I built a CLI tool in Rust that allows you to deploy applications to a VPS with a single command.
Deploying to a VPS remains a daunting task for many developers.
This is especially true for newcomers who may not yet be comfortable with the Linux command line or server administration.
Although there are numerous tools that assist with deployments—such as Docker, Kubernetes, Ansible, or Terraform—they still require a steep learning curve and considerable configuration before you can use them effectively in production.
Crane CLI transforms these tedious, multi-step processes into a straightforward workflow, handling:
- Uploading application files to your VPS
- Provisioning and configuring databases
- Setting up a reverse proxy (with automated SSL/TLS certificate issuance)
- Automating database backups
- Configuring firewall rules
- Managing DNS records for your domain
All of this can be achieved simply by defining your requirements in crane.toml and running crane deploy.
Let’s Get Started
1. Install Crane CLI with a Single Command
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dreamoutbox/crane/master/install.sh | sh2. Create crane.toml in Your Project Directory
[[nodes]]name = "vps1"ssh_user = "root"ssh_ip = "127.0.0.1"ssh_port = 2221public_ip = "10.0.0.11"internal_ip = "10.0.0.11"roles = ["app", "haproxy", "postgres", "redis"]private_key = "path/to/id_ed25519"sudo_pass = "${SUDO_PASS_VPS1}"firewall_expose_port_range = ["2221", "80", "443", "3000-3100", "4000-4100"]
[[nodes]]name = "vps2"ssh_user = "root"ssh_ip = "127.0.0.1"ssh_port = 2222public_ip = "10.0.0.12"internal_ip = "10.0.0.12"roles = ["app", "haproxy", "postgres", "redis"]private_key = "path/to/id_ed25519"sudo_pass = "${SUDO_PASS_VPS2}"firewall_expose_port_range = ["2222", "80", "443", "3000-3100", "4000-4100"]
[[nodes]]name = "vps3"ssh_user = "root"ssh_ip = "127.0.0.1"ssh_port = 2223public_ip = "10.0.0.13"internal_ip = "10.0.0.13"roles = ["app", "haproxy", "postgres", "redis"]private_key = "path/to/id_ed25519"sudo_pass = "${SUDO_PASS_VPS3}"firewall_expose_port_range = ["2223", "80", "443", "3000-3100", "4000-4100"]
[[users]]name = "deployman"groups = ["www"]ssh_authorized_keys = ["path/to/id_ed25519.pub"]private_key = "path/to/id_ed25519"
[app.myapp]name = "myapp"# Setup Infodependencies = ["libssl3", "ca-certificates"]# Deploy Infodeploy_dir = "./examples"entrypoint = "./myapp"pre_deploy_script = "./startup.sh"deploy_user = "deployman"port_start = 3000port_end = 3100# Health Checkhealth_check_path = "/health"health_check_timeout = 10health_check_interval = 5# Domaindomain = "myapp.localhost"# Replicasinstances = 1# ENV for myapp[app.myapp.env]APP_ENV = "production"LOG_LEVEL = "debug"APP_NAME = "myapp"# Databases for myapp[[app.myapp.database]]databases = "mydb"user = "u1"
[db.postgres]enabled = trueminimal = falseversion = "18"replica_pass = "replica"
[db.postgres.backup]full_backup_every = "1h"incremental_backup_every = "30m"
[db.postgres.mydb]name = "mydb"
[[db.postgres.users]]state = "present"user = "u1"password = "u1"databases = ["mydb"]
[[db.postgres.users]]state = "present"user = "u2"password = "u2"databases = ["mydb"]
[backup.s3]enabled = truebucket = "crane1"region = "us-east-1"endpoint = "http://s3:9000"access_key_id = "${S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID}"secret_access_key = "${S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY}"
[domain]enabled = trueprovider = "cloudflare"domain_name = "localhost"token = "${CLOUDFLARE_TOKEN}"Configuration Explained
While most of the configuration options are self-explanatory, here are key points to note:
- Placeholders with
${...}allow Crane to inject values dynamically from environment variables in your.envfile. roles: Specifies the workloads assigned to each VPS node (e.g.,app,haproxy,postgres,redis). If a node has limited CPU and RAM, you can configure it to only run theapprole.[[users]]: Provisions designated system users on the target servers.deploy_dir: Local directory containing application files to upload.entrypoint: The application binary or executable to run.pre_deploy_script: A shell script executed on the VPS prior to launching deployment steps.deploy_user: The system user on the VPS running the application process.port_start/port_end: Port range allocated for application instances.instances: The number of application replica instances to launch.minimalunder[db.postgres]: When set totrue, provisions a single standalone PostgreSQL instance (suited for resource-constrained or single-node VPS environments). Whenfalse, provisions a High Availability cluster (using Patroni + etcd across all VPS nodes).enabledunder[domain]: When set tofalse, skips updating DNS records and ignores anydomainconfigurations in[app.*].
3. Deploy
Once your configuration is ready, simply run:
crane deployExample output logs:
Loading configuration from "./examples/crane.toml"
Installing dependencies on root@vps1 (port: 2221) ["unzip", "libssl3", "ca-certificates"]Installing dependencies on root@vps3 (port: 2223) ["unzip", "libssl3", "ca-certificates"]Installing dependencies on root@vps2 (port: 2222) ["unzip", "libssl3", "ca-certificates"] Generating self-signed certificate for SSL/TLS termination... Generating self-signed certificate for SSL/TLS termination... Update HAProxy config (at: /etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg) Update HAProxy config (at: /etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg) Generating self-signed certificate for SSL/TLS termination... Update HAProxy config (at: /etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg)
Configuring firewalls on all nodes... Setting up firewall on vps1... Setting up firewall on vps2... Setting up firewall on vps3...
======================================================== MIGRATION DETECTED: Minimal Standalone -> HA Cluster========================================================
Step 1/6: Verifying source PostgreSQL health on vps1...Step 2/6: Exporting full data dump to /tmp/crane_migration_minimal_to_cluster.sql...Step 3/6: Stopping standalone PostgreSQL service...Step 4/6: Archiving standalone data directory...Step 5/6: Deploying Patroni + etcd cluster across all nodes... S3 backup is disabled in [backup.s3]. Skipping automated backup cron setup.Configuring node vps1...Configuring node vps2...Configuring node vps3... Ensuring GnuPG and Curl are installed... Ensuring GnuPG and Curl are installed... Ensuring GnuPG and Curl are installed... Adding official PostgreSQL repository for version 18 Adding official PostgreSQL repository for version 18 Updating package lists... Updating package lists... Adding official PostgreSQL repository for version 18 Updating package lists... Installing postgresql-18, postgresql-client-18, python3-boto3 Installing postgresql-18, postgresql-client-18, python3-boto3 Installing postgresql-18, postgresql-client-18, python3-boto3 Enabling PostgreSQL service for boot... Starting PostgreSQL cluster... Creating PostgreSQL 18 main cluster... Setup etcd cluster on node vps1... etcd is already installed. Stopping and disabling standard PostgreSQL service on node vps1... Backing up old postgres data directory /var/lib/postgresql/18/main to /backup/1793599616/var/lib/postgresql/18/main Patroni is already installed. Create patroni config at /etc/patroni/config.yml Enabling PostgreSQL service for boot... Enabling PostgreSQL service for boot... Starting PostgreSQL cluster... Creating PostgreSQL 18 main cluster... Starting PostgreSQL cluster... Creating PostgreSQL 18 main cluster... Setup etcd cluster on node vps3... etcd is already installed. Stopping and disabling standard PostgreSQL service on node vps3... Setup etcd cluster on node vps2... etcd is already installed. Stopping and disabling standard PostgreSQL service on node vps2... Backing up old postgres data directory /var/lib/postgresql/18/main to /backup/1793599619/var/lib/postgresql/18/main Backing up old postgres data directory /var/lib/postgresql/18/main to /backup/1793599619/var/lib/postgresql/18/main Patroni is already installed. Patroni is already installed. Create patroni config at /etc/patroni/config.yml Create patroni config at /etc/patroni/config.yml Starting etcd service on node vps3 ... Starting etcd service on node vps2 ... Starting etcd service on node vps1 ... Waiting for etcd ready on all nodes... Etcd cluster ready. Starting Patroni on node vps1... Patroni started successfully on node vps1 Waiting for leader Patroni REST API to become healthy... Setting up automated cron backups on node vps1... Starting Patroni on node vps2... Starting Patroni on node vps3... Patroni started successfully on node vps2 Setting up automated cron backups on node vps2... Patroni started successfully on node vps3 Setting up automated cron backups on node vps3... Waiting for Patroni leader election... Discovered Patroni leader at node: vps1 Replicas: ["vps2", "vps3"]
Provisioning PostgreSQL databases and users on Patroni leader...
Setting up database 'mydb'... user u1 state is present Setting up user 'u1'... Granting access for user 'u1' to database 'mydb'...
Polling PostgreSQL cluster health... PostgreSQL cluster health check completed (took 2s)Step 6/6: Importing database dump into Patroni leader...
Migration Minimal -> Cluster completed successfully!
User deployman created successfully User deployman created successfully [myapp] Register Service: Path=/etc/systemd/system/myapp@.service User=deployman WorkingDirectory=/app/myapp ExecStart=/app/myapp/myapp EnvFile=/app_config/myapp/%i/.env User deployman created successfully [myapp] Register Service: Path=/etc/systemd/system/myapp@.service User=deployman WorkingDirectory=/app/myapp ExecStart=/app/myapp/myapp EnvFile=/app_config/myapp/%i/.env User deployman created successfully [myapp] Register Service: Path=/etc/systemd/system/myapp@.service User=deployman WorkingDirectory=/app/myapp ExecStart=/app/myapp/myapp EnvFile=/app_config/myapp/%i/.env
Starting deployment for app 'myapp' (ID: myapp)...
[myapp] Deploying to node vps1: root@127.0.0.1 (port: 2221) [myapp] Running pre-deploy script 'startup.sh'... [myapp] Deploying instance on port 3000 ... [myapp] polling health check on port 3000... [myapp] instance on port 3000 is healthy! Updating /etc/hosts on node vps1...
[myapp] Deploying to node vps2: root@127.0.0.1 (port: 2222) [myapp] Running pre-deploy script 'startup.sh'... [myapp] Deploying instance on port 3000 ... [myapp] polling health check on port 3000... [myapp] instance on port 3000 is healthy! Updating /etc/hosts on node vps2...
[myapp] Deploying to node vps3: root@127.0.0.1 (port: 2223) [myapp] Running pre-deploy script 'startup.sh'... [myapp] Deploying instance on port 3000 ... [myapp] polling health check on port 3000... [myapp] instance on port 3000 is healthy!
DEPLOY COMPLETE (60 secs)
Domain management is disabled. Skipping DNS update.Note: The initial deployment takes around ~50–60 seconds as it downloads packages and initializes the cluster; subsequent runs are significantly faster.
Inspecting System Status
Check system and service health with:
crane statusExample Output
NODE:
vps1 Public IP: 10.0.0.11 Internal IP: 10.0.0.11 SSH Port: 2221 CPU Usage: 3.9% Memory: 6483 MB / 11958 MB (54.2%) Disk (/): 11G / 1007G (2%) Network: - eth0: Rx: 159.66 MB (7.2 KB/s), Tx: 140.10 MB (20.7 KB/s)
vps2 Public IP: 10.0.0.12 Internal IP: 10.0.0.12 SSH Port: 2222 CPU Usage: 5.1% Memory: 6482 MB / 11958 MB (54.2%) Disk (/): 11G / 1007G (2%) Network: - eth0: Rx: 182.06 MB (6.2 KB/s), Tx: 6.09 MB (19.6 KB/s)
vps3 Public IP: 10.0.0.13 Internal IP: 10.0.0.13 SSH Port: 2223 CPU Usage: 1.7% Memory: 6483 MB / 11958 MB (54.2%) Disk (/): 11G / 1007G (2%) Network: - eth0: Rx: 186.80 MB (3.2 KB/s), Tx: 6.28 MB (16.6 KB/s)
APP:
myapp: External URL: http://10.0.0.11 Port Range: 3000-3100 Overall Status: HEALTHY
myapp@1 (vps1) (Port 3000) Active 200 OK myapp@2 (vps2) (Port 3000) Active 200 OK myapp@3 (vps3) (Port 3000) Active 200 OKIn a single dashboard view, you can inspect node hardware utilization (CPU, RAM, Disk, Network) along with application health check statuses across every VPS.
Inspecting Application Logs
View logs from individual applications with:
crane logs <app>Example Output
[myapp@1] Started myapp@3000.service - crane managed: myapp instance on port 3000.[myapp@1] _______ __[myapp@1] / ____(_) /_ ___ _____[myapp@1] / /_ / / __ \/ _ \/ ___/[myapp@1] / __/ / / /_/ / __/ /[myapp@1] /_/ /_/_.___/\___/_/ v3.3.0[myapp@1] --------------------------------------------------[myapp@1] INFO Server started on: http://127.0.0.1:3000 (bound on host 0.0.0.0 and port 3000)[myapp@1] INFO Total handlers: 14[myapp@1] INFO Prefork: Disabled[myapp@1] INFO PID: 4448[myapp@1] INFO Total process count: 1[myapp@2] Started myapp@3000.service - crane managed: myapp instance on port 3000.[myapp@2] _______ __[myapp@2] / ____(_) /_ ___ _____[myapp@2] / /_ / / __ \/ _ \/ ___/[myapp@2] / __/ / / /_/ / __/ /[myapp@2] /_/ /_/_.___/\___/_/ v3.3.0[myapp@2] --------------------------------------------------[myapp@2] INFO Server started on: http://127.0.0.1:3000 (bound on host 0.0.0.0 and port 3000)[myapp@2] INFO Total handlers: 14[myapp@2] INFO Prefork: Disabled[myapp@2] INFO PID: 3730[myapp@2] INFO Total process count: 1[myapp@3] Started myapp@3000.service - crane managed: myapp instance on port 3000.[myapp@3] _______ __[myapp@3] / ____(_) /_ ___ _____[myapp@3] / /_ / / __ \/ _ \/ ___/[myapp@3] / __/ / / /_/ / __/ /[myapp@3] /_/ /_/_.___/\___/_/ v3.3.0[myapp@3] --------------------------------------------------[myapp@3] INFO Server started on: http://127.0.0.1:3000 (bound on host 0.0.0.0 and port 3000)[myapp@3] INFO Total handlers: 14[myapp@3] INFO Prefork: Disabled[myapp@3] INFO PID: 3672[myapp@3] INFO Total process count: 1Managing PostgreSQL
Checking PostgreSQL Cluster Status
crane pg statusExample Output
Mode: Cluster (Patroni + etcd HA)
HAProxyPrimary: vps1:5000Replicas: vps2:5000,vps3:5000Status: Healthy
vps1Address: 127.0.0.1:2221Role: LeaderDB version: 18Status: Healthy
vps2Address: 127.0.0.1:2222Role: FollowerDB version: 18Status: Healthy
vps3Address: 127.0.0.1:2223Role: FollowerDB version: 18Status: HealthyBacking Up the Database
crane pg backup fullStarting PostgreSQL backup FULL ...
Running pg_basebackup command: sudo -u postgres PGPASSWORD='replica' /usr/lib/postgresql/18/bin/pg_basebackup -h localhost -U replicator -D /var/lib/postgresql/backups/20261102061827455 -F t -X s -c fast --manifest-checksums=sha256
Running pg_verifybackup command: sudo -u postgres /usr/lib/postgresql/18/bin/pg_verifybackup /var/lib/postgresql/backups/20261102061827455_verifySwitched to new WAL. Switched segment filename: 000000010000000000000007archive_mode = onarchive_command = cp %p /var/lib/postgresql/wal_archive/%fWAL segment 000000010000000000000007 archived (immediate copy).
BACKUP ID: 20261102061827455 DATETIME: 2026-11-02 06:18:27.455 completed
Backup successful!
ID: 20261102061827455Date: 2026-11-02Time: 06:18:27.455Type: FULLLOCAL: /var/lib/postgresql/backups/20261102061827455S3: crane1/backups/20261102061827455Listing Backups
crane pg listID: 20261101232904673Date: 2026-11-01Time: 23:29:04.673Type: FULLLabel: full2LOCAL: /var/lib/postgresql/backups/20261101232904673S3: crane1/backups/20261101232904673
ID: 20261101232908146Date: 2026-11-01Time: 23:29:08.146Type: INCRLabel: incr2LOCAL: /var/lib/postgresql/backups/20261101232908146S3: crane1/backups/20261101232908146
ID: 20261102061827455Date: 2026-11-02Time: 06:18:27.455Type: FULLLabel: UnnamedLOCAL: /var/lib/postgresql/backups/20261102061827455S3: crane1/backups/20261102061827455Restoring the Database
crane pg restore 20261102061827455Start restore: target_backup_id=20261102061827455 base_id=NONE pitr_time=NONE
Backup chain to restore: - ID: 20261102061827455 (FULL)Restoring database to backup ID: 20261102061827455
Stopping Patroni/PostgreSQL on node vps2 for restoreStopping Patroni/PostgreSQL on node vps1 for restoreStopping Patroni/PostgreSQL on node vps3 for restore
Clearing Etcd DCS cluster state... Cleared postgres data on node vps2 Cleared postgres data on node vps1 Cleared postgres data on node vps3Starting Patroni on primary node vps1...Waiting a node to become Patroni leader...Starting Patroni on replica node vps2...Starting Patroni on replica node vps3...Waiting for all nodes to join the cluster...Restore complete!Simple as That!!
Pull Requests are Welcome!
If you have ideas, feature suggestions, or optimizations to contribute, feel free to open an Issue or submit a Pull Request to the repository.