Using Preview Deployments

Overview

Preview Deployments are automatically generated deployments of newer versions of your application code that run alongside your active application. They are designed to allow you to quickly test changes to your application code without having to deploy to a separate environment.

Preview Deployments are triggered by changes in the git repository of your application - this means that simply pulling new code into your repo can automatically update your Preview (depending on your settings).

Previews run on separate, unique subdomains and they are only visible via those URLs.

Applications created on Cloud 66 before June 2024 may need to be updated before they can use this functionality. See below for more details.

Types of Preview Deployments

We support three kinds of (mutually exclusive) Preview Deployments:

Branches - creates new Preview Deployments based on git branch names
Tags - creates new Preview Deployments based on git tag names
Pull Requests - creates & removes Preview Deployments based on git pull requests

Both branches and tags can be matched using the glob format - so, for example, if you specify feature* as your branch name, we will create a Preview for any branch with the word "feature" in it.

Disabling Previews

To disable Previews, follow the same process but select No Preview Deployments instead. Note that this will not remove any Previews currently deployed on your servers. To delete Previews, see our guide below.

Triggering Preview Deployments via your git provider

If you have connected your GitHub account to your Cloud 66 account, we will automatically trigger Preview deploys based on your Preview settings.

For other git providers, you need to add a webhook URL to your account or repo. You can find the redeployment webhook URL on the Deployments settings page (under ⚙️ Settings → Deployments). Copy the URL and then use it to set up the automation with your git provider.

Previews can reduce server capacity

While we do not limit the number of Previews an app can have, we strongly recommend against having more than a few at any time. By their nature, Previews require resources to run (RAM, CPU cycles etc.) and thus reduce the capacity of your application to serve your visitors.

Deleting Previews using Cloud 66 Toolbelt

You can also list and delete unwanted Previews using the Cloud 66 Toolbelt (cx) to do this use the following commands:

cx stacks variants list -s my-stack --type preview  # Lists previews with UIDs

cx stacks variants delete [UID] -s my-stack # Deletes a preview by UID