Your first deploy in ~10 minutes
YakDeploy deploys releases of your projects to environments through a repeatable step process, executed on runners. This walkthrough takes a fresh account to a first successful deploy.
1 · Create a project
Projects → New project. A project is one app you build and deploy — give
it your repo URL. Add an environment (e.g. Staging; environments marked
production get stricter guardrails: approval-scoped roles, succeeded-email defaults).
2 · Connect a target
Open the project and hit Connect a target. Enter the SSH destination of a
VM (e.g. deploy@203.0.113.7) and we run a live connectivity test — you'll see
the machine's OS, disk, and whether docker/systemd are present, or an actionable error
(auth, firewall, host key) instead of raw SSH noise. Targets get roles
(default app); steps select targets by role.
3 · Define the process
Edit process
on the project. A process is ordered steps, each built from a
recipe (see the recipe reference): typically
checkout
→ build → test
→ ssh-deploy
→ http-health-check. Steps sharing a stage
number run in parallel;
an approval
step pauses the run for a human.
4 · Cut a release, deploy it
Cut release
freezes the current process + variables into an immutable,
versioned release (YYYY.MM.DD.N). Pick it + an environment and
Deploy
— the live log streams as steps run. Deployments to one
environment are serialized (queued in order), so two releases never interleave on the
same machines. Roll back any environment to its previous release in one click.
5 · Automate
Add a trigger on the project (webhook URL for GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket, HMAC-verified, with branch + monorepo path filters) so a push cuts a release and deploys automatically. After you create one, the project Triggers panel shows a provider install checklist (URL, secret, events) with copy buttons. Failed deploys email your team out of the box; tune per-project notifications in Settings.
6 · What's New
Each release gets an editable What's New checklist (from the commit message + process
diff). Approve a production deploy to publish it. Expose the feed with a project publish
token via GET /api/v1/public/changelog?token=… for your site — or plug the
same URL into SocialYak to suggest draft “What's new” posts.