Quick Start

Get your application deployed in under 5 minutes. Lift handles everything from SSH setup to Docker builds, Traefik reverse proxy, and SSL certificates.

1. Initialize your project

Run the interactive setup wizard. It will configure SSH, test the connection, set up a bare git repo on your server, and install Traefik for HTTPS.

# Navigate to your project directory
cd my-app

# Run the interactive setup
lift init

2. Set environment variables

Configure your runtime environment. Variables are stored securely on the server with strict file permissions (mode 600).

lift env set PORT=3000 NODE_ENV=production HOST=0.0.0.0
lift env set DATABASE_URL=postgres://...

Important: If deploying without a domain, make sure expose: true is set in .lift.json so the container port is published to the host. The health check needs to reach your app on the configured port.

3. Deploy

Push your code to production. Lift auto-detects Compose, Dockerfile, or uses Nixpacks for zero-config builds. Includes health checks and auto-rollback.

lift push

4. Verify

Check that everything is running and view your application logs in real time.

lift status
lift logs -f

Next Steps

• Installation -- Alternative install methods and platform binaries.
• Configuration -- Full .lift.json reference.
• lift push -- Detailed push options and build strategies.