PHP Git Deploy

A lightweight, self-hosted Git deployment system written in PHP. Deploy your code via webhooks or manual triggers and keep any web project in sync.

Features

• GitHub webhook support - Automatic deployments on push
• Manual deployment triggers - Deploy via URL with token
• SSH key authentication - Secure private repository access
• Incremental updates - Smart git pull for existing repositories
• Submodule aware - Recursively clones and updates git submodules
• Configurable commands - Run composer, artisan, or any post-deploy scripts
• Plain text logging - Perfect for webhook logs and debugging
• No dependencies - Pure PHP, works on shared hosting

Directory Structure

your-website/
├── index.html              # Your website files
├── assets/
├── .git/                   # Git repository
└── _deploy/                # Deployment system
    ├── webhook.php         # Main webhook handler
    ├── config.php          # Configuration file
    ├── tools/              # Helper tools
    │   ├── system-check.php
    │   ├── ssh-keygen.php
    │   ├── setup-composer.php
    │   └── find-php.php
    ├── keys/               # SSH keys (create this)
    │   ├── deploy_key
    │   └── deploy_key.pub
    └── logs/               # Logs (auto-created)
        └── deploy.log

Quick Start

1. Download the latest release or clone this repository
2. Upload the _deploy/ folder to your web root
3. Configure your repository in _deploy/config.php
4. Generate SSH keys using _deploy/tools/ssh-keygen.php
5. Add public key to your GitHub repository
6. Test deployment by visiting the webhook URL

Configuration

Edit _deploy/config.php:

<?php
return [
    'repository' => [
        'url' => '[email protected]:username/repo.git',
        'branch' => 'main',
    ],

    'deployment' => [
        'target_directory' => '..',
        'post_commands' => [
            __DIR__ . '/composer.phar install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader --no-interaction',
        ],
    ],

    'security' => [
        'deploy_token' => 'your-secret-token-here',
    ],

    'ssh' => [
        'key_path' => './keys/deploy_key',
    ],

    'logging' => [
        'log_file' => './logs/deploy.log',
    ],
];

Usage

GitHub Webhook Setup

1. Go to your repository Settings → Webhooks → Add webhook
2. Set Payload URL: https://yoursite.com/_deploy/webhook.php
3. Set Content type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded (tested) or application/json
4. Set Secret: Use the same value as deploy_token in your config
5. Select Just the push event
6. Click Add webhook

Manual Deployment (via URL)

For manual deployments or integration with systems that don't support GitHub's webhooks, you can trigger a deployment by visiting a special URL. This method is less secure than the default webhook validation and must be explicitly enabled.

1. In _deploy/config.php, set allow_token_deployment to true.
2. Make sure you have set a strong, secret deploy_token.
3. Trigger a deployment by visiting: https://yoursite.com/_deploy/webhook.php?token=your-secure-token-here

Security Warning: Anyone with this URL can trigger a deployment. Use a long, random token and only enable this feature if you understand the risks.

Tools

• tools/system-check.php - Check server compatibility
• tools/ssh-keygen.php - Generate SSH keys for GitHub
• tools/setup-composer.php - Download and setup composer.phar
• tools/find-php.php - Find correct PHP executable path

Requirements

• PHP 7.0+
• Git (command line access)
• SSH or HTTPS repository access
• Web server with PHP support

Security

• Token-based authentication
• SSH key support for private repositories
• No credentials stored in web-accessible files
• Configurable deployment directory

Why PHP Git Deploy?

• Lightweight - No complex setup or dependencies
• Shared hosting friendly - Works on basic PHP hosting
• Self-contained - All tools included
• GitHub integrated - Perfect webhook support
• Developer friendly - Clean logs and error messages

Documentation

See individual tool files for detailed usage instructions.

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Author

Created by Jakub Pelák

• GitHub: @lemmon
• Repository: php-git-deploy

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Deploy your code with confidence.