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Deploy a folder to a machine

Have Ysra put a whole folder, such as a built website or an app, onto a machine in one approved step, and go back if you need to.

On this page

Deploying a folder puts a whole folder — a built website, an app, files a service reads — onto a machine in one step, and keeps the previous version beside it. Before you start, the machine must be reached over SSH (a machine reached through govc, kubectl or another tool can’t receive a folder) and be in change mode. For one file, see Write a file.

Steps#

  1. Ask in a thread:

    › deploy the dist folder to /var/www/sites/shop on web-01

  2. Read the card, titled Deploy dist to /var/www/sites/shop on web-01?

    Part Example
    What and where dist → /var/www/sites/shop on web-01
    Size 12 files · 248 KB · replaces the current folder (11 files), or new folder
    Files The full tree, with each file’s size; folders start closed above 30 files
    Left out on purpose Files never sent, and why (below)
    Backup The current folder is kept as /var/www/sites/shop.ysra-bak.
    On, Why, Expect, Undo As on any change card. Undo reads put the backup back, or delete the new folder for a new one

  3. Choose Run it or Skip (in the terminal, answer OK?). Only you can answer; auto mode never does.

The thread records the result, and the machine’s list of what ran shows deploy → /var/www/sites/shop:

Deployed dist to /var/www/sites/shop on web-01: 12 files, 248 KB; the previous version is at /var/www/sites/shop.ysra-bak.20261007T091203.

How the folder lands#

Step What happens
1. Pack The folder is packed on the device and sent over SSH
2. Unpack Into a new folder beside the destination
3. Check Every file is checked against a list of checksums made before sending
4. Swap The current folder is renamed <dest>.ysra-bak.<time> (for example shop.ysra-bak.20261006T115448) and the new one takes its place

If anything fails before the swap, the new folder is removed and the destination is left as it was: I couldn’t deploy to /var/www/sites/shop on web-01; it’s as it was: …

Going back#

There is no undo command. Move the backup folder into place on the machine, or ask Ysra to; that is a change, so it asks first.

Left out on purpose#

These are never deployed, wherever they sit in the folder, and are listed on the card so nothing is skipped silently. If the site really needs one, put it on the machine yourself.

Group Files
Version control and dependencies .git, node_modules
Environment files .env and every .env.*
Keys and certificates *.pem, *.key, *.p12, *.pfx, and id_* files other than *.pub
Credential stores (file or folder, any depth) .ssh, .gnupg, .kube, .docker, .netrc, .git-credentials, .mozilla, .password-store, .ysra, .npmrc, .pypirc, paths such as .config/git/credentials, and the sign-in folders of hosting tools
System secrets shadow, sudoers and similar
Not plain files Symbolic links, and anything that isn’t a plain file or folder

Which approval kind it counts as#

For signed approvals, a deploy counts as config. A destination holding SSH configuration counts as access; one holding passwd, shadow, group or sudoers counts as users.

If it doesn’t work#

Case Ysra says
A system folder (/, /etc, /usr, /var, /var/www, /home, /opt, /srv and similar), or a path less than two levels deep I won’t replace /var/www: deploy into a folder of its own, e.g. /var/www/sites/.
A destination that holds secrets I don’t deploy into /root/.ssh: it holds secrets.
A source over 200 MB I won’t deploy dist: it’s over 200 MB.
A source with more than 20,000 files I won’t deploy dist: it has more than 20000 files.
An empty source There’s nothing to deploy in dist.
A source outside the folder Ysra works in … leads outside this folder; I deploy only from inside it.
A destination that is a symbolic link … is a link (to …); deploy to the folder itself instead.
A destination that is a file … is a file, not a folder, so I didn’t replace it.
A machine reached through a command-line tool … is reached through govc; folders are deployed over SSH only.
A look-only machine web-01 is in observe mode, so I only look there. Switching it to change mode is your call (ysra machines mode web-01 change).
You chose Skip You didn’t approve that, so I didn’t deploy it. Ysra doesn’t try again
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