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Deploy a folder (CLI and MCP)

You don’t need a Git repository to deploy. The hivepod CLI packs up a folder and sends it to Drone.

Terminal window
cd my-app
hivepod deploy
✓ Uploaded 42 files (1.2 MB) — deploying my-app
drone  Reading your code
...
✓ Live https://brave-space-k3x9.dockhive.app

Run hivepod deploy again from the same folder to update the same app. See hivepod deploy for every option, including --env, --root and --new.

From an AI coding tool

Section titled “From an AI coding tool”

The DockHive MCP server (hivepod mcp) gives tools such as Claude Code and Cursor a deploy tool. Ask your assistant to “deploy this folder to DockHive”. See MCP server.

What gets uploaded

Section titled “What gets uploaded”

The CLI leaves out:

  • version control folders (.git), dependency folders (node_modules, .venv, venv), and caches such as __pycache__ and .next/cache,
  • dist/ and build/ folders larger than 20 MB,
  • anything matched by .gitignore or a .dockhiveignore file in the folder’s root,
  • secrets, always: .env files (except .env.example, .env.sample and .env.template), private keys and certificates such as *.pem, *.key, id_rsa* and *.p12.

Set your secrets as environment variables instead (hivepod deploy --env KEY=value).

Limits

Section titled “Limits”
  • 50 MB compressed per upload, and 500 MB unpacked.
  • At most 20,000 files and folders.
  • Links (symlinks) aren’t allowed in the upload.

If the upload is too large, list folders you don’t need in a .dockhiveignore file (same syntax as .gitignore).

Uploaded apps vs GitHub apps

Section titled “Uploaded apps vs GitHub apps”
  • An app deployed from a folder can’t be rebuilt with the console’s Redeploy button; deploy the folder again.
  • Push to deploy needs a GitHub repository.
  • Deploying a folder to an app that came from GitHub switches it to uploaded code and turns push to deploy off.