Publishing over FTP works, until the day you forget a file. With Git, deployment becomes the same sequence every time: pull the code, install the dependencies, restart. On a PHP site, copying files is enough; on a Node.js or Python application the last two steps are missing, and that is where deployments fail. This article puts the sequence in order, for cPanel and for a VPS.
The sequence, and what each step does
| Step |
Node.js |
Python |
| 1. Pull the code |
git pull |
git pull |
| 2. Install the dependencies |
npm ci (in cPanel, “Run NPM Install”) |
pip install -r requirements.txt (in cPanel, “Run Pip Install”) |
| 3. Build, if needed |
npm run build |
In Django: python manage.py migrate and collectstatic |
| 4. Restart |
The application’s button (cPanel), or pm2 restart name (VPS) |
The application’s button (cPanel), or sudo systemctl restart name (VPS) |
In cPanel
| 1 |
Create the repository in the account with cPanel’s version control tool, or with git clone in Terminal, in a folder outside the public folder. A private repository needs the server to have access: see the warning below. The tool’s walk-through, and why .git never stays in view, is in publishing your site from a repository.
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| 2 |
Use that folder as the application root in “Setup Node.js App” or “Setup Python App”. That way git pull updates exactly what the application runs.
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| 3 |
Enter the application’s environment (the command is at the top of the screen), then pull and install: git pull
npm ci
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| 4 |
Restart with the button on the application screen. Without the restart, the application keeps serving the old code.
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On a VPS: a deployment script
On a VPS you write the sequence once, in a file, and run it with a single command. Example for a Node.js application with PM2 (adapt the folders and the name):#!/bin/bash
set -e
cd /home/appuser/app
git pull --ff-only
npm ci
npm run build
pm2 restart my-appset -e makes the script stop at the first error, so it does not restart an application halfway through a failed install. For Python, swap the middle lines for .venv/bin/pip install -r requirements.txt and restart the service with sudo systemctl restart name.
Private repository: use a read-only key. Do not put your Git password on the server. Create an SSH key pair on the server (ssh-keygen -t ed25519) and register the public key as a read-only “deploy key” on the service that hosts the repository. If the key leaks, all it can do is read one repository. And never put .env, node_modules or the virtual environment in the repository.
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To roll back, Git keeps the history: git log --oneline lists the versions and git checkout identifier goes back to one (then install and restart as above). If you deploy often, test on a subdomain first. Variables and secrets stay out of the code: environment variables and secrets.
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