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Orbiter

orbiter

Much like the inspiration behind bhvr, Orbiter is a site hosting platform built on the principles that the web should be open and without walled gardens. It features many of the things every dev wants:

  • Simple CLI for local builds and deployments
  • Custom Domains
  • Analytics
  • Version Control for easy rollbacks
  • GitHub actions for automated deployments

In this guide we'll show you how to deploy your client to Orbiter in no time at all.

Client Deployment

Setup Orbiter Account

Visit app.orbiter.host to create a free account and make an API key on the App Dashboard or on the Keys Page

Install the Orbiter CLI and Authorize

terminal
bun add -g orbiter-cli
terminal
orbiter auth

Deploy client

Move into the client package and run the deploy command

terminal
cd client
 
orbiter deploy

GitHub Actions

Orbiter also offers GitHub Actions which can be used to deployment automatically.

If you haven't already, create a free account and create your first site. Then you will need the following information:

  • Project Name: This would be the name you chose when you made the site. For example, the site mysite.orbiter.website the name would be mysite
  • Build Directory: The name your build directory, e.g. dist, out, public, etc
  • Orbiter API Key: This can be created on the API Keys Page of the Orbiter App
  • Node Version (Optional): Define the version of Node you want to use, will default to v20
  • Build Command (Optional): Define the command used to build, default is npm run build

Once you have all of this info prepared make a new directory called .github in the root of your folder, then add a directory called worflows to it. Finally make a new file called deploy.yaml.

Alternatively run this in terminal:

mkdir -p .github/workflows && touch .github/workflows/deploy.yaml

Paste in the following code into the deploy.yaml file with your config listed earlier

name: Deploy
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
 
jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
 
      - name: Deploy to Orbiter
        uses: orbiterhost/orbiter-github-actions@v0.1.4 # Update with latest version
        with:
          project-name: "mysite" # Name of your project
          build-dir: "./dist" # Name of the build output directory
          api-key: ${{ secrets.ORBITER_API_KEY }} # Will use repository secret
          # Optional inputs with their defaults
          node-version: "20.x" # Optional, defaults to '20.x'
          build-command: "npm run build" # Optional, defaults to 'npm run build'

Lastly you will need to add your Orbiter API Key as a Repository Secret. Navigate GitHub project Settings > Secrets and Variables > Actions. Click New repository secret, then use ORBITER_API_KEY as the name, and then paste the secret into the box below.

Then you're all set! On your next deployment you can check the Actions tab of the GitHub project to make sure it deployed successfully.

Further Reference

For more information about how to use Orbiter visit the official docs with the link below

Orbiter Docs