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Youssef Ahmed
Youssef Ahmed

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How I Automated My Laravel Deployments to a VPS with GitHub Actions and SSH

#vps #laravel #cicd #devops

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Running a Laravel application on a VPS usually means repeating the same routine: connecting via SSH, pulling latest changes, running composer updates, migrating the database, and clearing caches manually.

It works, but it's repetitive and prone to human error.

So I automated the boring part.

In this guide, I'll walk through setting up a lightweight Continuous Deployment (CD) pipeline using:

  • GitHub & GitHub Actions
  • SSH Key Authentication
  • A Linux VPS (Ubuntu)
  • Laravel & Composer

The Core Flow 

git push origin main
        ↓
     GitHub
        ↓
 GitHub Actions Runner
        ↓ (SSH)
       VPS
        ↓
 Pull Code & Run Artisan Commands
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Every time code is pushed or merged into main, GitHub Actions connects to the VPS and deploys the latest version automatically.

This isn't a replacement for a complex multi-stage CI/CD system, but it is a dependable, lightweight pipeline that works great for small to medium VPS-hosted applications.

1. The Setup & Prerequisites

My Laravel project lives on the VPS at:

/var/www/html/paltform-api
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The source code is stored on GitHub:

github.com/youssef-ahmed-cs/laracast
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The deployment branch is:

main
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Before touching GitHub Actions, make sure the local project is linked to GitHub:

git remote -v
# origin  git@github.com:youssef-ahmed-cs/laracast.git (fetch)
# origin  git@github.com:youssef-ahmed-cs/laracast.git (push)
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And verify the standard Laravel folder structure on the server (app, bootstrap, config, database, public, routes, storage, etc.):

Laravel Project Structure

2. Solving Git's "Dubious Ownership" Error

While setting up automated deployments, Git can throw a security error:

fatal: detected dubious ownership in repository at '/var/www/html/paltform-api'
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This happens when the user running the Git commands (your SSH user) doesn't match the user who owns the repository directory (often www-data or root).

To allow Git to safely run inside the repository:

git config --global --add safe.directory /var/www/html/paltform-api
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Test it by checking the status:

cd /var/www/html/paltform-api
git status
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3. Configure GitHub Secrets for SSH

Instead of hardcoding server credentials into workflow files, store them securely in GitHub under Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions.

Add the following repository secrets:

Secret Name Description
SSH_HOST Your server's public IP address or domain
SSH_USERNAME The SSH user account on your VPS
SSH_PORT The SSH port (typically 22)
SSH_PRIVATE_KEY The private SSH key matching the public key in ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

GitHub Secrets Configuration

4. Create the GitHub Actions Workflow

Create the deployment workflow file at .github/workflows/deploy.yml:

name: SSH into VPS and deploy

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
    name: Deploy over SSH

    steps:
      - name: Deploy project over SSH
        uses: appleboy/ssh-action@v1.2.0
        with:
          host: ${{ secrets.SSH_HOST }}
          username: ${{ secrets.SSH_USERNAME }}
          key: ${{ secrets.SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }}
          port: ${{ secrets.SSH_PORT }}

          script: |
            set -e

            # 1. Trust repository directory
            git config --global --add safe.directory /var/www/html/paltform-api

            cd /var/www/html/paltform-api

            # 2. Put application into maintenance mode
            php artisan down || true

            # 3. Pull latest changes from main
            git fetch origin main
            git reset --hard origin/main
            git clean -fd

            # 4. Install production dependencies
            composer install --no-dev --prefer-dist --optimize-autoloader --no-interaction

            # 5. Run database migrations
            php artisan migrate --force

            # 6. Clear and cache configuration, routes, and views
            php artisan optimize:clear
            php artisan optimize
            php artisan view:cache

            # 7. Bring application back online
            php artisan up

            echo "Deployment completed successfully."
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GitHub Actions Workflow View

5. Deconstructing the Deployment Commands

Here is what happens during the deployment step:

  1. set -e: Instructs Bash to exit immediately if any command encounters an error, preventing broken or partial deployments.
  2. php artisan down: Puts the app in maintenance mode so users do not hit 500 errors while files, composer packages, and database tables are updating.
  3. git fetch origin main & git reset --hard origin/main: Rather than a standard git pull (which can fail with merge conflicts), this ensures the VPS working tree strictly mirrors the GitHub main branch.
  4. git clean -fd: Removes any untracked files or directories. (Make sure .env and user uploads are defined in .gitignore so they are not deleted).
  5. composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader: Installs production dependencies without dev tools (like PHPUnit or Faker) and builds an optimized autoloader map.
  6. php artisan migrate --force: Executes any pending database migrations in production without prompting for manual confirmation.
  7. php artisan optimize: Generates cached files for configuration, events, and routes in a single optimized command.
  8. php artisan up: Disables maintenance mode and restores user traffic.

6. Pushing Changes and Verifying Deployment

Trigger the pipeline with a push from your local machine:

git add .
git commit -m "Update application"
git push origin main
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GitHub Actions will pick up the push, start the runner, and execute the remote script over SSH:

Action Running

Once finished, check the action logs. The step will output:

Deployment completed successfully.

Process exited with status 0
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Process Exited with Status 0

Conclusion

The deployment pipeline is fully automated:

             Local Machine
                   │
                   │ git push origin main
                   ▼
                GitHub
                   │
                   ▼
            GitHub Actions
                   │
                   │ SSH
                   ▼
                  VPS
                   │
                   ▼
       /var/www/html/paltform-api
                   │
          ┌────────┴────────┐
          ▼                 ▼
     Update Git      Install Composer
          │                 │
          └────────┬────────┘
                   ▼
            Migrate Database
                   │
                   ▼
            Optimize Laravel
                   │
                   ▼
          Deployment Complete
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Instead of logging into the server every time a feature is ready, a simple git push origin main handles code retrieval, dependency installation, database migration, and cache re-generation automatically.

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