DEV Community: Kevin Zepeda

Building in Public: From Terminal to Deployment with AI-Driven CI/CD

Kevin Zepeda — Sat, 26 Apr 2025 23:24:08 +0000

Hey devs! 👋

If you've ever found yourself juggling config files, CI/CD pipelines, and deployment scripts wondering "Why can't this just work?", and how I can do with AI agents, with the entire context and now with the MCP protol to read, understand the context and execute actions, big difference, well I,'ll start to code some agents to try if could I do that.

In this post, I'm going to walk you through how we're building dploy, an open-source CLI that brings together AI agents and infrastructure automation. It's all about going from your terminal to production with zero guesswork.

Let’s dive in.

🤖 What Is `dploy`?

Imagine you clone a new repo. You’re not sure if it has Docker. You don’t know what tests are configured. You want to deploy it… but not sure how.

dploy is a CLI tool that analyzes your project, figures out what you're working with (Python? Node? Go? All of them?), and creates a personalized plan to deploy it. It uses LLM agents, guided by a protocol called MCP (Model Context Protocol) to understand your code, make decisions, and execute actions like:

Creating deployment plans
Generating CI/CD pipelines
Opening PRs
Executing builds
Deploying to the cloud

All from your terminal.

All using AI.

No need to write YAML from scratch ever again.

🛠️ The Core Commands

Here’s how the CLI works (soon):

`dploy setup`

Creates the config folder ~/.dploy/, asks for your API key for the backend (dploy.sh), and sets up your session.

`dploy init <path>`

Scans your project and builds a ~/.dploy/init.yml with metadata: programming languages, frameworks, test setup, linter presence, Docker files, and more.

`dploy plan`

Uses agents to generate a deployment plan based on the project type and infra needs. It’s saved as ~/.dploy/plan.yml.

`dploy version <name>`

Creates a new version of the code, opens a PR, merges it, and updates your main branch.

`dploy run`

Deploys your app using the plan, through a router-agent that orchestrates LLMs to perform specific actions via MCP.

and the last but not least:

`dploy`

An agent to analize the current state and execute all necesary comands tos to dploy your code.

The AI Layer (MCP + Agents)

We wanted to go beyond static templates.

Every dploy action is backed by AI agents that:

Read your project.
Decide the best action (e.g., “generate a GitHub Action for a Python/Poetry app”).
Perform the task.

They talk via the Model Context Protocol (MCP), a structured format that defines the agent’s goal, constraints, and interfaces. Think of it like a contract between your tool and an AI brain.

And yeah — you can bring your own OpenAI key.

🌐 The Backend: `dploy.sh`

While dploy is the CLI, dploy.sh is the control tower. It handles:

API key management
Session storage
External integrations
Authentication

We're building this with a clean backend and a mobile-friendly frontend so you can manage your deploys anywhere.

Why Build This?

Just for fun
Because CI/CD shouldn’t be a second job.

This tool is for:

Indie hackers 🧑‍💻
Solo founders 🚀
Platform engineers 🛠️
Code Vibers 🤖

If you want to go from code → PR → deploy without babysitting your pipeline, we built this for you.

🚧 What's Next?

We’re working on:

Multi-agent coordination (think: "test-agent", "lint-agent", "deploy-agent")
Custom agent flows you can define with prompts
A GUI for managing your deploy pipelines
Templates for common stacks

🙌 Join Us

We’re sharing updates, prototypes, and code on Twitter: @kevinzwpeda, GitHub Project, Blog to show progess and here on dev.to.

Follow the journey, give feedback, or even contribute.

This is just the beginning.

👉 What would you automate in your CI/CD process if you had a personal AI agent? Let me know in the comments!

¿Por que blockchain no es una buena opcion para las empresas? (por ahora)

Kevin Zepeda — Sat, 17 Apr 2021 16:50:48 +0000

Blockchain es esa cosa fancy por el cual startups describen su proyecto para tener mas posibilidad de levantar capital, pero en terminos reales es difícil que blockchain sea una solución en las industrias y te aquí te lo explico.

¿De donde sale esta afirmación probablemente anti-progresista?

Bueno, me dedico a ofrecer soluciones de tecnología a las empresas (mayormente startups) y al trabajar con una solución de blockchain (un poco impopular entre devs pero aclamada por empresas por que la desarrollo IBM)

Al analizar los casos de uso las empresas quieren todo menos tener que mantener un blockchain, esto es totalmente real prefieren tener un Spreadsheet con API antes de tener que asumir los costos del blockchain.

Veamos cuales son los diferentes factores que por el momento hacen inviable a blockchain pero que realmente necesitamos en muchas industrias como: Alimentos, Agricultura, Logística, Etc.

Decentalizado, para que?

La descentralización de la información hace que sea transparente e incorruptible, grandes ventajas del blockchain. En la industria de los alimentos es claro como se debe usar una base de datos distribuida, cada participante de la lógica del negocio tiene la información, esta información es generada con procesos automáticos, y consultada en cada proceso ademas de enriquecer esta información con cada proceso. Por ejemplo:

La industria de los vegetales

NODE 1

Elección de la semilla
Siembra y tratamiento del alimento.
Uso de proteinas.
Venta de la cosecha.
Transporte y entrega.

NODE 2

Condiciones de entrega
Agrupamiento de especies
Almacenamiento y caducidad
Embalaje y transporte

NODE 3

Calidad de productos
Precios de compra
Precios de Vente
Precio en el mercado
Ganancia

Bueno espero que se entienda la idea. cada nodo va heredando la información del nodo anterior y esa información es muy valiosa, verificable y asociable a productos físicos, pero por qué razón las industrias no la están utilizando? Bueno es no es del todo cierto, ya muchas empresas lo hacen sin embargo aún no es una solución global para todas las empresas y todas las industrias porque el nucleo de estas empresas no es tecnológico.

Mantener este tipo de tecnología es bastante costoso y cada nodo en la red debe tener su propia infraestructura para poder soportar esta base de datos distribuida que es el blockchain.

¿Cuál es la solución? es complicado resolver, no basta con decir que una startup resolverá todos estos problemas, es muy probable que se intente pero existen:

4 escenarios en los que el cliente final va a pensar antes de una solución.

Startup para hacer tu proceso en blockchain sobre una red como ETHEREUM.

Problema: Esa red no la controla nadie, la información es publica y puede ser usada por la competencia, por el momento parece rentable, pero el precio explosivo del ETH puede convertir en inviable el proyecto.

Implementar una solución como Hyperledger (Corporate Blockchain)

Problema: Todos los actores de la red no están en las mismas condiciones como para desplegar un servicio tan grande, imaginas un pequeño productor gastando en un centro de datos como lo tendría Walt-Mart, y solo para poder proveer su producto?

Crear un blockchain privado con un sistema de recompensas fijo.

Problema: Es el mismo problema que tiene ETH si tu recompensa es muy poca la red no será viable pero si es muy valiosa será muy costosa que no tendrás clientes.

Mineros y nodos con precio fijo por uso de red.

Problema: Que los mineros ofrescan sus servicios bajo demanda parece una buena idea, considera que le estarías haciendo un servicio de cloud a la inversa. En este tipo de industrias es sencillo proyectar las necesidades de cloud. Pero que pasa con el desarrollo hasta el despliegue, los usuarios tendrán que pagar por todo ese tiempo no hay un entorno de pruebas real y mas importanten, tus clientes no cosiderarian una solución de cloud? parece que blockchain solo es cloud más complicado cierto? por que no elegir una opcion de cloud mas barata que hace lo mismo?

Bueno eso hay por el momento en la industria, lo digo desde mi perspectiva (solo soy un pequeño proveedor de servicios tech) si conoces mas soluciones de blockchain aplicadas al mundo real me gustaría que me las compartas, voy a estar escribiendo constantemente sobre el tema, quieres que escriba algo en particular puedes escribir tambien en los comentarios

Why the blockchain can't be a real solution for enterprise world (for now)

Kevin Zepeda — Sat, 17 Apr 2021 16:32:44 +0000

The blockchain it's that fancy thing to get more investment for your project but in real terms it's so hard applied to real world that other simples solutions.

Where does this probably anti progressive statement come from?

Well, I am in the business of providing technology solutions to companies (mostly startups) and in working with a blockchain solution (a bit unpopular among devs but acclaimed by companies because it was developed by IBM).

When analyzing the use cases companies want everything but having to maintain a blockchain, this is totally real they prefer to have a Spreadsheet with API before having to assume the costs of the blockchain.

Let's see what are the different factors that at the moment make blockchain unviable but we really need in many industries such as: Food, Agriculture, Logistics, Etc.

Decentalized, for what?

The decentralization of information makes it transparent and incorruptible, great advantages of blockchain. In the food industry it is clear how to use a distributed database, each participant of the business logic has the information, this information is generated with automatic processes, and consulted in each process in addition to enrich this information with each process. For example:

The vegetable industry

NODE 1

Seed selection
Sowing and feed treatment.
Use of proteins.
Sale of the harvest.
Transportation and delivery.

NODE 2

Delivery conditions
Species grouping
Storage and shelf life
Packaging and transportation

NODE 3

Product quality
Purchase prices
Selling Prices
Market price
Profit

Well, I hope you understand the idea. Each node inherits the information from the previous node and that information is very valuable, verifiable and associable to physical products, but why industries are not using it? Well it is not entirely true, many companies are already doing it, however it is not yet a global solution for all companies and all industries because the core of these companies is not technological.

Maintaining this type of technology is quite expensive and each node in the network must have its own infrastructure to support this distributed database that is the blockchain.

What is the solution? is complicated to solve, it is not enough to say that a startup will solve all these problems, it is very likely to try but there are:

4 scenarios in which the end customer will think before a solution.

Startup to do your process in blockchain over a network like ETHEREUM.

Problem: That network is not controlled by anyone, the information is public and can be used by competitors, at the moment it seems profitable, but the explosive price of ETH can make the project unfeasible.

Implement a solution like Hyperledger (Corporate Blockchain)

Problem: All network players are not in the same conditions to deploy such a large service, can you imagine a small producer spending on a data center as Walt-Mart would have, and only to be able to provide their product?

Create a private blockchain with a fixed reward system.

Problem: It is the same problem that ETH has if your reward is too little the network will not be viable but if it is too valuable it will be so expensive that you will not have customers.

Miners and nodes with fixed price for network usage.

Problem: That miners offer their services on demand seems a good idea, consider that you would be doing a cloud service in reverse. In these types of industries, it is easy to project cloud needs. But what about development to deployment, users will have to pay for all that time there is no real test environment and more importantly, would your customers not consider a cloud solution? it seems that blockchain is only more complicated cloud right? why not choose a cheaper cloud option that does the same?

Well, there is at the moment in the industry, I say it from my perspective (I am only a small provider of tech services) if you know more blockchain solutions applied to the real world I would like you to share them with me, I will be constantly writing on the subject , you want me to write something in particular you can also write in the comments