Deployer
Deployer is a PHP deployment tool for sending applications to remote servers, localhost, Amazon EC2 instances, or Ubuntu VPS hosts.
What Deployer is
Deployer is a PHP deployment tool for sending applications to remote servers, localhost, Amazon EC2 instances, or Ubuntu VPS hosts. It switches atomic symlinks during deployment to avoid exposing a broken state, and its CLI can roll back to the most recent good release. Projects describe hosts and tasks in a deploy.php or deploy.yaml recipe, with options to add custom build tasks. Deployment tasks run in parallel across selected hosts by default, though the CLI can limit concurrency. Recipes cover platforms and frameworks such as Laravel, Symfony, WordPress, Drupal, Magento, CakePHP, CodeIgniter, Yii, Contao, Shopware, TYPO3, and Sulu. Deployer connects over SSH, can open an interactive session, and includes a recipe for provisioning Ubuntu with firewall, PHP, database, and HTTPS setup. Install it through Composer, Phive, a PHAR bundle, or Docker. CI/CD guidance covers GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, and Bitbucket Pipelines. Deployer is free and open source, with Linux, macOS, API, and self-hosted options listed.
Good
- Free and open source.
- Atomic symlink switching avoids broken deployment states.
- CLI can roll back to a good release.
- Deployment tasks run in parallel by default.
- Supports Composer, Phive, PHAR, and Docker installation.
Watch out
- Ubuntu provisioning requires root SSH key authentication.
- Sensitive SSH parameters should stay out of deploy.php.
- No free trial is listed.
Who it suits
Deployer suits PHP developers and teams deploying to servers, especially those who want recipes, SSH access, and release rollback. Project installation is recommended for CI/CD pipelines that need to pin a Deployer version.
Verdict
Deployer brings PHP deployment recipes, parallel execution, and release rollback into a CLI workflow. Its free offering and multiple installation methods may suit teams that manage their own deployment hosts.
Plans and prices
From Deployer's own pricing page, checked 11 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Free and open source | Free | PHP deployment tool; no paid plan or usage limits stated |
The facts
Each one read from Deployer's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- CI/CD integrations
- The CI/CD guide documents usage with GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD and Bitbucket Pipelines.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Configuration
- A recipe defines hosts and tasks, and can be written as deploy.php or deploy.yaml.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Customization
- Projects define hosts and tasks in a deploy.php or deploy.yaml recipe and can add custom build tasks.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- It uses atomic symlink switching for zero downtime deployments and says a failed deployment can be rolled back in one command.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Framework support
- The site lists recipes for PHP frameworks and platforms including Laravel, Symfony, WordPress, Drupal, Magento, CakePHP, CodeIgniter, Yii, Contao, Shopware, TYPO3, and Sulu.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Installation
- Deployer can be installed globally or per project through Composer, via Phive, or as a PHAR bundle; the download page also lists Docker.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Install options
- The documentation describes global and project Composer installations, Phive installation, and a Phar bundle that requires no Composer.checked 11 Oct 2026
- License
- The GitHub repository identifies Deployer as MIT licensed.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Parallel deployment
- Deployer can deploy to multiple servers simultaneously using parallel connections.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Provisioning
- Its provision recipe can configure an Ubuntu server, including firewall, PHP, database and HTTPS.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Provisioning requirement
- The provision recipe targets Ubuntu and requires root SSH key authentication to provision a new server.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Deployer describes itself as a PHP deployment tool for deploying PHP applications.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Recipes
- The documentation lists recipes for frameworks and platforms including Laravel, Symfony, WordPress, Drupal, Magento and TYPO3.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Release management
- The CLI can list releases and roll back to the most recent good release before the current one.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Remote access
- Deployer connects to deployment hosts over SSH and can open an interactive SSH session using its host configuration.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Rollback
- The site says you can revert to a previous release in seconds.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Security practice
- The host guide recommends keeping sensitive SSH parameters out of deploy.php and storing them in ~/.ssh/config.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Server access
- Deployer connects to servers over SSH and reads the user's SSH configuration.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Support and documentation
- The site links to documentation, getting started instructions, recipes, and community-contributed recipes.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Target users
- The getting started guide walks through deploying a PHP project to an Ubuntu VPS and names Linode, DigitalOcean, Vultr, AWS and GCP as examples.checked 11 Oct 2026
- What it does
- Deployer is a PHP deployment tool for deploying applications to servers.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Who it is for
- The documentation recommends project installation for CI/CD pipelines so a project can pin its Deployer version.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Zero downtime
- It uses atomic symlink switching so users do not see a broken state during deployment.checked 11 Oct 2026
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