Skip to main content

Deploying Applications

Learn how to deploy your applications to Uncloud, whether you're building from source or using pre-built images.

Quick Reference​

Choose the deployment approach that fits your workflow:

The Happy Path: uc deploy​

For most users, uc deploy is all you need. It handles building and deploying in a single command.

uc deploy

When to use this:

  • You have a compose.yaml with a build section
  • You want the simplest workflow
  • You're deploying from your development machine

What happens:

  1. Builds Docker images locally (if build section exists)
  2. Pushes images to your cluster machines
  3. Creates or updates containers with zero downtime

Build and Deploy Separately​

Split building and deploying into two steps for more control.

# Step 1: Build images
uc build

# Step 2: Deploy to cluster
uc deploy --no-build

When to use this:

  • You want to test builds without deploying
  • You're building once and deploying multiple times
  • You're working with CI/CD pipelines

Deploy Pre-built Images​

Skip building entirely and deploy images from Docker Hub or other registries.

services:
  web:
    image: nginx:alpine
uc deploy

When to use this:

  • You're using public images
  • Your images are built externally
  • You're deploying third-party applications

Common Deployment Workflows​

Development Workflow​

# Make code changes
vim src/app.py

# Deploy with automatic rebuild
uc deploy

# Your changes are live with zero downtime

Multi-service Application​

# Deploy all services
uc deploy

# Deploy specific services only
uc deploy frontend api

Production Deployment​

# Preview changes before deploying
uc deploy

# Review the deployment plan
# Confirm to proceed

Deployment Flow​

Here's what happens when you run uc deploy:

Your Code
    ↓
Local Build (if Dockerfile present)
    ↓
Push Images to Cluster
    ↓
Create New Containers
    ↓
Zero-downtime Switch
    ↓
Remove Old Containers

Choose Your Guide​

Select the guide that matches your use case:

Need More Control?​

Check out the Building Images guides to learn when and how to use uc build separately.