SSH Deployment

"Push to deploy. If it breaks, push to revert."

TL;DR

Deploys to Hostinger shared hosting via SSH+Git as an alternative to FTP/SFTP. Sets up SSH key authentication, bare Git repository on the server with post-receive hook for automatic deployment, and rollback via git revert. Covers key management, connection security, and .ssh/config for convenience. Falls back to SFTP if SSH is unavailable on the Hostinger plan. [EXPLICIT]

Procedure

Step 1: Discover

• Verify Hostinger plan supports SSH access (Business plan and above)
• Check if SSH is enabled in Hostinger control panel (Advanced → SSH Access)
• Identify server hostname, port (typically 65002 for Hostinger), and username
• Check if Git is available on the remote server (ssh user@host "git --version")
• If SSH unavailable, fall back to hostinger-deployment skill (FTP/SFTP)

Step 2: Analyze

• Choose deployment strategy:
  • Option A: SSH + Git bare repo with post-receive hook (recommended for automated deploys)
  • Option B: SSH + rsync (for non-git projects)
  • Option C: SFTP upload (fallback if SSH unavailable)
• Plan SSH key management: generate Ed25519 key pair, add to Hostinger
• Design post-receive hook: pull, build (if needed), symlink to public_html
• Plan rollback: git revert HEAD + push triggers automatic rollback

Step 3: Execute

• Generate SSH key pair (if not exists):

  ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "deploy@jm-adk" -f ~/.ssh/hostinger_deploy
  

• Add public key to Hostinger (SSH Access panel or ~/.ssh/authorized_keys)
• Configure ~/.ssh/config:

  Host hostinger
    HostName {server-ip}
    Port 65002
    User {username}
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/hostinger_deploy
    StrictHostKeyChecking accept-new
  

• Test connection: ssh hostinger "echo ok"
• Set up bare Git repo on server:

  ssh hostinger "git init --bare ~/deploy.git"
  

• Create post-receive hook:

  ssh hostinger "cat > ~/deploy.git/hooks/post-receive << 'HOOK'
  #!/bin/bash
  GIT_WORK_TREE=~/public_html git checkout -f main
  echo \"Deployed at \$(date)\"
  HOOK
  chmod +x ~/deploy.git/hooks/post-receive"
  

• Add remote and push:

  git remote add deploy hostinger:~/deploy.git
  git push deploy main
  

• For projects with build step, extend the hook:

  GIT_WORK_TREE=~/public_html git checkout -f main
  cd ~/public_html && npm ci && npm run build
  

Step 4: Validate

• ssh hostinger "echo ok" succeeds without password prompt
• git push deploy main triggers automatic deployment
• Site loads correctly at https://yourdomain.com after push
• Rollback works: git revert HEAD && git push deploy main
• SSH key has no passphrase (for CI automation) OR passphrase is managed by ssh-agent
• .ssh/config file permissions are correct (600)

Quality Criteria

• SSH connection works without password (key-based auth)
• Post-receive hook deploys automatically on push
• Site loads correctly after deployment
• Rollback via git revert + push works
• SSH key permissions are secure (600 for private key)
• .ssh/config configured for convenience
• Falls back to SFTP if SSH unavailable
• No credentials stored in repository
• Evidence tags applied to all claims

Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern	Why It's Bad	Do This Instead
Password-based SSH login	Insecure, can't automate	Use Ed25519 key pair
Storing SSH key in repo	Credential exposure	Use ~/.ssh/ with proper permissions
No rollback plan	Broken deploys stay broken	Always test git revert + push
Ignoring port number	Hostinger uses non-standard SSH port	Check panel for correct port (often 65002)
Skip connection test	Discover errors at deploy time	Always ssh host "echo ok" first

Related Skills

• hostinger-deployment — FTP/SFTP deployment (fallback)
• firebase-deployment — Firebase Hosting deployment (alternative target)
• github-actions-ci — Automate SSH deployment in CI pipeline
• deployment-checklist — Pre-deploy quality gates

Usage

Example invocations:

• "/ssh-deployment" — Run the full ssh deployment workflow
• "ssh deployment on this project" — Apply to current context

Assumptions & Limits

• Assumes access to project artifacts (code, docs, configs) [EXPLICIT]
• Requires English-language output unless otherwise specified [EXPLICIT]
• Does not replace domain expert judgment for final decisions [EXPLICIT]

Edge Cases

Scenario	Handling
Empty or minimal input	Request clarification before proceeding
Conflicting requirements	Flag conflicts explicitly, propose resolution
Out-of-scope request	Redirect to appropriate skill or escalate