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The reliable pattern is a gated SSH deployment: connect the GitHub repository to CircleCI, run the build and tests, then let a deployment job on a machine executor connect to the VPS with a dedicated key. Store the VPS username and hostname as protected variables, and place the deploy job after the test job with a requires dependency and a main-branch filter.
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The VPS should expose a small, repeatable deployment script rather than a long command embedded in CI. That script receives or fetches the tested release, installs what is needed, restarts the supervised service, checks health, and leaves the previous release available for rollback.
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A GitHub push starts a CircleCI pipeline. The pipeline checks out the code, installs dependencies, runs tests, and builds the release input expected by the server. Only when that job succeeds does the workflow allow a deploy job to open an SSH session to the VPS. A branch filter limits production deployment to the intended release branch, commonly main.
CircleCI is responsible for orchestration, credentials, job logs, workflow gates, and deployment visibility. The VPS remains responsible for running the application. This separation works for a web service, API, matchmaking service, or a game-server process: CircleCI does not need to know how your process is supervised, while the server’s deployment script can apply the runtime-specific steps safely.
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Architecture and prerequisites
Components
- GitHub repository: contains the application and
.circleci/config.yml. - CircleCI project: runs build, test, and deployment jobs.
- VPS: reachable over SSH, with a dedicated account for deployments.
- Process supervisor: a service manager or process manager that can restart the application and report its status.
- Health endpoint or check: a command that proves the new release is serving correctly.
Information to have ready
- The VPS DNS name or fixed IP address and the SSH port if it is not the default.
- The Linux username that CircleCI will use.
- The application’s runtime, package manager, build command, migration procedure, and restart command.
- The branch that is allowed to deploy to production.
- A rollback target, such as the previous release directory, package, artifact, or container tag.
Do not put a private key, password, or production secret in GitHub. The repository should contain deployment code and configuration templates, while connection secrets belong in CircleCI project or organization settings.
Connect GitHub to CircleCI
- In CircleCI, choose the GitHub project and set it up for a pipeline.
- Create
.circleci/config.ymlin the repository. - Commit and push the file. The first pipeline should start from that commit.
With CircleCI’s GitHub App integration, repository checkout uses HTTPS, so the VPS deployment key is not also required for checkout. An SSH key used to reach the VPS is a separate credential. OAuth-based pipelines can use a read-only GitHub deploy key for checkout; an additional key can be attached to a job with CircleCI’s add_ssh_keys step when that model is appropriate.
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Create the account and application location
Create a user whose permissions are limited to deploying and operating this application. Give it ownership of the application directory and only the system permissions it genuinely needs. Avoid using the VPS root account in CI. Create a stable path such as /srv/my-app, and separate current code from release data if your rollback design uses versioned directories.
Install the runtime and supervisor
Install the language runtime, package manager, native libraries, and process manager required by the application. Configure the supervisor to start the service after a reboot and to expose a status command that can fail when the process is unhealthy. Keep these host-level prerequisites outside the deployment script when possible; the script should deploy a release, not rebuild the entire operating system.
Install the public key
Append the CircleCI public key to the deployment user’s ~/.ssh/authorized_keys. Check ownership and permissions on the home directory, .ssh, and authorized_keys; an SSH daemon will reject keys when those permissions are too broad. If your SSH configuration supports restrictions, limit the key to the VPS and to the commands or network capabilities the deployment requires.
Create and register the CircleCI SSH key
Generate an Ed25519 key pair on a secure administrator workstation:
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ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]"Keep the private key only in CircleCI and place the matching public key in the VPS user’s authorized_keys. In CircleCI, open Project Settings → SSH Keys → Additional SSH Keys, add the private key, and restrict its hostname to the VPS when practical. A host restriction reduces the chance that the credential can be used against an unintended destination.
Rotate project keys periodically and immediately replace one when an administrator, workstation, or CI account that could access it is compromised. Never echo the key, print its contents, or write it to a build artifact.
Store the VPS connection variables
Add these as protected project variables or context variables in CircleCI:
| Variable | Value | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
SSH_USER |
The dedicated Linux deployment username | Selects the account used for the SSH session |
SSH_HOST |
The VPS hostname or address | Selects the deployment target |
Keep the values out of config.yml. If you have separate staging and production servers, use separate contexts or project settings so a staging pipeline cannot silently target production. The private key is stored in CircleCI’s SSH-key settings, not as a text environment variable.
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The build job should check out the exact commit that triggered the pipeline, install dependencies using the project’s lockfile, run tests, and create the release input used by the VPS. The commands vary by stack; CircleCI defines the job boundary but does not prescribe an application build command.
version: 2.1
jobs:
build:
docker:
- image: cimg/base:current
steps:
- checkout
- run:
name: Test application
command: ./ci/test.sh
- run:
name: Build release
command: ./ci/build.sh
Make test failures non-negotiable for production. If the build produces an artifact, record its immutable identifier and make the deploy stage consume that same artifact instead of rebuilding on the VPS. Rebuilding remotely can produce a different dependency set from the one that passed CI.
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Choose how the release reaches the VPS
| Transport | How it works | Strengths | Risks and controls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remote Git fetch | The VPS fetches the repository and checks out the intended revision. | Simple for small applications; the server can keep a release history. | The server needs repository access and must be told the tested revision. Do not deploy an unpinned moving branch. |
| Artifact upload | CI uploads a built archive or package over SSH, then the server activates it. | The server receives exactly what CI built; no repository credential is needed on the VPS. | Requires storage, transfer, checksum, and retention rules. |
| Container image | CI publishes an immutable image reference and the VPS pulls and restarts it. | Runtime dependencies travel with the release and rollback can select an earlier image. | Requires an image registry, image cleanup, and a container supervisor on the VPS. |
Choose one transport and make the remote script explicit about the revision or artifact identifier. The SSH connection is only the delivery boundary; it is not a release strategy by itself.
Configure the SSH deployment job
A minimal CircleCI configuration uses a machine executor for the deployment job, loads the additional SSH key, and runs a command on the VPS:
version: 2.1
jobs:
build:
docker:
- image: cimg/base:current
steps:
- checkout
- run:
name: Test application
command: ./ci/test.sh
deploy:
machine:
image: ubuntu-2404:current
steps:
- run:
name: Deploy over SSH
command: ssh "$SSH_USER@$SSH_HOST" "/usr/local/bin/deploy-my-app"
workflows:
build-and-deploy:
jobs:
- build
- deploy:
requires: [build]
filters:
branches:
only: main
The requires entry prevents the deploy job from starting until build succeeds. The branch filter prevents other branches from deploying through this workflow. Replace the example test and deployment commands with commands for your application, but preserve the dependency and branch gate unless you have a deliberate alternative.
If the deployment needs a non-default SSH port or stricter options, put those options in the command or in a checked-in SSH configuration. Do not solve connection failures by disabling host-key checking.
Make the remote deployment script safe to rerun
Keep the VPS procedure in /usr/local/bin/deploy-my-app (or an equivalent path owned by the deployment account). A script is easier to review, test, rerun, and roll back than a chain of shell commands embedded in YAML.
Required behavior
- Fail immediately when a command fails, and propagate a non-zero status back to CircleCI.
- Select the tested revision or artifact explicitly.
- Install dependencies deterministically from the lockfile or artifact metadata.
- Run database migrations only when they are compatible with the release and safe to repeat.
- Switch the process supervisor to the new release and wait for it to report running.
- Run a health check before returning success.
- Keep the previous known-good release so rollback does not require a new build.
Illustrative script structure
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
APP_DIR=/srv/my-app
RELEASE_DIR="$APP_DIR/releases/current"
cd "$RELEASE_DIR"
# Fetch or unpack the immutable release selected by the pipeline.
./ci/install-production-dependencies.sh
./ci/migrate-if-safe.sh
sudo systemctl restart my-app.service
sudo systemctl is-active --quiet my-app.service
./ci/healthcheck.sh
This is a structure, not a universal runtime recipe. Replace the paths, migration command, supervisor name, and health check with the ones your application supports. If the application is stateful, design backward-compatible schema changes and an explicit migration rollback policy before enabling automatic production deployment.
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Verify SSH host identity
SSH authenticates the VPS only when the client verifies its host key. Obtain the server fingerprint through a trusted channel, then make the matching host key available to the CircleCI job’s known_hosts file. Because a machine executor is ephemeral, the job may need to create that file on each run from a reviewed value or from a securely managed configuration.
Do not add an unverified ssh-keyscan result and treat it as proof of identity, and do not use options that disable host-key checking merely to make a first connection succeed. A changed key should stop the deployment for investigation.
Gate production with approvals when needed
A branch filter is useful, but it is not always sufficient for a high-risk release. CircleCI supports a manual approval job in a workflow. Place the approval between the successful build and the deploy job, and make the deploy require both the build and approval. This keeps tests automatic while requiring a person to authorize the production action.
workflows:
release:
jobs:
- build
- hold:
type: approval
requires: [build]
filters:
branches:
only: main
- deploy:
requires: [build, hold]
filters:
branches:
only: main
Use an approval gate when a release changes persistent data, has a coordinated maintenance window, or needs a human check of game-server capacity and connected players. For low-risk services, the successful-test gate may be enough.
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Health checks
A process supervisor reporting “running” is not the same as a healthy application. Check a local HTTP endpoint, a command that loads the application, or a game-server readiness probe. Give the service time to start, then fail the deployment if the check cannot establish readiness. The check should test the dependency that matters to players or API clients, not merely whether a process exists.
Rollback design
Keep at least one previous release, package, or container image on the VPS. A rollback command should stop or drain the current process, activate the previous known-good version, restart it, and run the same health check. Record which release was active before and after each deployment so an operator can identify the exact target without rebuilding.
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CircleCI documents deployment and rollback pipelines, release validation, and deployment visibility. Its Smart Deployments feature can perform an automatic rollback when a monitored signal fails; use that only after defining an appropriate signal and verifying that rollback is safe for your application’s data changes.
Make deployments observable
Use CircleCI deployment markers to create a deployment timeline in the CircleCI web app. A useful record includes the Git commit or artifact identifier, target environment, initiating workflow, operator approval when applicable, health-check result, and rollback information. Keep application logs and VPS service logs accessible to the team; CI logs should show the deployment command’s result without exposing secrets.
Separate staging and production markers and contexts. Otherwise, a successful staging deployment can be mistaken for a production release when someone investigates an incident.
Troubleshoot common failures
“Permission denied (publickey)”
- Confirm that the public key in the VPS user’s
authorized_keysmatches the private key added under CircleCI’s additional SSH keys. - Check the SSH username; a valid key installed for one account will not authenticate another.
- Check ownership and permissions on the home directory and
.sshfiles. - Confirm the key is available to the deploy job and that its hostname restriction matches the value of
SSH_HOST.
“Host key verification failed”
- Compare the VPS fingerprint with the trusted value before changing any CI configuration.
- Remove a stale key only after confirming that the server was intentionally rebuilt or rotated.
- Ensure the ephemeral executor receives the reviewed
known_hostsentry before running SSH.
The job connects but the application is unchanged
- Check that the remote script selected the tested revision rather than a cached branch or old artifact.
- Verify the deployment user’s application directory and the supervisor’s working directory refer to the same release.
- Inspect the service status and application logs on the VPS; a successful SSH command can still hide a restart or health-check failure if the script does not propagate errors.
Tests pass but deployment is skipped
- Confirm the commit is on the branch allowed by the workflow filter, commonly
main. - Check whether a manual approval job is waiting.
- Inspect the workflow graph to see whether the deploy job requires the correct build job name.
The service starts and then fails health checks
- Compare runtime and environment variables on the VPS with the release’s requirements.
- Check migration output and database connectivity.
- Use the defined rollback command, then investigate logs before retrying the same release.
Compare VPS and deployment designs before committing
| Decision | Questions to answer |
|---|---|
| Region | Is the server close enough to players, administrators, and dependent services? Do you need more than one region? |
| CPU and RAM | Can the VPS handle the application, process supervisor, logging, build artifacts, and peak concurrent sessions without swapping? |
| Storage | Is the disk type and capacity suitable for databases, game assets, logs, and retained releases? |
| Bandwidth | Does the allowance cover downloads, updates, player traffic, and monitoring? What happens after the allowance is reached? |
| IPv4 and IPv6 | Which address families do clients and administrative systems require, and are firewall rules configured for both? |
| Backups | Are backups available, where are they stored, and has restoration been tested separately from deployment rollback? |
| Support | Can the provider help with host or network incidents within the response time your service needs? |
| Total monthly cost | Include the VPS, backups, storage, bandwidth overage, monitoring, and any additional instances needed for staging or high availability. |
Also compare release transport, process supervision, rollback method, approval gates, health checks, audit trail, and secret handling. The cheapest server is not necessarily the least expensive deployment when an outage requires manual reconstruction.
Production-readiness checklist
- GitHub project is connected to CircleCI and
.circleci/config.ymlis committed. - Build and test jobs run on every relevant change and fail on test errors.
- Deployment runs on a machine executor with the required SSH key available.
- The private key is stored only in CircleCI;
SSH_USERandSSH_HOSTare protected variables. - The VPS uses a dedicated least-privileged deployment account.
- The verified VPS host key is present; host-key checking is not disabled.
- The workflow requires a successful build and filters production deployment to the intended branch.
- A manual approval gate exists when the release risk warrants one.
- The remote script is idempotent, fails on errors, and runs a real health check.
- The release is pinned to the tested commit, artifact, or image rather than an unbounded moving branch.
- The previous known-good release and rollback command are available.
- Deployment markers, service logs, and health-check results provide an audit trail.
Recommended operating pattern
Start with one staging VPS or staging environment and the same script shape used for production. Once the script reliably deploys a pinned release, add the production branch filter, protected variables, and—if required—a manual approval job. Keep the SSH boundary narrow: CircleCI should invoke one reviewed deployment entry point, while that entry point performs the application-specific work and reports failure accurately. This gives GitHub-driven delivery without turning the VPS into an untracked collection of ad hoc shell commands.
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