Server Lifecycle

This page explains how Shipper manages server provisioning per profile.

Overview

Server lifecycle support lets a profile:

reuse an existing server
create a managed server on demand
destroy or retain managed servers after temporary environments are cleaned up

Example

projects:
  api:
    provider: hosting
    profiles:
      production:
        branch: main
        domain: "api.example.com"
        infrastructure:
          server:
            mode: existing
            server_id: 1337

      preview:
        branch: "${GITHUB_HEAD_REF}"
        domain: "api-preview-${GITHUB_PR_NUMBER}.example.com"
        infrastructure:
          server:
            mode: create
            name: "api-preview-${GITHUB_PR_NUMBER}"
            cleanup: destroy

Modes

`existing`

Reuse a known server.

`create`

Provision a managed server for the environment.

Cleanup Policies

`destroy`

Remove a managed server when teardown is allowed and the server belongs to the deployment flow.

`retain`

Keep the server after teardown.

`manual`

Require explicit operator cleanup.

Provider Differences

Server provisioning is not universal. Confirm support and exact fields on the provider page.

Failure Modes

assuming all providers can provision servers: verify feature support first
using destroy cleanup for long-lived environments: prefer existing or retain
missing ownership boundary for temporary infrastructure: review resource lifecycle expectations before cleanup