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Getting Started

Quickstart Guide

Deploy your first containerized application to Dequel in under 5 minutes.

In this guide, we’ll configure a project, push the codebase, and verify that the container is running with active routing.

Step 1: Create a Project

Navigate to the Dequel dashboard (at http://localhost or your configured CADDY_BASE_DOMAIN) and click the + Create Project button in the upper right corner.

  • Enter a unique project name (e.g. my-web-app).
  • Configure CPU limit boundaries (e.g., 0.5 cores) and Memory bounds (e.g., 512MB).
  • Click Create to initialize the project namespace.

Step 2: Add a Dockerfile

Dequel builds applications using a standard container blueprint. Ensure your project includes a valid Dockerfile in its root directory:

Dockerfile 
FROM node:18-alpine
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm install
COPY . .
RUN npm run build
ENV PORT=3000
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["npm", "run", "start"]
💡 Pro Tip: Custom Ports

Dequel reads the PORT environment variable inside your container to automatically route incoming traffic. Ensure your app listens on the port specified by this variable.

Step 3: Trigger the Deploy

On the deployments page, you can choose between connecting your GitHub repository or performing a local directory upload:

  1. Enter your repository URL and set the branch to main.
  2. Click Deploy Branch.
  3. Follow the build stages in real-time under the Active Build Logs window.

Step 4: Verify Routing

Once the deployment changes status from BUILDING to READY, click the external link button near your custom domain or the auto-generated base domain to see your running web container.

Next: Configuration