How to deploy with GitHub Actions on DigitalOcean

Log into your DigitalOcean dashboard and click Create > Droplets. Choose Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, select your preferred plan, and add your SSH key. Alternatively, use App Platform by clicking Create > Apps for a managed deployment solution.

In your GitHub repository, go to Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions. Click New repository secret and add:

• DIGITALOCEAN_ACCESS_TOKEN - Your DO API token
• HOST - Your Droplet's IP address
• USERNAME - SSH username (usually root)
• PRIVATE_KEY - Your private SSH key content

In your repository, create .github/workflows/deploy.yml. Start with the basic structure:

name: Deploy to DigitalOcean
on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]
jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:

Add build steps to your workflow:

    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
    - name: Setup Node.js
      uses: actions/setup-node@v4
      with:
        node-version: '18'
    - name: Install dependencies
      run: npm install
    - name: Run tests
      run: npm test
    - name: Build application
      run: npm run build

If using Docker, add container build steps:

    - name: Build Docker image
      run: docker build -t ${{ github.repository }}:${{ github.sha }} .
    - name: Push to registry
      run: |
        echo ${{ secrets.DIGITALOCEAN_ACCESS_TOKEN }} | docker login registry.digitalocean.com -u ${{ secrets.DIGITALOCEAN_ACCESS_TOKEN }} --password-stdin
        docker push registry.digitalocean.com/${{ github.repository }}:${{ github.sha }}

Add deployment step using SSH:

    - name: Deploy to DigitalOcean
      uses: appleboy/ssh-action@v1.0.0
      with:
        host: ${{ secrets.HOST }}
        username: ${{ secrets.USERNAME }}
        key: ${{ secrets.PRIVATE_KEY }}
        script: |
          cd /var/www/your-app
          git pull origin main
          npm install --production
          pm2 restart all

Push changes to your main branch to trigger the workflow. Monitor progress in Actions tab of your GitHub repository. Check the Jobs section for detailed logs. Verify your application is running by visiting your Droplet's IP address or domain.