What are you using to deploy apps to DigitalOcean these days?

For most projects I keep it pretty simple:

• Docker + GitHub Actions for CI/CD

• Push to the repo triggers a build and deploy to a Droplet

• Spaces for assets/backups

For projects where I want less infrastructure to manage, I’ve also been using App Platform, which is really nice for quick deployments straight from GitHub.

Curious what others here are using these days.

Hi,

I use DigitalOcean Kubernetes (DOKS) with containers for all my apps. For databases like MySQL or Redis I use DigitalOcean Managed Databases. I keep them outside the Kubernetes cluster.

This setup gives me:

• Full control and customization over how my apps run (Dockerfiles, resource limits, scaling, ingress rules, etc.)
• Managed databases without the headache of setting up, upgrading, or maintaining database servers myself. DigitalOcean handles backups, high availability, and all that.
• Clean separation of concerns. The cluster handles app workloads, the managed databases handle data. If I need to scale or replace one, the other isn’t affected.

For the deployment workflow itself: I build Docker images, push them to a container registry, and deploy to the cluster. With an Ingress Controller and Cert Manager you get automatic SSL certificates and load balancing out of the box.

It takes a bit more setup than App Platform, but once it’s running you have way more flexibility and it scales better cost-wise.

If you want to simplify the Kubernetes part (provisioning the cluster, deploying apps, domains, SSL, etc.) without dealing with YAML and Helm charts, you can check out Deckrun (Disclaimer: I’m the founder).

Hope this helps!

Daniel, Founder of Deckrun

Heya, @9d973a54edee42b79fba90b4ea0acd

Depends on the project, honestly.

For simple stuff, App Platform. Push to GitHub, it deploys. Don’t have to think about it. The tradeoff is less control but for a straightforward web app or API it’s hard to beat for convenience.

For anything more involved — Docker Compose on a Droplet with GitHub Actions doing the heavy lifting. Build the image in CI, push to DO Container Registry, SSH in and pull + restart. Nothing fancy but it’s predictable and easy to debug when things go sideways.

Regards