# Sidekick — Bare Metal to Production in Minutes on Your VPS

> A self-hosted deployment tool that turns a fresh VPS into a production-ready server with Docker, TLS, and zero-downtime deploys via a single CLI command.

## Install

Save as a script file and run:

# Sidekick — Bare Metal to Production in Minutes on Your VPS

## Quick Use
```bash
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MightyMoud/sidekick/main/install.sh | bash
sidekick init
sidekick deploy
```

## Introduction
Sidekick is an open-source CLI tool that takes a bare VPS and configures it into a production-ready deployment target with Docker, automatic TLS certificates, and zero-downtime deployments. It targets indie developers and small teams who want the convenience of a PaaS like Fly.io or Heroku but on their own infrastructure, without the complexity of Kubernetes.

## What Sidekick Does
- Provisions a fresh VPS with Docker, a reverse proxy, and TLS certificate automation in one command
- Deploys applications from a Dockerfile with zero-downtime rolling updates
- Manages environment variables, secrets, and per-app configuration securely
- Sets up automatic SSL via Let's Encrypt with renewal handled transparently
- Supports multiple applications on a single server with domain-based routing

## Architecture Overview
Sidekick is a single Go binary that runs on your local machine and communicates with the target VPS over SSH. During initialization, it installs Docker, configures a Traefik reverse proxy for routing and TLS, and sets up the directory structure for app deployments. Each deploy builds the Docker image on the server from the application's Dockerfile, starts a new container, health-checks it, then swaps traffic from the old container to the new one for zero-downtime cutover.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Requires a VPS running Ubuntu or Debian with SSH access and a non-root sudo user
- Run `sidekick init` with the server IP to provision Docker, Traefik, and firewall rules
- Point your domain's DNS A record to the VPS IP before deploying for automatic TLS
- Configure app-specific environment variables via `sidekick env set` commands
- Deploy updates with `sidekick deploy` from the project directory containing a Dockerfile

## Key Features
- Single-command server setup from bare metal to production-ready in under five minutes
- Zero-downtime deployments with automatic health checking and traffic cutover
- Built-in TLS via Let's Encrypt with no manual certificate management
- Multi-app support on one server with Traefik handling domain-based routing
- No lock-in: standard Docker containers mean you can migrate away at any time

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Dokku** — mini-Heroku PaaS with buildpack support; Sidekick is a thinner layer that relies on Dockerfiles and does not require Heroku-style buildpacks
- **Coolify** — self-hosted PaaS with a web UI; Sidekick is CLI-only and leaner for developers comfortable in the terminal
- **CapRover** — web-based PaaS with a dashboard; Sidekick avoids running a persistent control plane on the server
- **Kamal** — Basecamp's Docker deploy tool for Rails; Sidekick is language-agnostic and optimized for single-server setups
- **Fly.io** — managed platform with global edge deployment; Sidekick gives you the same developer experience on your own VPS

## FAQ
**Q: Does Sidekick support multi-server deployments?**
A: Currently Sidekick targets single-server setups. For multi-server orchestration, tools like Kamal or Kubernetes are a better fit.

**Q: What cloud providers work with Sidekick?**
A: Any provider offering a VPS with SSH access works, including Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, and AWS EC2.

**Q: Can I deploy non-Docker applications?**
A: Sidekick requires a Dockerfile in your project root. Any application that can be containerized, regardless of language, is supported.

**Q: How does zero-downtime deployment work?**
A: Sidekick starts the new container, waits for its health check to pass, updates the Traefik routing to point to the new container, then stops the old one.

## Sources
- https://github.com/MightyMoud/sidekick
- https://sidekick.dev

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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/b38be970-418b-11f1-9bc6-00163e2b0d79
Author: Script Depot