Deploy an Actix Web application

An Actix Web application runs on Sevalla as a Rust application: Ingot, Sevalla’s builder, compiles it with Cargo in release mode from your Git repository, and the web process runs the binary, /usr/local/bin/storefront. HttpServer listens on the port that Sevalla sets in the PORT environment variable, starts one worker thread per CPU the instance can use, and shuts down gracefully when Sevalla sends SIGTERM.

At a glance


Source	A Git repository
Build	Ingot (Rust 1.99, Cargo), or the Dockerfile
Start command	`/usr/local/bin/storefront`, the binary Ingot builds from the only binary target
Port	The `PORT` environment variable, `8080` by default
Processes	Web process
Services	None
Disk	None
Health check	`GET /healthz` returns `200` (readiness probe)
Size	H1 for the web process

Environment variables

The application needs no environment variables of its own. It reads PORT, which Sevalla sets 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.
Rust 1.99 on your computer, installed with rustup.

Create the project

Create a binary crate and add Actix Web, a logger and Serde:

cargo new storefront
cd storefront
cargo add actix-web env_logger serde serde_json -F serde/derive

cargo new creates src/main.rs, a .gitignore that lists /target, and a Git repository. cargo add installs Actix Web 4, env_logger, which prints Actix Web’s log messages, and Serde for JSON, and writes Cargo.lock. Replace src/main.rs with a JSON API and a health endpoint:

src/main.rs

use actix_web::{App, HttpResponse, HttpServer, Responder, get, middleware::Logger, web};
use serde::Serialize;
use serde_json::json;

#[derive(Serialize)]
struct Product {
    id: u32,
    name: &'static str,
    price: f64,
}

const PRODUCTS: [Product; 2] = [
    Product {
        id: 1,
        name: "Espresso beans",
        price: 14.5,
    },
    Product {
        id: 2,
        name: "Pour-over kettle",
        price: 39.0,
    },
];

#[get("/healthz")]
async fn health() -> impl Responder {
    HttpResponse::Ok().json(json!({ "status": "ok" }))
}

#[get("/api/products")]
async fn products() -> impl Responder {
    HttpResponse::Ok().json(&PRODUCTS)
}

#[get("/api/products/{id}")]
async fn product(id: web::Path<u32>) -> impl Responder {
    match PRODUCTS.iter().find(|p| p.id == *id) {
        Some(p) => HttpResponse::Ok().json(p),
        None => HttpResponse::NotFound().json(json!({ "error": "product not found" })),
    }
}

#[actix_web::main]
async fn main() -> std::io::Result<()> {
    env_logger::init_from_env(env_logger::Env::new().default_filter_or("info"));

    let port: u16 = std::env::var("PORT")
        .ok()
        .and_then(|p| p.parse().ok())
        .unwrap_or(8080);
    HttpServer::new(|| {
        App::new()
            .wrap(Logger::default())
            .service(health)
            .service(products)
            .service(product)
    })
    .bind(("0.0.0.0", port))?
    .shutdown_timeout(20)
    .run()
    .await
}

#[get("/api/products/{id}")] declares the route, and web::Path<u32> parses the parameter. A value that isn’t a number matches no route and gets 404 Not Found.
env_logger prints messages at the info level unless you set RUST_LOG, and the Logger middleware adds one line per request.
The server binds 0.0.0.0, all network interfaces, on PORT, which Sevalla sets to the web process’s port (8080 by default). On your computer, it uses port 8080.
shutdown_timeout(20) gives requests in progress 20 seconds to finish when the server stops. See Shut down gracefully.

Prepare the project for Sevalla

Pin the Rust version in a rust-toolchain.toml file at the root of the project:

rust-toolchain.toml

[toolchain]
channel = "1.99"

File	Why Sevalla needs it
`Cargo.toml`	Ingot recognizes a Rust project by it. Its one binary target, `storefront` from `src/main.rs`, is the binary Ingot installs in `/usr/local/bin` and starts the web process with.
`Cargo.lock`	The exact version of every crate. Ingot builds with `--locked`, so the build uses those versions. Commit it.
`rust-toolchain.toml`	Ingot builds on the Rust 1.99 line. Without it, Ingot uses its default line, which a new Ingot release moves. On your computer, rustup uses the same line in this folder. See Pin the Rust version.

The project needs no other configuration. Ingot builds it with cargo auditable build --release --locked, which records the crates in the binary so vulnerability scanners can read them, and leaves rust-toolchain.toml out of the build so rustup in the build image doesn’t download another toolchain. Run cargo run and open http://localhost:8080/api/products to check the server locally. cargo new already created a Git repository, so commit everything and push it to your Git provider:

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 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 a Data center. 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.

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.

Verify the deployment

On the Deployments tab, click the deployment. Its Build log shows Ingot’s build plan: Rust 1.99 from rust-toolchain.toml, and the start command from the only binary target.

Build log

╭─ ■ Rust 1.99 application ─────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Rust        1.99                           rust-toolchain.toml "1.99" │
│ Start       /usr/local/bin/storefront      the only binary target     │
│ Crate list  in the binaries, for scanners  cargo-auditable 0.7.7      │
├─ Image ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Build       rust:1.99-slim-trixie                                     │
│ Runtime     debian:trixie-slim                                        │
│ User        1000:1000                                                 │
│ Init        tini                                                      │
│ Port        $PORT, default 8080                                       │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Ingot v0.4.1 ─╯

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, and add /api/products to the address. The response is:
[{"id":1,"name":"Espresso beans","price":14.5},{"id":2,"name":"Pour-over kettle","price":39.0}]
/api/products/2 returns one product, /api/products/9 returns {"error":"product not found"} with status 404, and /healthz returns {"status":"ok"}.

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

The application’s runtime logs show starting service: "actix-web-service-0.0.0.0:8080", workers: 1, listening on: 0.0.0.0:8080 on an H1 instance, then one line per request. If the deployment fails, read its build log, then see Troubleshoot. To check the deployment from a terminal or an AI agent, read its status with Get deployment (getDeploymentV3) until it’s success, and its build log with Get application deployment logs (getApplicationDeploymentLogsV3), as in Deploy with the API. Then request the endpoints:

curl -s -w '\n' https://storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app/api/products/2
curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}\n' https://storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app/api/products/9
curl -s -w '\n' https://storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app/healthz

{"id":2,"name":"Pour-over kettle","price":39.0}
404
{"status":"ok"}

Get application runtime logs (getApplicationRuntimeLogsV3) with search finds the start of the server:

curl -s "https://api.sevalla.com/v3/applications/$APP_ID/runtime-logs?search=starting%20service" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEVALLA_API_KEY" | jq -r '.[].message'

[2026-10-30T05:15:33Z INFO  actix_server::server] starting service: "actix-web-service-0.0.0.0:8080", workers: 1, listening on: 0.0.0.0:8080

Shut down gracefully

When Sevalla stops an instance, during a deployment, a restart or a scale-down, it waits 5 seconds, sends SIGTERM, and stops the instance if it’s still running 30 seconds after the shutdown began. See How processes run. Actix Web listens for SIGTERM itself: it stops accepting connections and gives the requests in progress up to shutdown_timeout, 20 seconds here instead of its default of 30, which leaves time before Sevalla stops the instance. On every deployment, the old instance’s runtime logs show a line from actix_server::server that ends with:

Runtime logs

SIGTERM received; starting graceful shutdown

Add a health check

A readiness probe makes each new instance wait for /healthz to answer before it gets traffic, so a deployment switches over only to instances that serve requests.

Open the web process

On the application’s Processes tab, click ⋯ on the Web process, then click Update process.

Turn on the readiness probe

Under Health checks, turn on Readiness probe and set the Path to /healthz. Keep the Port at the web process’s port, 8080 unless you changed it.

Save and deploy

Click Update process, then click Deploy in the undeployed changes bar at the bottom of the page.

The deployment’s status changes to Deployed once the new instance answers the probe. See Health checks for every probe setting. Deploy with the API sets the same probe. Get process (getProcessV3) returns it in readiness_probe:

curl -s https://api.sevalla.com/v3/applications/$APP_ID/processes/$WEB_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEVALLA_API_KEY" | jq -c .readiness_probe

{"httpGet":{"path":"/healthz","port":8080,"scheme":"HTTP"},"initialDelaySeconds":0,"periodSeconds":10,"timeoutSeconds":1,"successThreshold":1,"failureThreshold":3}

Deploy with a Dockerfile

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

Dockerfile

FROM rust:1.99-slim-trixie AS build
WORKDIR /src
COPY Cargo.toml Cargo.lock ./
# Compile the dependencies alone, so this layer stays cached until Cargo.toml or Cargo.lock changes
RUN mkdir src \
    && echo "fn main() {}" > src/main.rs \
    && cargo build --release --locked \
    && rm -rf src
COPY src ./src
# touch: the copied main.rs is older than the placeholder's build, so Cargo would skip it
RUN touch src/main.rs \
    && cargo build --release --locked

FROM debian:trixie-slim
# hadolint ignore=DL3008
RUN apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends ca-certificates \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* \
    && useradd --uid 1000 --create-home app
COPY --from=build /src/target/release/storefront /usr/local/bin/storefront
USER 1000:1000
EXPOSE 8080
CMD ["storefront"]

Line or choice	Why
`rust:1.99-slim-trixie`	The Rust 1.99 line that `rust-toolchain.toml` pins, on Debian 13, the image Ingot builds with too. A line tag, not a digest, so each build gets Rust’s patch releases and Debian’s security fixes.
Two stages	The `build` stage has Cargo, the compiler and the source. The final stage gets only the binary.
The placeholder `main.rs`	Cargo compiles every dependency from `Cargo.toml` and `Cargo.lock` alone, in a layer that Docker reuses until either file changes. A code change then compiles only your crate. `touch` makes Cargo rebuild the real `main.rs`, which keeps the time of its Git checkout.
Only `Cargo.toml`, `Cargo.lock` and `src` copied	Keeps `rust-toolchain.toml` out of the build: in the folder, it would make rustup download the Rust 1.99 toolchain again instead of using the image’s.
`--locked`	Builds the versions in `Cargo.lock`, and fails if `Cargo.toml` no longer matches it.
`debian:trixie-slim`	The binary links to the GNU C library, so it runs on the Debian release it was built on: both images have glibc 2.41. The image has `/bin/sh` for the web terminal and custom start commands, and `ca-certificates` adds the CA certificates for outgoing HTTPS.
`# hadolint ignore=DL3008`	`ca-certificates` isn’t pinned to a version, so each build gets Debian’s current one. The comment tells hadolint to skip its version-pinning check.
`useradd --uid 1000` and `USER 1000:1000`	The server runs as a user with no privileges. The binary stays owned by root, so the server can’t change it.
No init process	Actix Web handles `SIGTERM` itself, so the server runs as process 1 without `tini`.
`EXPOSE 8080`	Documents Sevalla’s default `PORT`. The server reads `PORT` when it starts.

.dockerignore

.git
.env*
*.log
/target
Dockerfile
.dockerignore

The .dockerignore keeps the Git history, local environment files, logs and your local target folder of build output out of the build. Commit and push both files. Ingot doesn’t build from your Dockerfile, and it adds the patterns in .dockerignore to its own, so you can keep both 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, and its Dockerfile tab shows your file. When the deployment’s status is Deployed, /api/products returns the same JSON. With Cache enabled in the build strategy, the next deployment of a code change shows the dependency step as CACHED in the build log. See Dockerfile. With the API, Update application (updateApplicationV3) switches the build strategy. Then deploy and wait as in Deploy with the API:

curl -s -X PATCH https://api.sevalla.com/v3/applications/$APP_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEVALLA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"build_type":"dockerfile","dockerfile_path":"Dockerfile","docker_context":"."}' \
  | jq -c '{build_type, dockerfile_path, docker_context}'

{"build_type":"dockerfile","dockerfile_path":"Dockerfile","docker_context":"."}

The CLI does the same with sevalla apps update $APP_ID --build-type dockerfile --dockerfile-path Dockerfile. The new deployment’s build log names the Dockerfile build:

curl -s "https://api.sevalla.com/v3/applications/$APP_ID/deployments/$DEPLOYMENT_ID/logs?search=Building%20and%20pushing" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEVALLA_API_KEY" | jq -r '.[].message'

📦 Building and pushing docker image using 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, then replaces the web process’s instances. When you add a crate with cargo add, commit Cargo.toml and Cargo.lock with the code. See Deployments.

Use environment variables

Add configuration on the application’s Environment variables tab and read it with std::env::var, as the server reads PORT. Variables marked Available during buildtime also reach cargo build; with a Dockerfile, they arrive as build arguments, which a stage reads only after an ARG line for each one. 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. Custom domains need a web process larger than H1, so scale the web process first. See Custom domains.

Troubleshoot

Symptom	Cause	Fix
The build log warns `! There is no Cargo.lock, so dependency versions are chosen during the build. Commit Cargo.lock for reproducible builds`	`Cargo.lock` isn’t in the repository	Commit `Cargo.lock`. `cargo new` doesn’t list it in `.gitignore`.
A Dockerfile build fails with `"/Cargo.lock": not found`	The same missing `Cargo.lock`, which the Dockerfile copies	Commit `Cargo.lock`
The build log shows `✗ rust-toolchain.toml asks for the "nightly" toolchain`	Ingot builds with stable Rust releases only	Set `channel` to a stable line such as `"1.99"`, or to `"stable"`

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

Deploy with the API

These calls make the same deployment as Deploy to Sevalla and Add a health check, in an order that a script or an AI agent runs as it is. Each step names the Sevalla API operation, then the CLI command and the MCP server tool that do the same. You need:

An API key with the Company developer role, or the APP:CREATE, APP:READ and APP:UPDATE permissions, in the SEVALLA_API_KEY environment variable. The CLI reads the key from SEVALLA_API_TOKEN.
The repository on a Git provider that’s connected to your Sevalla account. See Git providers. Creating the application checks it: when Sevalla can’t read the repository, the call returns 400 with Cannot access repository https://github.com/acme/storefront: Repository not found or you don't have access., followed by where to grant access.
curl and jq.

Choose the location

List clusters (listClustersV3) returns the locations your company can use, each with its id, the display_name that the dashboard shows and its region ID in location. Keep the ID of the one you want by its region ID, such as eu-frankfurt-1 for Frankfurt, Germany. Locations lists them all:

CLUSTER_ID=$(curl -s https://api.sevalla.com/v3/resources/clusters \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEVALLA_API_KEY" \
  | jq -r '.[] | select(.location == "eu-frankfurt-1") | .id')

CLI: sevalla resources clusters. MCP: get_platform_options.

Create the application

Create application (createApplicationV3) creates the application with a web process. It builds with Ingot (build_type is ingot) and isn’t deployed yet:

APP_ID=$(curl -s -X POST https://api.sevalla.com/v3/applications \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEVALLA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"display_name":"storefront","cluster_id":"'"$CLUSTER_ID"'","source":"privateGit","git_type":"github","repo_url":"https://github.com/acme/storefront","default_branch":"main"}' \
  | jq -r .id)

CLI:

sevalla apps create --name storefront --cluster $CLUSTER_ID --source privateGit --git-type github --repository https://github.com/acme/storefront --branch main

. MCP: create_application with deploy set to false.

Find the domain

List application domains (listApplicationDomainsV3) returns the domain that Sevalla gives the application. It appears a few seconds after the application is created, so ask until it’s there:

for i in $(seq 1 24); do
  HOST=$(curl -s https://api.sevalla.com/v3/applications/$APP_ID/domains \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEVALLA_API_KEY" | jq -r '.data[]? | select(.is_primary) | .name')
  [ -n "$HOST" ] && break
  sleep 5
done
echo "$HOST"

storefront-x7k2m.sevalla.app

CLI: sevalla apps domains list --app-id $APP_ID. MCP: get_application.

Find the web process

List processes (listProcessesV3) returns the web process that the application was created with:

WEB_ID=$(curl -s https://api.sevalla.com/v3/applications/$APP_ID/processes \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEVALLA_API_KEY" \
  | jq -r '.data[] | select(.type == "web") | .id')

CLI: sevalla apps processes list --app-id $APP_ID. MCP: get_application.

Find the H1 size

List process resource types (listProcessResourceTypesV3) returns the sizes by name, in lowercase:

H1_ID=$(curl -s https://api.sevalla.com/v3/resources/process-resource-types \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEVALLA_API_KEY" \
  | jq -r '.[] | select(.name == "h1") | .id')

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

Set the size and the readiness probe

The API creates the web process at S1, where the dashboard’s default is H1. Update process (updateProcessV3) sets the size and adds the readiness probe from Add a health check, with the dashboard’s default timings. Send timeoutSeconds: a probe without it gets 120 seconds, where the dashboard sets 1.

curl -s -X PATCH https://api.sevalla.com/v3/applications/$APP_ID/processes/$WEB_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEVALLA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"resource_type_id":"'"$H1_ID"'","readiness_probe":{"httpGet":{"path":"/healthz","port":8080,"scheme":"HTTP"},"initialDelaySeconds":0,"periodSeconds":10,"timeoutSeconds":1,"successThreshold":1,"failureThreshold":3}}' \
  | jq -c '{resource_type_name, readiness_probe}'

CLI: sevalla apps processes update $WEB_ID --app-id $APP_ID --resource-type $H1_ID sets the size; the CLI can’t set probes. MCP: scale_process with size_id for the size, and sevalla_api_update with updateProcessV3 and the same body for the probe.

Turn on auto-deploy

Update application (updateApplicationV3) turns on automatic deployments for every push to the branch:

curl -s -X PATCH https://api.sevalla.com/v3/applications/$APP_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEVALLA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"auto_deploy":true}' | jq .auto_deploy

CLI: sevalla apps update $APP_ID --data '{"auto_deploy":true}'. MCP: sevalla_api_update with updateApplicationV3.

Deploy

Trigger deployment (triggerDeploymentV3) deploys the latest commit on the branch:

DEPLOYMENT_ID=$(curl -s -X POST https://api.sevalla.com/v3/applications/$APP_ID/deployments \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEVALLA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"branch":"main"}' | jq -r .id)

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

Wait for the deployment

Get deployment (getDeploymentV3) returns the deployment’s status: waiting and inProgress while it runs, then success, failed, cancelled or skipped. Poll it until the status is final, for up to 30 minutes:

for i in $(seq 1 120); do
  STATUS=$(curl -s "https://api.sevalla.com/v3/applications/$APP_ID/deployments/$DEPLOYMENT_ID" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEVALLA_API_KEY" | 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 and the rollout. When the status is failed, the last lines say why.

curl -s https://api.sevalla.com/v3/applications/$APP_ID/deployments/$DEPLOYMENT_ID/logs?limit=5000 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEVALLA_API_KEY" | jq -r '.[].message'

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

Check the application

Request the products from the application’s domain:

curl -s -w '\n' https://$HOST/api/products

[{"id":1,"name":"Espresso beans","price":14.5},{"id":2,"name":"Pour-over kettle","price":39.0}]

Then run the other checks in Verify the deployment.

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Deploy an Actix Web application

At a glance

Environment variables

Before you begin

Create the project

Prepare the project for Sevalla

Deploy to Sevalla

Verify the deployment

Shut down gracefully

Add a health check

Deploy with a Dockerfile

Deploy changes

Use environment variables

Add a custom domain

Troubleshoot

Deploy with the API

​At a glance

​Environment variables

​Before you begin

​Create the project

​Prepare the project for Sevalla

​Deploy to Sevalla

​Verify the deployment

​Shut down gracefully

​Add a health check

​Deploy with a Dockerfile

​Deploy changes

​Use environment variables

​Add a custom domain

​Troubleshoot

​Deploy with the API

At a glance

Environment variables

Before you begin

Create the project

Prepare the project for Sevalla

Deploy to Sevalla

Verify the deployment

Shut down gracefully

Add a health check

Deploy with a Dockerfile

Deploy changes

Use environment variables

Add a custom domain

Troubleshoot

Deploy with the API