Starlight Hyperlift initial set up

Starlight™ Hyperlift is the cloud deployment platform that lets you focus on your product, not infrastructure. All you need to do is specify the Dockerfile path, and Hyperlift pulls your code from GitHub. It then builds and deploys a container image, so you can send your product live.

If you do not yet have a full production application, we have prepared a test Starlight™ Hyperlift deployment using a sample repository. This allows you to quickly test the build and deployment process before moving to your production environment.

Starting with Hyperlift is quick and easy. If you do need a little help, we’ve prepared this video to guide you through each step, from specifying your Dockerfile path to sending your project live.

How to set up Hyperlift

To get your app up and running, you will need:

1. Go to Starlight Hyperlift Manager and connect your GitHub repository.

2. Add a Dockerfile to the specified repository. It must start with a valid base image.
   
   Hyperlift relies on a proper Dockerfile as the blueprint for your application. It allows you to install packages, add files, and set up the environment based on your app’s needs.
   
   Feel free to refer to the official Dockerfile documentation for guidance.
   
   NB! For opening a port for the application, please use the environment variables instead of exposing it in the Dockerfile.
   

3. After the connection to the GitHub account is established, you will be redirected to the Hyperlift Manager menu.  There, the setup side panel will open automatically, and you can continue the configuration:
   
   

   

   
   
   The same side panel can also be accessed from the Hyperlift Manager menu > Setup:
   
   

   

   
   

4. When the application is set up, you can build it and then deploy. To start building the application, click on the Build button:
   
   

   

   
   
   After the process finishes successfully, the deployment starts automatically. The billing activates at this point. The corresponding information is displayed in the following notification: 
   
   

   

   
   

5. After everything is set up and the application is running, you may start, stop, or restart the application as needed:
   
   

   

The Hyperlift Manager split menu

It is also possible to manage the Hyperlift application from the split menu. The following menus are available from there:

• Environment variables - Store settings like API keys, database URLs, ports, and configuration details.
  
  NB: The default Hyperlift application port is 8080, but you can use this menu to change and update it accordingly.
  
  

• Application settings - Here you can adjust settings like application name, GitHub repository, repository branch, and the application Dockerfile path.

• Authentication instructions - This redirects to the “How to connect a GitHub repository to Starlight Hyperlift” guide.

• Application logs -  Logs collected during the application runtime will be shown there.

• Connections - View active connections (domains, SSL certificates, etc.) installed for the Hyperlift subscription.
  

Automatic Builds

You can also choose whether builds are triggered manually and automatically. 

With the automatic build settings, every time you push code to the specified branch, Hyperlift will automatically build and deploy your app from GitHub using your Dockerfile.

To enable this during the application configuration stage, go to the Hyperlift Manager menu > Application settings > Set up application. From here, you can toggle Automatic builds on or off:

If the “Automatic build” option is disabled (the corresponding toggle is off), then manual build is set up, and no automatic application updates are made.

Recommendations

• Use small, efficient base images for Dockerfile.

• Tag base image versions explicitly (e.g., python:3.12).

• Set environment variables in the corresponding menu of Starlight Hyperlift.

• Monitor build and application logs.