Deploy Your First App

This guide walks you through deploying your first application with brdz from start to finish.

Prerequisites

brdz CLI installed (Installation Guide)
A static website or application to deploy
Basic command-line knowledge

Step 1: Prepare Your Application

Build your application and ensure it’s ready for deployment:

# Example: Build a React app
npm run build

# Example: Build a static site
npm run generate

# Verify the output directory exists
ls dist/  # or public/, build/, etc.

Step 2: Package Your Application

Create a ZIP archive of your application:

# Navigate to your build output
cd dist/

# Create the ZIP file
zip -r ../release.zip .

# Go back to project root
cd ..

# Verify the ZIP was created
ls -lh release.zip

Step 3: Create an Account

If you haven’t already, create a brdz account:

brdz accounts:create

Follow the prompts to enter your details.

Step 4: Authenticate

brdz auth:login

Enter your credentials when prompted. Your API key will be stored in ~/.brdz/credentials.

Step 5: Create a Project

Create a project to organize your apps:

brdz projects:create my-first-project

Choose a descriptive project slug that represents your work.

Step 6: Set Project Context

Set your newly created project as the current context:

brdz ctx:use

Select your project from the interactive list.

Step 7: Create an App

Create an application within your project:

brdz apps:create my-first-app

Choose a meaningful app name.

Step 8: Set App Context

Update your context to include the app:

brdz ctx:use

Select your app from the list.

Step 9: Deploy!

Upload your release:

brdz releases:create release.zip

Your application is now deployed! The release will be automatically activated.

Step 10: Verify Deployment

Check that your release was created:

brdz releases:list

You should see your release with an “active” status.

Next Steps

Add a Custom Domain

brdz hostnames:create example.com

See the Custom Domains Guide for DNS configuration.

Deploy an Update

# Make changes to your application
# Rebuild
npm run build

# Package
cd dist && zip -r ../release-v2.zip . && cd ..

# Deploy
brdz releases:create release-v2.zip

Rollback if Needed

# List releases
brdz releases:list

# Rollback to previous release
brdz releases:rollback <previous-release-id>

Troubleshooting

Upload Failed

If the upload fails:

Check your network connection
Verify the ZIP file isn’t corrupted: unzip -t release.zip
Ensure you’re authenticated: cat ~/.brdz/credentials

Wrong Context

If commands fail with “no project in context”:

# Verify context
brdz ctx:get

# Reset context
brdz ctx:use

Authentication Issues

If you get authentication errors:

# Re-authenticate
brdz auth:login

Complete Example

Here’s a complete workflow from start to finish:

# Install brdz
brew tap boardsofmusic/brdz
brew install brdz

# Setup
brdz accounts:create
brdz auth:login

# Create project and app
brdz projects:create my-website
brdz ctx:use  # Select project
brdz apps:create web
brdz ctx:use  # Select app

# Build and deploy
npm run build
cd dist && zip -r ../release.zip . && cd ..
brdz releases:create release.zip

# Add custom domain
brdz hostnames:create www.example.com

# Done!
echo "Application deployed successfully!"