PHP: Deploy with GitHub Actions

How to deploy your PHP code using GitHub Actions

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  • Deploy your application in seconds with a simple git push.
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GitHub Actions simplifies automating tasks such as deploying your PHP code to production servers. This guide walks you through securely deploying your PHP application to both staging and production environments using GitHub Actions.

The approach involves maintaining two branches, staging and production. Code pushed to these branches is automatically deployed to the corresponding Stackhero instance.

Having a staging instance is not mandatory. However, using both staging and production instances is strongly recommended to ensure smooth deployments and increased confidence when deploying to production. This practice aligns with industry standards and helps prevent potential issues.

To follow this guide, you need a GitHub account hosting your PHP code repository.

Creating the PHP services

Begin by logging into your Stackhero dashboard and creating two PHP services: one for staging and one for production. To keep things organised, rename these services to "Production" and "Staging".

If you do not have a Stackhero account, you can create one for free in just two minutes and set up your PHP cloud services with a few clicks.

Example of production and staging servicesExample of production and staging services

Configure SSH keys

SSH keys are essential for allowing GitHub Actions to securely connect to your PHP service for deployment. In this guide, you will create a unique SSH key pair dedicated to this purpose.

Generate SSH keys

You can generate new SSH keys by running the following command on your computer:

ssh-keygen -C "" -f /tmp/ssh_key -N ""

Set the public key

Retrieve the public key by running:

cat /tmp/ssh_key.pub

Next, navigate to your Stackhero dashboard. Select your "Production" PHP service and click on "Configure". Then follow these steps:

  1. Under SSH public keys, click on "Add a public key".
  2. Set the Description to "GitHub Action".
  3. Paste the retrieved public key into the Key field.

Get service settingsGet service settings

Set the private key

Now, open your GitHub project and follow these steps to configure the private key for deployment:

  • Click on Settings, then Environments and select New environment.

    Configuring GitHub environmentsConfiguring GitHub environments

  • In the Name field, enter "production" and confirm.

    Setting the environmentSetting the environment

  • Click on the No restriction button and select Selected branches and tags.

    Setting environment restrictionsSetting environment restrictions

  • Click on Add deployment branch or tag rule, enter "production" in the Name pattern field, and click on Add rule.

    Setting environment branchSetting environment branch Setting environment branchSetting environment branch

  • Under Environment secrets, click on Add secret.

    Add secretAdd secret

Retrieve the private key you generated earlier by running:

cat /tmp/ssh_key

In the GitHub environment settings:

  • In Name, enter STACKHERO_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY and paste your private key into the Value field.

    Setting the SSH private key secretSetting the SSH private key secret

  • In the Environment variables section, click on Add variable.

    Setting variablesSetting variables

  • In Name, enter STACKHERO_ENDPOINT and paste the PHP service endpoint into the Value field. You can find this endpoint in your Stackhero dashboard.

    Setting the endpoint variableSetting the endpoint variable

If you have customised your service's domain name, use the customised version instead of xxxxxx.stackhero-network.com.

Delete the generated keys

For security reasons, you should now remove the generated SSH keys from your computer:

rm /tmp/ssh_key /tmp/ssh_key.pub

Configure the GitHub Actions workflow

Next, you will set up a GitHub Actions workflow to automate your deployments. In your Git repository, create a directory called .github/workflows and add a file named deploy-to-stackhero.yml with the following content:

# File: .github/workflows/deploy-to-stackhero.yml

name: Deploy to Stackhero
run-name: Deploy branch "${{ github.ref_name }}" to Stackhero

on:
  push:
    # List of branches that will trigger the deploy action following a git push
    # Do not forget to create a corresponding environment in GitHub (under "Settings" -> "Environments") for each branch
    # Then add the secret "STACKHERO_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY" and variable "STACKHERO_ENDPOINT" in that environment
    branches: [ "production", "staging" ]

jobs:
  Deploy:
    environment: ${{ github.ref_name }}
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
    - uses: stackhero-io/github-actions-deploy-to-stackhero@v1
      with:
        # The secret "STACKHERO_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY" and the variable "STACKHERO_ENDPOINT" should be defined in the corresponding GitHub environment (under "Settings" -> "Environments")
        ssh_private_key: ${{ secrets.STACKHERO_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }}
        endpoint: ${{ vars.STACKHERO_ENDPOINT }}

After adding the file, commit your changes by running the following commands in your terminal:

git add -A .
git commit -m "Add GitHub Actions to deploy to Stackhero"

Then, create a production branch by running:

git checkout -b production

Finally, push your changes to GitHub:

git push --set-upstream origin production

This command pushes your code to the GitHub production branch. GitHub Actions then automatically runs and deploys your code to the associated Stackhero instance. To verify the deployment, visit your GitHub project and click on Actions.

GitHub Actions that deployed to productionGitHub Actions that deployed to production

Congratulations, you are now set up to automatically deploy your code to production using GitHub Actions!

Creating the staging environment

You can set up the staging environment using a process similar to the production environment. Simply repeat the steps above, replacing production with staging where applicable.

Once the settings are configured, create a staging branch by running:

git checkout -b staging

Then, push your changes to GitHub:

git push --set-upstream origin staging

GitHub Actions automatically deploys the staging branch code to the PHP service designated for staging.

Going further

It is good practice to protect the production and staging branches to avoid direct pushes. You might consider creating a pull request for the staging branch that is reviewed and merged only by individuals with deployment rights. Once changes are validated in the staging environment, authorised users can merge the pull request into the production branch.

Following this approach increases security by ensuring that only approved changes are deployed and enhances reliability by testing new features in a staging environment before they reach production.

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