DEV Community: Celeste van der Watt

Setting up Drupal Canvas with AI on Upsun, a step-by-step guide 🔥

Celeste van der Watt — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 11:35:58 +0000

Here’s the candid, no-hype version of what really happens when you ask AI to spin up Drupal Canvas on a live environment.

Taras Kruts walks through a Cursor-assisted build that hits four classic snags: the AI picks the wrong Composer package, over-generates boilerplate, confuses Platform.sh vs Upsun configs, and tries to use a non-existent install profile.

He then shows the simple fixes, plus a reliable deploy hook that installs Drupal and enables Canvas automatically so every preview environment comes up clean on Upsun. The punchline: AI drafted the scaffolding fast, but human review and a few precise edits made it production-credible in about 1 hour 25 minutes.

Why you should check out the full demo:

You’ll avoid the same AI setup traps and copy known-good commands instead of guessing.
You’ll see how to use Upsun’s Git-driven YAML and per-branch preview environments to demo Canvas live for stakeholders without babysitting infra.
If you’re juggling incidents and context switching, this is the kind of repeatable workflow that gives you time back for actual feature work. ves
Cuts the “AI said it would work” thrash by naming exact failure modes and fixes.
Replaces manual setup with an automateinstalls Drupal and enables Canvas on every environment.
Shows a practical path to ship demos faster on an opinionated platform designed for speed, standardization, and reliability.

Speed up delivery across branches, and reduce infra toil on your next Drupal launch.

Read the full story, grab the deploy hook, and ship your own Canvas demo today: From DrupalCon keynote to live Upsun demo

Create secure tunnels between Upsun projects with Chisel

Celeste van der Watt — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 15:40:09 +0000

By default, Upsun projects are isolated for security. Applications and services inside one project cannot directly talk to another. But what if you need to connect them? Think database replication, multi service integration, or disaster recovery setups.

In our latest post, we show how to use Chisel, a lightweight tunneling tool, to securely connect multiple Upsun projects. It is fast, encrypted, and designed for scenarios where cross project communication is essential.

With Chisel, you get:

Secure tunnels for encrypted traffic between projects
Simple configuration in .upsun/config.yaml
Support for MariaDB replication and beyond
Resilient connections with auto reconnect and error recovery

Whether you are syncing databases across regions or wiring services together, Chisel makes it possible while keeping isolation as the default.

Read the full guide here 👉 Connect Multiple Upsun Projects with Chisel

Why Python developers should switch to uv

Celeste van der Watt — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 17:36:21 +0000

If you’ve ever waited impatiently for pip install to finish, or juggled multiple tools just to set up a clean Python environment—this one’s for you.

In our latest post, we explore uv, a new all-in-one Python toolchain that replaces pip, venv, Python version managers, and more. It’s designed for speed (often up to 100× faster than pip) and simplicity, with features like:

Single CLI for installs, virtual envs, and version management
Built-in lockfiles for reproducible environments
Smarter dependency handling with commands like uv add and uv remove
Cross-platform support and a familiar syntax

Whether you’re starting a new project or managing a complex codebase, uv can drastically cut setup time and reduce friction in your workflow.

Read the full breakdown here 👉 Why Python developers should switch to uv

We solved container networking at massive scale (and you can learn how) 🚀

Celeste van der Watt — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 07:34:11 +0000

Ever wondered how we manage networking for tens of thousands of containers without breaking a sweat? 🤔

Traditional networking approaches fall apart when you're dealing with high-density containers that are constantly being created, destroyed, and moved around. Centralized systems become bottlenecks, and suddenly your infrastructure is more fragile than a house of cards.

So we built something different: a stateless mesh networking system that embeds routing information directly into IP addresses. No databases, no control planes, no drama. ✨

Here's what we achieved:

8,192 containers per VM (yes, you read that right!)
Zero network bottlenecks through direct VM-to-VM communication
Instant service discovery - new containers become routable immediately
Predictable performance that scales with your infrastructure

The secret sauce? We borrowed inspiration from IPv6's IPv4-mapped addresses and embedded VM information right into the container IP addresses. When a packet needs routing, our custom ARP daemon extracts the target VM's IP from the destination address and creates direct point-to-point connections.

Our latest deep-dive article walks you through the entire technical implementation, from the initial challenges to the creative solutions we found in "reserved for future use" IPv4 space.

This is why your Upsun preview environments spin up in minutes, not hours. The networking just works - invisibly and instantly. 💪

[Tutorial] Deploy to Upsun from your private air-gapped GitLab instance ⚡️

Celeste van der Watt — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 17:02:14 +0000

Take complete control of your deployment process while maintaining the security of your private GitLab instance with Upsun 😎

Is your GitLab instance not accessible via the internet? This means you can't utilize Upsun's standard GitLab integration. 👀

However, by creating a GitLab CI/CD pipeline that pushes code to Upsun and manages environments through API calls, you can deploy to Upsun from your private air-gapped GitLab instance. 🚀

Our latest tutorial takes you through all the steps to get started.

Supercharged automated workflows, no code required 🔥

Celeste van der Watt — Mon, 19 May 2025 17:37:15 +0000

If you’ve ever wanted to streamline your deployments or external integrations—without writing extra code—this tutorial is for you.

We walk through how to connect n8n, an open-source automation tool, with Upsun’s Git-based deployment flow. The result: event-driven automation triggered by deploy hooks or webhooks, with zero new backend code to maintain.

In this step-by-step guide, you'll learn how to:

Use Upsun's deploy hook to trigger an n8n workflow
Chain actions like Slack alerts, Airtable updates, or API calls
Test your setup in isolated, production-like environments
Build resilient, modular workflows without extra infra overhead

Designed for developers who want to automate real tasks—without bolting on yet another layer of complexity.

Whether you're automating team notifications, integrating CI tools, or syncing services across your stack, this approach scales with you. No guesswork, no buzzwords. Just useful automation you can deploy today.

Explore the full tutorial on automating workflows with n8n and Upsun.

Your tooling guide for seamless .upsun/config.yaml validation

Celeste van der Watt — Fri, 16 May 2025 11:45:18 +0000

YAML configuration files are powerful but unforgiving—one indentation mistake or invalid key can break an entire build or deployment. This technical tutorial demonstrates the value of YAML config validation, showing how to catch errors early and enforce consistent structure.

By integrating schema validation and YAML linting in both your editor and CI/CD pipeline, you can significantly improve config quality and automation reliability with minimal effort. It ensures fewer surprises and faster debugging when changes are deployed.

Some highlights from the article:

IDE autocomplete and validation: Leverage official YAML schemas (like Upsun's config schema on SchemaStore) to get autocompletion, real-time error checking, and helpful tooltips in editors such as VSCode or PhpStorm.
CI/CD integration: Set up automated checks in your CI pipelines (like a GitHub Actions workflow) to validate YAML files on every commit. This step prevents broken configuration from ever reaching production.
Reliable deployments: Early validation means fewer surprises during deployment. Each config change is verified upfront, ensuring your configuration remains stable, consistent, and ready for production.

This preview touches on key tools and benefits, but the full tutorial provides step-by-step guidance. Follow the full tutorial to implement YAML validation in your own projects and deploy with confidence.

Exploring AI? Our Docs are now llms.txt-compatible 😎

Celeste van der Watt — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 10:37:47 +0000

With llms.txt compatibility, Upsun and Platform.sh Docs introduces:

Seamless integration with AI Assistants: LLMs compatibility allows AI tools to interact with Upsun and/or Platform.sh Docs more efficiently.
Content structuring for learning systems: The use of Upsun and/or Platform.sh Docs within an LMS environment will guarantee a smoother, more structured experience.
Markdown export for every page: Easily download and reuse documentation content with a dedicated Markdown version button.

Whether you’re a developer, technical writer, or enterprise team, llms.txt compatibility enhances your documentation experience.

Let's dive in a get started. 🔥

Laravel hosting without the usual cloud headaches – here’s an alternative worth considering ⚡️

Celeste van der Watt — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 16:02:54 +0000

👋 Laravel devs, let’s talk cloud hosting. We’ve seen a lot of posts about the struggles of deploying Laravel apps—unexpected pricing spikes, opinionated platforms forcing you into their way of doing things, or just dealing with setups that feel way more complicated than they should be.

So here’s an alternative: Upsun. It gives you full control over your Laravel apps without unnecessary restrictions. No forced architectures, no lock-in—just a straightforward way to deploy and scale your app on your terms.

A few things that stood out:
✅ You’re not locked into specific infrastructure choices—bring your own setup.
✅ Transparent pricing without surprise fees.
✅ No weird workarounds to get Laravel running smoothly.
✅ Works for both small projects and big production apps.

If you’ve been looking for a more flexible way to host your Laravel apps without feeling trapped by a platform’s choices, this might be worth checking out.

Here’s a breakdown of how it works and why it might be a good fit.

Curious to hear from anyone who’s tried it—or if you’ve run into specific cloud hosting pain points with Laravel, let’s talk. 🚀

Up(sun) and ready with Pandoc

Celeste van der Watt — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 15:27:32 +0000

Need Pandoc on Upsun? Here’s How to Get It Running!

Hey everyone! 👋

If you’ve ever needed to convert documents, process Markdown, or automate text transformations, you’ve probably used Pandoc before. Now, if you’re looking to get it up and running on Upsun, we’ve got you covered!

We just put together a step-by-step guide on installing Pandoc in your Upsun environment. Whether you’re generating PDFs, handling document conversions, or just experimenting with powerful text processing, this tutorial will walk you through the setup process.

💡 What’s inside?
✅ Installing Pandoc on Upsun from scratch
✅ Helpful config tweaks for smoother performance
✅ Troubleshooting common setup issues

🔗 Check out the full guide here: Install Pandoc on Upsun

Let us know if you run into any issues or have any pro tips of your own.

Happy coding! 💻✨

Blackfire now supports Java: deeper insights, faster optimization 😎

Celeste van der Watt — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 16:09:55 +0000

We're excited to announce: Blackfire continuous profiling now supports Java! 🤯👏

Java is one of the most widely used runtimes in the enterprise world, but it comes with its own performance challenges, from garbage collection tuning to concurrency bottlenecks.

Unlock deeper visibility and keep an eye on CPU usage, memory allocations, and more—critical for optimizing Java applications under real-world workloads.

👉 Already on a Production plan? Start profiling Java immediately.
Head to our documentation to learn how to configure your Java application ⚡️

If not, consider upgrading to benefit from Blackfire’s full continuous observability offering 🔥

[Guide] Deploying Chainlit with RAG on Upsun 🚀

Celeste van der Watt — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:22:39 +0000

New tutorial: deploying Chainlit with RAG on Upsun

We deployed Chainlit with two Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) implementations:

✅ OpenAI Assistants – Built-in file handling and attribution
✅ llama_index – More control and local vector storage

🔐 Added SQLite authentication for extra security
📦 Leveraged Upsun’s infra for a scalable & production-ready setup

Whether you’re building chatbots, knowledge assistants, or any AI-powered app, this guide walks you through it!

🔗 Try the full tutorial here