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Primary Command

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lightfold deploy

Full deployment orchestration (recommended for most users). 
# Deploy current directory
lightfold deploy

# Deploy specific path
lightfold deploy ~/Projects/myapp
Flags:
  • --target - Deploy to named target
  • --builder - Force builder choice (native, nixpacks, dockerfile)
  • --force - Rerun all steps regardless of state
  • --dry-run - Preview execution plan without running
What it does:
  1. Detects framework
  2. Creates infrastructure (if needed)
  3. Configures server (if needed)
  4. Deploys code changes

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Advanced Commands

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lightfold create

Create infrastructure only. 
# Auto-provision on DigitalOcean
lightfold create --target myapp --provider digitalocean --region nyc1 --size s-1vcpu-1gb

# Use your own server (BYOS)
lightfold create --target myapp --provider byos --ip 1.2.3.4 --user deploy --ssh-key ~/.ssh/id_rsa
Flags:
  • --target - Target name (required)
  • --provider - Provider choice (digitalocean, vultr, hetzner, byos)
  • --region - Cloud provider region (for auto-provision)
  • --size - Server size (for auto-provision)
  • --ip - Server IP (for BYOS)
  • --user - SSH username (for BYOS)
  • --ssh-key - SSH key path (for BYOS)

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lightfold configure

Configure server only. 
# Configure current directory
lightfold configure

# Configure specific target
lightfold configure --target myapp

# Force reconfiguration
lightfold configure --target myapp --force
Flags:
  • --target - Target name
  • --force - Reconfigure even if already configured
What it does:
  • Installs runtime dependencies
  • Sets up systemd services
  • Configures nginx
  • Creates deployment directory structure

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lightfold push

Deploy code changes only. 
# Push current directory
lightfold push

# Push specific target
lightfold push --target myapp

# Force deployment
lightfold push --target myapp --force
Flags:
  • --target - Target name
  • --force - Deploy even if commit unchanged
What it does:
  • Checks git commit changes
  • Creates timestamped release
  • Uploads and builds code
  • Blue/green deployment with health checks

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Management Commands

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lightfold status

View deployment status and server health. 
# List all targets
lightfold status

# Show current directory status
lightfold status .

# Show specific target status
lightfold status --target myapp

# JSON output
lightfold status --target myapp --json
Flags:
  • --target - Target name
  • --json - Output in JSON format

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lightfold logs

View application logs. 
# View logs for current directory
lightfold logs

# Stream logs in real-time
lightfold logs --tail

# Last 200 lines
lightfold logs --lines 200

# Specific target
lightfold logs --target myapp --tail
Flags:
  • --target - Target name
  • --tail - Stream logs in real-time
  • --lines - Number of lines to show (default: 100)

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lightfold rollback

Rollback to previous release. 
# Rollback current directory
lightfold rollback

# Rollback specific target
lightfold rollback --target myapp

# Skip confirmation
lightfold rollback --force
Flags:
  • --target - Target name
  • --force - Skip confirmation prompt

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lightfold sync

Sync local state/config with actual server state (drift recovery). 
# Sync current directory
lightfold sync

# Sync specific target
lightfold sync --target myapp
Flags:
  • --target - Target name
Use cases:
  • Local state files corrupted or deleted
  • Server IP changed
  • Recovering from bad state
  • After manual server changes

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lightfold ssh

SSH into deployment target. 
lightfold ssh --target myapp
Flags:
  • --target - Target name (required)

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lightfold destroy

Destroy VM and remove local configuration. 
lightfold destroy --target myapp
Flags:
  • --target - Target name (required)
Warning: This will permanently delete your server and all data.

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Configuration Commands

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lightfold config

Manage targets and API tokens. 
# List all targets
lightfold config list

# Set API token
lightfold config set-token digitalocean

# Get API token
lightfold config get-token digitalocean

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lightfold domain

Manage custom domains and SSL. 
# Add domain to current directory
lightfold domain add --domain example.com

# Add domain to specific target
lightfold domain add --domain example.com --target myapp

# Remove domain
lightfold domain remove --target myapp

# Show domain config
lightfold domain show --target myapp
Flags:
  • --domain - Domain name (for add command)
  • --target - Target name

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Utility Commands

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lightfold detect

Detect framework only (no deployment). 
# Detect current directory
lightfold detect

# Detect specific path
lightfold detect ~/Projects/myapp

# JSON output
lightfold detect --json
Flags:
  • --json - Output in JSON format

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lightfold keygen

Generate SSH keypair. 
lightfold keygen

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Invocation Patterns

All commands support three invocation patterns:
  1. Current directory (default): 
    lightfold deploy
  2. Specific path: 
    lightfold deploy ~/Projects/myapp
  3. Named target: 
    lightfold deploy --target myapp