FAQ
General
Section titled “General”What is Shiplon?
Section titled “What is Shiplon?”A platform that builds your app from a GitHub repository and serves it over HTTPS, again on every push. See What is Shiplon?
How much does it cost?
Section titled “How much does it cost?”Nothing during the open beta, and no card is needed. Plans will be published before the beta ends, with notice to everyone using it.
Where are the servers?
Section titled “Where are the servers?”In Mumbai, India, reachable worldwide.
Deploying
Section titled “Deploying”What can I deploy?
Section titled “What can I deploy?”Static sites (with or without a build step), Node.js servers, and anything with a Dockerfile. See Build types.
Which Node.js version is used?
Section titled “Which Node.js version is used?”Node.js 22 for Static and Node.js builds. With a Dockerfile, you choose the version yourself.
Can I deploy from GitLab or Bitbucket?
Section titled “Can I deploy from GitLab or Bitbucket?”Not yet; only GitHub.
Can I deploy a branch other than main?
Section titled “Can I deploy a branch other than main?”Yes. Each app deploys one branch, which you choose when creating it and can change in its settings.
Can I have a staging and a production version of the same app?
Section titled “Can I have a staging and a production version of the same app?”Yes: create two apps from the same repository, one deploying a staging branch and one deploying main, each with its own variables and domain.
Does a failed deployment take my site down?
Section titled “Does a failed deployment take my site down?”No. A new version only takes traffic once it passes its health check; if it fails, the previous version keeps serving.
How do I go back to an earlier version?
Section titled “How do I go back to an earlier version?”Open that deployment and click Roll back to this version. See Rollbacks.
Data and security
Section titled “Data and security”Do you host databases?
Section titled “Do you host databases?”Not yet. Connect to an external database, such as a managed Postgres, through environment variables.
Can my app store files on disk?
Section titled “Can my app store files on disk?”Only temporarily: an app’s disk is reset on every restart and deployment. Use a database or object storage for anything you need to keep.
Can Shiplon read all my repositories?
Section titled “Can Shiplon read all my repositories?”No. It can only read the repositories you select when installing the GitHub App, and each build gets a token for just the repository it’s building. See Connect GitHub.
Who can see my environment variables?
Section titled “Who can see my environment variables?”Nobody can read a value after it’s saved, not even owners. Members see the names only. See Environment variables.
Is two-factor authentication available?
Section titled “Is two-factor authentication available?”Not yet; it’s planned.
Domains
Section titled “Domains”Can I use my root domain, like example.com?
Section titled “Can I use my root domain, like example.com?”Yes. Shiplon gives you an A record, which works for root domains and subdomains. See Custom domains.
Do I need to buy an SSL certificate?
Section titled “Do I need to buy an SSL certificate?”No. Shiplon issues and renews certificates for your domains automatically, for free.
How do I get help?
Section titled “How do I get help?”Email hello@shiplon.com and a person replies. See also Troubleshooting.