile’s php artisan config:cache cache the configuration when each instance starts, so call env() only in config/ files and use config() everywhere else, as Laravel recommends for a cached configuration. Variables 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_URL 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
The `Migrate` job fails with `Database file at path [/app/database/database.sqlite] does not exist`	`DB_CONNECTION` isn’t set, so Laravel uses its default, SQLite.	Add `DB_CONNECTION` with the value `pgsql`, then deploy.
Every page returns status `500`, and the runtime logs show `production.ERROR: No application encryption key has been specified.`	`APP_KEY` isn’t set.	Add `APP_KEY` with the output of `php artisan key:generate --show`, then deploy.
The `Migrate` job fails, and its runtime logs show `In Request.php line 395:` and `Invalid URI.`	`APP_URL` has no domain, for example `https://`.	Set `APP_URL` to `https://` and the application’s domain, then deploy.
The page has no styles, and the browser reports mixed content	Laravel generates `http://` asset URLs, because your own image serves the application without trusting Sevalla’s proxy.	Use the `Caddyfile` from Deploy with a Dockerfile, or Ingot.

For more causes, see Troubleshoot Ingot builds and Troubleshoot builds and deployments. To add queues, the scheduler, uploads or Redis caching, see the Laravel guides.

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 and the PostgreSQL version

List database resource types (listDatabaseResourceTypesV3), List process resource types (listProcessResourceTypesV3) and List database versions (listDatabaseVersionsV3) give the IDs of DB1 and H1 and the newest PostgreSQL version in the location:

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')
PG_VERSION=$(curl -s "$API/resources/database-versions?cluster_id=$CLUSTER_ID" -H "$H" \
  | jq -r '.[] | select(.type == "postgresql") | .versions[-1]')

CLI: sevalla resources db-types, sevalla resources process-types and sevalla resources db-versions --cluster $CLUSTER_ID. MCP: get_platform_options for the sizes, and sevalla_api_read with listDatabaseVersionsV3 for the version.

Create the database

Create database (createDatabaseV3). 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 "$DB1_ID" --arg version "$PG_VERSION" --arg password "$DB_PASSWORD" \
    '{display_name: "orders-db", type: "postgresql", version: $version, 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"

CLI:

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

. MCP: create_database generates a password that it never returns. Create the application first, then pass connect_to_application_id and env_var_name: "DB_URL": the tool connects the database and stores its URL, in the form postgresql://<user>:<password>@<host>:<port>/<database>, in DB_URL, which Laravel reads in place of the other DB_* variables. Then skip the connection step, and leave the connection’s variables out of the environment variables step.

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_URL:

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: APP_URL is then https://, and the Migrate job fails with Invalid URI.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 and add the readiness probe

The API creates the web process at S1, not the dashboard’s H1. List processes (listProcessesV3) finds it, and Update process (updateProcessV3) sets H1 and the readiness probe on /up. Send timeoutSeconds: a probe set through the API without it waits 120 seconds, not the dashboard’s 1:

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, readiness_probe: {httpGet: {path: "/up", port: 8080},
      initialDelaySeconds: 0, periodSeconds: 10, timeoutSeconds: 1, successThreshold: 1, failureThreshold: 3}}')" \
  | jq -c '{resource_type_id, readiness_probe}'

CLI: sevalla apps processes update $WEB_ID --app-id $APP_ID --resource-type $H1_ID; the CLI has no option for the probe. MCP: scale_process with size_id and apply_now: false for the size, and sevalla_api_update with updateProcessV3 and the same body for the probe.

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 a new APP_KEY, DB_CONNECTION and APP_URL, 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)
APP_KEY="base64:$(openssl rand -base64 32)"
for pair in "DB_HOST=$DB_HOST" "DB_PORT=$DB_PORT" "DB_DATABASE=storefront" "DB_USERNAME=storefront" \
  "DB_PASSWORD=$DB_PASSWORD" "DB_URL=postgres://storefront:$DB_PASSWORD@$DB_HOST:$DB_PORT/storefront" \
  "APP_KEY=$APP_KEY" "DB_CONNECTION=pgsql" "APP_URL=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 key as it’s added. APP_KEY is 32 random bytes in Base64 with the base64: prefix, the format php artisan key:generate writes.CLI: sevalla apps env-vars create $APP_ID --key DB_CONNECTION --value pgsql, 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 artisan migrate --force", resource_type_id: $size,
      job_start_policy: "beforeDeployment", scaling_strategy: {type: "manual", config: {instanceCount: 1}}}')" \
  | jq -c '{display_name, job_start_policy}'

CLI:

sevalla apps processes create $APP_ID --name Migrate --type job --resource-type $H1_ID --command "php artisan migrate --force" --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"

On failed, read the build log with Get application deployment logs and see Troubleshoot the deployment. CLI: sevalla apps deployments get $DEPLOYMENT_ID --app-id $APP_ID and sevalla apps deployments logs $DEPLOYMENT_ID --app-id $APP_ID. MCP: get_deployment and 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

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 https://$APP_HOST as the domain.

Get started

Migrate

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Static site generators

Deploy a Laravel application

At a glance

Environment variables

Before you begin

Create the project

Prepare the project for Sevalla

Pin the PHP version

What Ingot reads

Choose the database

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

​What Ingot reads

​Choose the database

​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

What Ingot reads

Choose the database

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