Deploy - InstaPods

The deploy command is a one-shot workflow that creates a pod (if it doesn’t exist), syncs your local code, installs dependencies, and reloads the app service. You can also deploy straight from a GitHub repo with --repo — no local files needed.

Basic Usage

# Deploy current directory (auto-detects preset)
instapods deploy myapp

# Deploy a specific directory
instapods deploy myapp --local ./src

# Explicit preset
instapods deploy myapp --preset nodejs

# Skip reload (just sync files)
instapods deploy myapp --no-reload

What Happens

Pod check — If the pod doesn’t exist, it’s created (and the CLI waits for it to be running)
File sync — Local directory is uploaded to the pod’s app root, skipping unchanged files and anything excluded (see Which files get uploaded)
Reload — Dependencies are installed, the app is rebuilt where the preset has a build step, the app service is restarted and health-checked (skip with --no-reload)

If the pod already exists, the command skips creation and goes straight to syncing.

Not sure whether you want deploy, pods reload or pods restart? See Deploy, Reload, Restart.

Which files get uploaded

deploy uploads a file only if it differs from the copy already on the pod, and skips it entirely if it matches either of these:

One of the --exclude patterns. The defaults are node_modules, vendor, .git, .env, __pycache__, .DS_Store, .venv, venv, .next, .instapods-build-hash. Passing --exclude replaces that list rather than adding to it.
A pattern in the .gitignore of the directory you are deploying. This happens by default, whether or not the directory is a git repository, and only that top-level .gitignore is read.

Pass --no-gitignore to ignore the .gitignore and sync everything except the --exclude patterns. Pass --force to re-upload every file instead of only the changed ones.

.env is on the default exclude list, so your local .env is not uploaded. Set those values with instapods env set instead. The same applies to a build directory listed in your .gitignore (dist/, build/, .next/): if you meant to ship built files, deploy that directory directly with --local ./dist.

Deploy from a GitHub repo

Point deploy at a GitHub repository instead of local files. InstaPods detects the stack from the repo, creates the pod, attaches the repo, and builds & runs it. Every push after that redeploys automatically (with build logs and rollback, like git deploy).

# Name is optional — derived from the repo when omitted
instapods deploy --repo https://github.com/owner/repo

# Choose the name, branch, and a monorepo subdirectory
instapods deploy my-api --repo https://github.com/owner/repo --branch dev --subdir services/api

With --repo the CLI skips local file sync: it detects the preset from the repo’s root files (same rules as below), creates the pod, then follows the first build to completion. Public repos work out of the box; private repos need a GitHub account connected in the dashboard. If the stack can’t be detected, pass --preset.

Flags

Flag	Description	Default
`--local`	Local directory to sync	Current directory (`.`)
`--repo`	Deploy a GitHub repo URL instead of local files	None
`--branch`	Git branch to deploy (with `--repo`)	Repo default branch
`--subdir`	Subdirectory to deploy (with `--repo`, for monorepos)	Repo root
`-p, --preset`	Preset: `static`, `php`, `nodejs`, `python`, `go`	Auto-detected
`--no-reload`	Skip reloading app service after sync (files are uploaded, nothing is restarted)	`false`
`--no-build`	Skip the build step during reload. Only `nodejs` and `go` have one, so it is a no-op on the other presets	`false`
`--no-gitignore`	Don’t read `.gitignore` for exclude patterns	`false`
`--force`	Re-upload every file, ignoring what is already on the pod	`false`
`--exclude`	Patterns to exclude from sync (repeatable; replaces the defaults)	`node_modules`, `vendor`, `.git`, `.env`, `__pycache__`, `.DS_Store`, `.venv`, `venv`, `.next`, `.instapods-build-hash`
`-r, --region`	Target region	Auto-select
`--plan`	Plan slug	`launch`
`--cpu`	CPU cores (overrides the plan)	Plan default
`--memory`	Memory limit, e.g. `512MB` (overrides the plan)	Plan default
`--disk`	Disk size, e.g. `5GB` (overrides the plan)	Plan default
`--ssh-key`	SSH public key or path	None
`--timeout`	Max seconds to wait for pod creation	`120`

What `--no-build` skips, per preset

Preset	With `--no-build`
`nodejs`	`npm run build` is skipped. `npm install` still runs, with `--production`
`go`	`go mod download` and `go build` are skipped, so the previously compiled binary keeps running
`python`	Nothing. There is no build step, and `pip install` still runs
`php`	Nothing. `composer install` still runs
`static`	Nothing

On nodejs, InstaPods already skips the build automatically when your source tree hasn’t changed since the last one - that is the build skipped (unchanged) line in the deploy output. You rarely need --no-build.

Preset Auto-Detection

If --preset is omitted, the CLI scans your local directory for signature files:

Files Found	Detected Preset
`artisan`, `wp-config.php`	`php`
`hugo.toml`, `hugo.yaml`, `theme.toml` (with no `.go` files)	`static`
`go.mod`, `go.sum`, `go.work`	`go`
`package.json`, `tsconfig.json`, `yarn.lock`, `bun.lockb`, `next.config.js`, `vite.config.ts`, etc.	`nodejs`
`composer.json`, `phpunit.xml`, `*.php`	`php`
`requirements.txt`, `pyproject.toml`, `Pipfile`, `manage.py`, `app.py`, `*.py`	`python`
`*.go` with no `go.mod`	`go`
`index.html`, `*.html`	`static`

The first match wins, top to bottom. The order matters for repos that carry more than one marker: a Laravel or WordPress app ships a package.json to build its front-end assets but is still PHP, and a Go service with a JavaScript front-end in the same repo is still Go. Pass --preset to override.

Examples

# Deploy a Node.js app (new pod)
instapods deploy my-api
# →
# →   Deploying my-api
# →   Detected nodejs (package.json)
# →
# →   Creating pod ······································ ✓ 1.2s
# →   42 files uploaded ································· ✓ 0.8s
# →   Reloading ········································· ✓ 1.4s
# →     npm deps installed · service active · HTTP 200
# →
# →   ✓ Deployed in 3.4s
# →   → https://my-api.nbg1-1.instapods.app

# Re-deploy to an existing pod
instapods deploy my-api
# →
# →   Deploying my-api
# →   Pod exists (nodejs · running)
# →
# →   42 files uploaded ································· ✓ 0.6s
# →   Reloading ········································· ✓ 1.1s
# →     npm deps installed · service active · HTTP 200
# →
# →   ✓ Deployed in 1.7s
# →   → https://my-api.nbg1-1.instapods.app

# Deploy to a specific plan and region
instapods deploy staging-api --preset python --plan build -r us-east

# Deploy without reload (just sync files)
instapods deploy my-site --local ./dist --no-reload

# Deploy with custom excludes (this replaces the default list)
instapods deploy myapp --exclude "*.log" --exclude "tmp"

# Sync files your .gitignore would otherwise skip
instapods deploy myapp --no-gitignore

Reload is on by default — it auto-installs dependencies from package.json or requirements.txt before restarting the service. Use --no-reload to skip this step if you only want to sync files.

​Basic Usage

​What Happens

​Which files get uploaded

​Deploy from a GitHub repo

​Flags

​What --no-build skips, per preset

​Preset Auto-Detection

​Examples

Basic Usage

What Happens

Which files get uploaded

Deploy from a GitHub repo

Flags

What `--no-build` skips, per preset

Preset Auto-Detection

Examples