Deploy via rsync

A composite GitHub Action that deploys a release to a remote server using rsync and SSH. It handles the full release lifecycle: syncing files, symlinking shared resources, running remote commands, activating the release, and cleaning up old releases.

How it works

1. Release naming — Generates a release name based on the git ref (e.g., prod-v1.2.0, staging-2025.03.08-abc1234, staging-pr-42-abc1234)
2. Rsync — Syncs the working directory to a new release directory on the server
3. Shared resources — Symlinks shared files (e.g., .env.local) and directories (e.g., var/log) from the project root into the release
4. Remote commands — Runs arbitrary shell commands inside the release directory (e.g., composer install, cache clearing, migrations)
5. Activation — Points the docroot symlink to the new release's public/ directory
6. Cleanup — Optionally removes old releases in the same release group, keeping only the current and previous release

Inputs

Input	Required	Default	Description
project_path	✅	—	Remote project base path (e.g., /var/www/project)
docroot	✅	—	Remote docroot symlink path (e.g., /var/www/html)
release_group	✅	—	Release group prefix to isolate releases (e.g., staging, prod)
cleanup	❌	false	Remove old releases in the same release group after activation
rsync_switches	❌	—	Flags and options passed to rsync
rsync_debug	❌	true	Enable rsync debug output
shared_files	❌	—	Newline-separated list of shared files to symlink into the release
shared_dirs	❌	—	Newline-separated list of shared directories to symlink into the release
remote_commands	❌	—	Shell commands to run inside the release directory after symlinking (before activation)
ssh_host	✅	—	Remote SSH host
ssh_user	✅	—	Remote SSH user
ssh_key	✅	—	SSH private key
ssh_passphrase	❌	—	SSH key passphrase

Usage

Minimal example

steps:
  - uses: actions/checkout@v4

  - uses: ckrack/deploy-ssh-action
    with:
      project_path: /var/www/myapp
      docroot: /var/www/html
      release_group: prod
      cleanup: true
      rsync_switches: -avzr --delete
      shared_files: |
        .env
      shared_dirs: |
        var/log
        public/uploads/media
      ssh_host: ${{ secrets.SSH_HOST }}
      ssh_user: ${{ secrets.SSH_USER }}
      ssh_key: ${{ secrets.SSH_KEY }}

Full example with build step and remote commands

steps:
  - uses: actions/checkout@v4

  - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
    with:
      node-version-file: '.nvmrc'
      cache: 'yarn'

  - run: |
      yarn install --frozen-lockfile
      yarn build

  - uses: ckrack/deploy-ssh-action
    with:
      project_path: /var/www/myapp
      docroot: /var/www/html
      release_group: prod
      cleanup: true
      rsync_switches: -avzr --delete
      shared_files: |
        .env
      shared_dirs: |
        var/log
        public/uploads/media
      remote_commands: |
        composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader --no-interaction --no-progress
        php bin/console cache:clear
        php bin/console doctrine:migrations:migrate --no-interaction
      ssh_host: ${{ secrets.SSH_HOST }}
      ssh_user: ${{ secrets.SSH_USER }}
      ssh_key: ${{ secrets.SSH_KEY }}
      ssh_passphrase: ${{ secrets.SSH_PASS }}

With additional rsync excludes

  - uses: ./.github/actions/deploy-rsync
    with:
      project_path: /var/www/myapp
      docroot: /var/www/html
      release_group: prod
      cleanup: true
      rsync_switches: -avzr --delete --exclude='extra-dir/'
      ssh_host: ${{ secrets.SSH_HOST }}
      ssh_user: ${{ secrets.SSH_USER }}
      ssh_key: ${{ secrets.SSH_KEY }}

Release directory structure

/var/www/project/
├── .env                        # shared file
├── .env.local                  # shared file
├── var/
│   ├── uploads/media/          # shared directory
│   └── log/                    # shared directory
├── public/
│   └── uploads/media/          # shared directory
└── releases/
    ├── prod-v1.0.0/            # old release (cleaned up)
    ├── prod-v1.1.0/            # previous release (kept)
    └── prod-v1.2.0/            # current release (active)

/var/www/html -> /var/www/project/releases/prod-v1.2.0/public