Deploy Your Site from GitHub with CR Servers Deploy

CR Servers Deploy publishes your website from a GitHub repository to your CR Servers hosting. Every time you push to your main branch, GitHub builds the site and uploads it to your hosting over an encrypted FTPS connection.

It's meant for developers whose site lives in GitHub, such as a Next.js site exported as static files. If you'd rather update your site by asking ChatGPT or Claude, use AI Connect instead.

CR Servers Deploy or AI Connect?

	CR Servers Deploy	AI Connect
Best for	Developers working in GitHub	Updating your site by asking an AI assistant
How changes go live	A push to GitHub builds and uploads the site	The assistant prepares a draft, shows a preview, and publishes when you confirm
Undo	Revert the commit and push again	One sentence undoes any of the last five publishes
Server code (PHP)	Yes, with extra checks	No, static files only

Use one per site. Both write to the same folder: AI Connect won't publish over files that a deploy changed, and the next deploy replaces what an assistant published.

Sites made with v0, Lovable, Bolt or Replit

AI site builders can publish to CR Servers through GitHub:

1. In the builder, connect GitHub and push the project to a repository (v0, Lovable and Bolt have a GitHub button; Replit uses Git).
2. Set up CR Servers Deploy in that repository with the steps below.
3. From then on, every change the builder pushes to the main branch goes live on your CR Servers hosting.

CR Servers Deploy publishes static files. Most builder projects are React or Next.js apps: they need a static build (for Next.js, output: 'export'), and features that need a server (API routes, server actions, databases inside the builder) won't run on shared hosting.

Server code (PHP)

CR Servers Deploy is the way to put a PHP app or API on your CR Servers hosting. Your code stays in GitHub, every change can be reviewed before it goes live, and the FTP password never leaves GitHub.

Before anything is uploaded, CR Servers Deploy checks the build and stops the deploy if it finds:

• Files that must stay on the server: .env files, private keys, database dumps, backup copies, anything in a private folder, or a config file (such as config.php or wp-config.php) with a password written in it.
• Passwords, keys or tokens inside the code (secret scan).
• PHP syntax errors or dependencies with known security problems.

To turn on the strict checks for an app, add backend: true to the workflow, keep passwords in a private folder outside the site folder, and list the folders your app writes to (uploads, logs) so a deploy never deletes them. The CR Servers Deploy documentation has the full example, including requiring a review before each deploy.

Creating the database and running install scripts aren't part of a deploy: open a ticket and we'll do it with you.

What you need

• A GitHub repository whose build produces static files (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images), for example Next.js with output: "export" and pnpm.
• A CR Servers shared hosting service.

Set it up

1. Create an FTP account just for deploys. In the hosting control panel, add an FTP account whose home directory is the site's folder (see how). Don't use the main hosting login: if the GitHub secret ever leaks, this account can only touch that folder.

2. Find the server hostname shown in the control panel, for example iwx41.crservers.com. Use it instead of your own domain: the encrypted connection's certificate belongs to the server.

3. Add the secrets in GitHub. In your repository, open Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions and add:

   Secret	Value
   FTP_HOST	The server hostname from step 2
   FTP_USER	The deploy FTP account, for example deploy@yourdomain.com
   FTP_PASSWORD	Its password
   FTP_REMOTE_PATH	/ (the deploy account already starts in the site folder)

4. Add the workflow. Create .github/workflows/deploy.yml:

   name: Deploy site
   on:
     push:
       branches: [main]
   permissions:
     contents: read
     actions: write
   jobs:
     deploy:
       uses: edenia/crservers-deploy/.github/workflows/deploy.yml@v2
       secrets:
         FTP_HOST: ${{ secrets.FTP_HOST }}
         FTP_USER: ${{ secrets.FTP_USER }}
         FTP_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.FTP_PASSWORD }}
         FTP_REMOTE_PATH: ${{ secrets.FTP_REMOTE_PATH }}
   

5. Push to main. Open the Actions tab in GitHub to follow the build and the upload, then open your site.

The CR Servers Deploy documentation lists every option, such as the Node.js version, build commands, a dry run, and a full clean upload.

Contact forms

A static site can't send email by itself. CR Servers provides a small contact form endpoint that sends your form's messages from a mailbox on your domain. Open a ticket and we'll set it up with you.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to do
The upload fails with a certificate or TLS error	Use the server hostname as FTP_HOST, not your domain.
Login fails	Check the deploy account's user name (it includes @yourdomain.com) and password, and that the account isn't suspended.
Files land in the wrong folder	With a deploy account that starts in the site folder, FTP_REMOTE_PATH must be /.
The build fails	Open the failed run in the Actions tab. The build runs on GitHub, so fix it in your repository and push again.

Open a ticket if you need help with the first deploy.