Openship

Open-source, self-hostable deployment platform with built-in CI/CD.
Point it at a repo — it builds, ships, routes, and TLS-terminates your app. Drive it from a desktop app, web dashboard, or CLI.

Quick Start · How It Works · Interfaces · Docs · Contributing

Quick Start

There's one decision to make first: how you run Openship itself (the control plane). Everything else is the same afterwards.

[!TIP] Solo? Use the desktop app. It runs Openship's control plane on your own machine only while the app is open — nothing is left running on an always-on server, nothing is exposed publicly. You only need an always-on server install once you want push-to-deploy (CI/CD), team access, or to host apps on that box — the things that need a public, always-on endpoint.

Solo — desktop app

The control plane runs locally and drives your servers over SSH. No login, no terminal, no public surface — download, open, done:

Linux: chmod +x Openship.AppImage && ./Openship.AppImage. Already have the CLI? openship install fetches and launches it. Links always point at the newest release.

From the desktop app you connect a server (SSH) or Openship Cloud and deploy to it — the app itself doesn't host public apps on your laptop.

Team / always-on — self-hosted server

Install the CLI (it bundles the API + dashboard), then run openship — an interactive wizard creates the first admin, wires your domain, and installs Openship as a boot service. Run it again anytime to manage the instance.

curl -fsSL https://get.openship.io | sh          # install  (or: npm i -g openship — needs Node 22+)
openship                                          # guided setup, then control panel

The install script brings its own Node when your system one is older than 22; a package-manager install runs on the Node you already have.

For CI / headless boxes, skip the wizard and drive openship up directly:

openship up                                       # install + start as a background service (boots + auto-restarts)
openship up --public-url https://openship.example.com   # + serve the dashboard on your domain (edge + TLS handled)

openship up picks how it runs for you:

• On Linux with Docker → Compose mode (the default). Brings up the full stack — Postgres, Redis, API, dashboard, and a containerized OpenResty edge on :80/:443 — from published images. This is the flavor that hosts your deployed apps on the same box, with automatic domains + Let's Encrypt TLS. Force it with --compose.
• Everywhere else → bare mode (macOS, Windows, or Linux without Docker). A single lightweight process with an embedded database — an always-on control plane that deploys apps out to a server (SSH) or Cloud, like the desktop app but always on and login-required. Force it with --bare.

A self-hosted instance always requires login (the admin you create in setup). openship open opens the dashboard · openship stop stops it · openship update upgrades · openship up --foreground runs attached.

Preview an unreleased build (dev). To run the CLI built straight from source — a branch, tag, or main ahead of the next release — install the from-source build:

bash curl -fsSL https://get.openship.io/dev | sh # main (default) curl -fsSL https://get.openship.io/dev | OPENSHIP_REF=dev sh # a branch/tag (var goes on sh, not curl) openship-dev # same CLI, built from source openship-dev update # pull latest source + rebuild (no release needed)

It installs as a separate openship-dev command with its own isolated home (~/.openship-dev) and boot service, so your production openship and its data are never touched. Needs Bun + git; it's an unverified dev build (the dashboard compile wants real RAM/CPU) — not a production path.

Deploy a project:

cd your-project
openship init            # link this directory to a project
openship deploy

Full server guide + complete CLI reference: openship.io/docs.

openship completion bash > /etc/bash_completion.d/openship
openship completion zsh  > ~/.zsh/completions/_openship
openship completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/openship.fish

echo 'source <(openship completion zsh)' >> ~/.zshrc

git clone https://github.com/oblien/openship.git && cd openship
cp .env.example .env          # then edit
docker compose --env-file .env -f docker/docker-compose.yml up -d

How It Works

Point Openship at a source — a GitHub repo, a local folder, or a prebuilt artifact — and it runs one pipeline end to end:

1. Detect. It reads your package.json, framework config, lockfiles, and any docker-compose.yml / openship.json to work out the stack, package manager, build/start commands, and port. Zero config files required; an openship.json overrides the guesses if you want control.
2. Build. On the target server or locally on the orchestrator, into a Docker image or a bare release. The resolved config is frozen into a snapshot, so redeploys and rollbacks re-run exactly what shipped.
3. Run. As a container (published on loopback only — never a public port) or a supervised host process.
4. Route + secure. The OpenResty edge writes a reverse-proxy vhost to your domain and issues a Let's Encrypt certificate (HTTP-01). Because routing and TLS happen after the app is up, a DNS or cert hiccup surfaces as "action required" — it never fails the deploy or takes your app down.
5. Push-to-deploy. A GitHub webhook re-runs the pipeline on every push to the tracked branch — rebuilding only the services a monorepo push actually touched.

Databases, domains, SSL, CDN, mail, and backups are managed from the same place. (Push-to-deploy and public domains need an always-on server or Cloud — a desktop/loopback instance has no public endpoint to receive webhooks.)

Interfaces

Choose how to work with OpenShip:

• Desktop app — full GUI, real-time logs, one-click everything. Best for solo.
• Web dashboard — the same UI in the browser, built for teams.
• CLI — scriptable and CI-friendly; also how you install and manage a self-hosted instance.
• Ship SDK — deploy and manage resources from JavaScript or TypeScript. Connect to an existing instance with OpenshipClient, or embed the engine with createShip. Install with npm install openship (0.8.0+, Node.js 22+) and follow the SDK guide.

An MCP endpoint (for AI agents) and a REST API round it out for automation. Only routes that opt in are exposed as MCP tools, every call re-checks your permissions, and credential/token routes can never become tools. Full reference at openship.io/docs.

[!NOTE] The docs are actively being filled out. If something's missing or unclear, contributions are hugely welcome.

Features

Deploy Anywhere

• Openship Cloud — managed, auto-scaling, zero setup
• Any VPS — Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Linode, OVH, and the rest
• Dedicated servers — bare metal, colo, homelab
• Multi-server — spread workloads across machines

Same interface regardless of where you deploy.

Status

Production-ready core, actively developed. Self-hosting is free (no billing).

Coming next: multi-node clusters, load-balancing UI, private networking, advanced monitoring, and visual CI/CD pipelines.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md.

Security

Found a vulnerability? We welcome your report — please disclose it privately, never in a public issue, PR, or discussion.

• Report it here (preferred): Report a vulnerability — a private GitHub advisory, visible only to you and the maintainers.
• Scope, what to include, and our response/disclosure process: SECURITY.md.

Good-faith security research is authorized under our safe-harbor policy, and we're happy to credit valid first reports.

License

Openship-authored code is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. Bundled third-party components retain their own licenses. In particular, the iRedMail engine is GPL-licensed and is included in several control-plane distributions even when mail setup is not used. See the component and packaging inventory for the recorded license boundaries and outstanding upstream notice review.