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CI/CD Pipelines

Elestio CI/CD Pipelines let you deploy your own code from GitHub, GitLab, or a Docker registry onto a dedicated VM managed by Elestio.

Architecture

A CI/CD deployment consists of two parts:

  1. CI/CD Target VM: A dedicated Elestio VM that hosts your pipelines
  2. Pipeline: A build/run definition linked to your repository
Step 1: Deploy a CI/CD Target VM
elestio deploy cicd --project 112 --name my-cicd-target

# With provider/region/size options
elestio deploy cicd \
  --project 112 \
  --name prod-cicd \
  --provider hetzner \
  --region fsn1 \
  --size LARGE-4C-8G

Wait for it to be ready:

elestio wait <vmID>
Step 2a: Automated Pipeline (Recommended)

The CLI handles everything automatically: SSH key setup, Dockerfile generation, Docker image build, container start, and HTTP health check.

elestio cicd create --auto \
  --target <vmID> \
  --name my-app \
  --repo owner/repo \
  --mode github \
  --auth-id <githubAuthID>

Available modes:

Mode Description
github GitHub Static SPA (Vite, React, etc.)
github-fullstack GitHub Full Stack (Node.js + frontend)
gitlab GitLab Static SPA
gitlab-fullstack GitLab Full Stack
docker Custom Docker Compose (no Git)

Optional flags:

--branch main            # Source branch (default: main)
--build-cmd "npm run build"
--run-cmd "npm start"
--install-cmd "npm install"
--build-dir dist/
--framework react
--node-version 20

After completion, your app is live at: https://<name>-u<userID>.vm.elestio.app/

Step 2b: Manual Pipeline (from template)

For custom Docker deployments or advanced configurations.

# 1. Add SSH key so CLI can connect to the target VM
elestio ssh-keys add <vmID> --name "ci-key" --key "ssh-ed25519 AAAA..."

# 2. Generate a pipeline template
elestio cicd template docker > pipeline.json
# Other templates:
# elestio cicd template github
# elestio cicd template github-fullstack
# elestio cicd template gitlab

# 3. Edit pipeline.json with your config, then create the pipeline
elestio cicd create pipeline.json

# 4. SSH into the VM and configure your app
ssh root@<ipv4>
cd /opt/app/<pipeline-name>
# edit docker-compose.yml, add code, then:
docker-compose up -d

Managing Pipelines

# List all CI/CD target VMs
elestio cicd targets

# List pipelines on a target
elestio cicd pipelines <vmID>

# Get details of a specific pipeline
elestio cicd pipeline-info <vmID> <pipelineID>

# Restart a pipeline
elestio cicd pipeline-restart <vmID> <pipelineID>

# Stop a pipeline
elestio cicd pipeline-stop <vmID> <pipelineID>

# View build/runtime logs
elestio cicd pipeline-logs <vmID> <pipelineID>

# View deployment history
elestio cicd pipeline-history <vmID> <pipelineID>

# Delete a pipeline
elestio cicd pipeline-delete <vmID> <pipelineID> --force

Custom Domains for Pipelines

# List domains for a pipeline
elestio cicd domains <vmID> <pipelineID>

# Add a custom domain
elestio cicd domain-add <vmID> \
  --pipeline <pipelineID> \
  --domain myapp.example.com

# Remove a domain
elestio cicd domain-remove <vmID> \
  --pipeline <pipelineID> \
  --domain myapp.example.com

Point your DNS A record to the CI/CD target VM's IPv4 before adding the domain.

Docker Registries

Connect private registries for pulling custom images:

# List connected registries
elestio cicd registries

# Add Docker Hub registry
elestio cicd registry-add \
--name X \
--username U \
--password P \
--url REPO

# Add GitLab.com registry
elestio cicd registry-add \
--name X \
--username U \
--password P \
--url REPO \
--registry-type registry.gitlab.com \
--repo-id ID

# Add self-hosted GitLab registry
elestio cicd registry-add \
--name X \
--username U \
--password P \
--url REPO \
--registry-type gitlab-self-hosted \
--repo-id ID \
--gitlab-url gitlab.company.com

# Add GitHub Container Registry
elestio cicd registry-add \
--name X \
--username U \
--password P \
--url REPO \
--registry-type ghcr.io

registry-add options:

Option Description
--name Unique identity nickname for the registry credential
--username Registry username
--password Registry password or access token
--url Repository path (e.g. myuser/myrepo) not the registry host
--registry-type Registry host: docker.io (default), registry.gitlab.com, gitlab-self-hosted, ghcr.io
--repo-id GitLab project/repo ID — required for registry.gitlab.com and gitlab-self-hosted
--gitlab-url Self-hosted GitLab hostname (e.g. gitlab.company.com) — required for gitlab-self-hosted

 

Troubleshooting Pipelines

Pipeline not starting
# Check logs
elestio cicd pipeline-logs <vmID> <pipelineID>
App not reachable
# SSH into the VM
ssh root@<ipv4>

# Check docker containers
cd /opt/app/<pipeline-name>
docker-compose ps
docker-compose logs

Bind your app to 172.17.0.1:PORT an internal Docker network, not 0.0.0.0:PORT.

Trigger a manual rebuild
elestio cicd pipeline-restart <vmID> <pipelineID>
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