Using Git Deploy Keys for automating remote deployments

You can use Git Deploy Keys to avoid needing to remote onto servers, pull, enter creds and restart the server.

1. Create your deploy keys in git (see https://help.github.com/articles/managing-deploy-keys)
2. Add the key to your server
   • If you have multiple projects you will need to config your ssh keys specifically for each project (see http://nerderati.com/2011/03/simplify-your-life-with-an-ssh-config-file/)
   • vim ~/user/.ssh/config
   • Host github-project1
   •     User git
   •     HostName github.com
   •     IdentityFile ~/.ssh/github.project1.key
3. Git clone/set remote for project via ssh
   • git clone git@github-project1:orgname/some_repository.git
4. Write scripts to start/stop/pull your app
5. Call the script remotely via ssh
   • ssh user@99.99.99.99 'source ~/.bash_profile;
     ~/user/myscript.sh'

Traps:

• use user "git" in /.ssh/config for the host reference, otherwise github will reject requests
• include 'source ~/.bash_profile' (or .bashrc, /etc/profile) in your script call to include environmental variables (ssh uses a very limited set by default)