Quickstart

This guide takes you from an empty project to a running web service with a public URL. It assumes you have signed up and created a project.

1. Add a service

On the Deck, click + New and choose Git repository. If this is your first git deploy, connect your GitHub account (or paste a public Git URL). Pick the repository you want to deploy.

Helicarrier inspects the repo and pre-fills sensible defaults — it detects most frameworks automatically, so you usually do not need a Dockerfile.

2. Choose the service type

For an app that serves HTTP, keep the type as Web. Set the port your app listens on if it is not detected. (Other types — static sites, workers, cron jobs, functions — are covered in Service types.)

3. Set variables (optional)

If your app needs environment variables, add them now in the Environment variables section — paste KEY=value lines directly. You can also add or edit them later from the service’s Variables tab. See Environment variables for the full picture.

4. Deploy

Create the service. Helicarrier:

1. Builds your app (zero-config with Railpack, or your Dockerfile if present).
2. Starts a new container and runs a health check.
3. Swaps traffic to it once healthy — a zero-downtime rollout.

Watch it happen live in the Deployments tab; build and runtime output stream in real time.

5. Visit your URL

When the deploy goes green, your service is assigned a generated hostname like your-service.on.helicarrier.xyz. Open it — your app is live. To use your own domain, see Domains & TLS.

What just happened

• A deployment was created, built into an image, and rolled out with a health check.
• Your service now shows an active status pill on the Deck.
• Every push to the connected branch can redeploy automatically — see Deploys & rollback to enable auto-deploy and learn how to roll back.

Next steps

• Add a managed database and connect it to your service.
• Move configuration into environment groups so multiple services share it.
• Add a custom domain.