Using the Hylius Dashboard
The Hylius Dashboard is a web-based control panel for managing your servers, projects, deployments, and environment variables — all in one place. It complements the CLI by providing a visual interface for the same workflows.
Overview
After signing up and logging in, you'll land on the Dashboard page. From here you can:
- Connect VPS servers to Hylius
- Add projects (manually or imported from GitHub)
- Provision servers with Docker in one click
- Trigger deployments and watch live logs in a terminal
- Manage environment variables, domains, and databases
- View deployment history with status, commit hash, and duration
The sidebar navigation includes:
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Dashboard | Your servers and projects overview |
| Deployments | Trigger deploys, view live logs, and browse history |
| Billing | Manage your plan, payment methods, and invoices |
1. Connecting a Server
Before you can deploy anything, connect your VPS to Hylius.
Step 1 — Click "Add Server"
From the Dashboard, click the + Add Server button in the top-right corner.
Step 2 — Fill in server details
The Connect New Server modal will ask for:
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Server Name | A friendly label for this VPS | My Production VPS |
| IP Address | The public IP of your server | 203.0.113.42 |
| Port | SSH port (usually 22) | 22 |
| Username | SSH user | root |
| Private Key | Paste the full contents of your SSH private key | -----BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY-----... |
Click Connect Server and Hylius will verify the connection.
Step 3 — Provision the server
Once connected, click the Provision button on the server card. This opens a live terminal that runs hylius setup on your VPS — installing Docker, Railpack, and configuring the firewall, all in real-time.
You only need to provision once per server.
2. Adding a Project
Each project represents one application deployed to one server. You can add projects manually or import them directly from GitHub.
Manual Mode
Click + Project on any server card, then fill in:
| Field | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Project Name | Name for this project | ✅ |
| Repository URL | Git clone URL | ✅ |
| Branch | Git branch to deploy | No (defaults to main) |
| Deploy Path | Path on the VPS where the app lives | ✅ |
| Build Command | Custom build command | No |
| Start Command | Custom start command | No |
Import from GitHub
Click the Import from GitHub tab to connect your GitHub account via the Hylius GitHub App. Once installed, you'll see a searchable list of your repositories.
Select a repo and Hylius will auto-fill: - Project name (from the repo name) - Repository URL (the git clone URL) - Branch (the default branch) - Deploy path (/var/www/)
Deployment Strategy
When importing from GitHub, you can choose a deployment strategy:
| Strategy | How it works |
|---|---|
| Build on Server (Auto-detect) | Clones the repo on your VPS and builds with Docker Compose, Dockerfile, or Railpack |
| Build on Server (Docker Compose) | Uses docker compose up -d --build on the server |
| Build with Dagger (Recommended) | Builds on GitHub Actions via Dagger, pushes to GHCR, and deploys to your VPS with zero CPU load |
| Build on GitHub Actions (Native Docker) | Builds a Docker image on GitHub Actions and pushes to GHCR |
| Build on GitHub Actions (Docker Compose) | Same as above but uses Docker Compose |
For the Dagger and GitHub Actions strategies, Hylius will automatically: 1. Generate a deployment API token 2. Open a Pull Request in your GitHub repo with the CI/CD workflow files 3. Provide you with the HYLIUS_WEBHOOK_URL and HYLIUS_API_TOKEN to add as GitHub Secrets
3. Deploying from the Dashboard
One-Click Deploy
Navigate to the Deployments page from the sidebar. You'll see:
- A project selector dropdown at the top
- A Deploy Now button
- A Live Console terminal
- A Deployment History sidebar
Select a project and click Deploy Now. The live console will stream real-time build and deploy logs — just like running hylius deploy in your terminal, but from your browser.
Automatic Deploys (CI/CD)
If you set up a GitHub-integrated deployment strategy (Dagger, GHCR, or Compose Registry), every push to your main branch will:
- Trigger a build on GitHub Actions
- Push the Docker image to GitHub Container Registry (GHCR)
- Send a webhook to the Hylius Dashboard
- The Dashboard pulls the new image onto your VPS and performs an atomic zero-downtime deploy
You can watch this happen in real-time on the Deployments page.
4. Server Details & Management
Click a server name (or View Details) on the Dashboard to access the server detail page. From here you can manage:
Projects
View all projects deployed to this server. Each project card shows: - Project name and status - Repository URL and branch - Last deployment info
Environment Variables
Click on a project to open the Environment Variables editor. You can: - Add, edit, and remove environment variables - Variables are securely stored in the Hylius database - For Dagger/GitHub Actions builds, env vars are fetched at build time via the /api/webhooks/env endpoint
Domains
Manage custom domains for your projects through the Domain Manager. Configure: - Custom domain names - SSL/TLS settings - Reverse proxy configuration
Databases
The Database Manager lets you provision and manage databases for your projects.
Monitoring & Metrics
The server detail page includes live charts for: - CPU usage - Memory usage - Disk usage - Network I/O
Container Logs
View real-time container logs from any running project using the built-in Project Logs Terminal. This streams docker logs output directly to your browser.
5. GitHub Integration
Hylius integrates with GitHub via a GitHub App. This enables:
- Repository import — browse and select repos directly from the dashboard
- Automatic CI/CD — Hylius can open PRs with deployment workflows
- Webhook-based deploys — GitHub Actions notifies Hylius when a build completes
Setting Up GitHub Integration
- Go to the Add Project modal and select Import from GitHub
- Click Connect GitHub — this redirects you to install the Hylius GitHub App
- Authorize the app for your account/organization
- Return to the dashboard and your repositories will appear
The integration requires no personal access tokens — it uses the GitHub App's installation token, which is automatically managed.
6. API Tokens
The Dashboard provides an API token system for authenticating CI/CD pipelines and webhooks:
- Tokens are generated automatically when you select a Dagger or GHCR deployment strategy
- You can also manually generate tokens from the dashboard
- Tokens are used as the
HYLIUS_API_TOKENsecret in GitHub Actions
Dashboard vs. CLI
Both tools manage the same infrastructure. Use whichever fits your workflow:
| Feature | Dashboard | CLI |
|---|---|---|
| Add servers | ✅ UI form | ✅ hylius setup |
| Deploy apps | ✅ One-click + live logs | ✅ hylius deploy |
| GitHub import | ✅ Built-in | ❌ |
| Env var management | ✅ Visual editor | ❌ (manual .env files) |
| Deployment history | ✅ Visual timeline | ❌ |
| CI/CD workflow generation | ✅ Auto-PR to GitHub | ✅ hylius ci-generate |
| Server metrics | ✅ CPU/RAM/Disk charts | ❌ |
| Container logs | ✅ Live in browser | ❌ (SSH manually) |
| Domain management | ✅ Built-in | ❌ |
| Database management | ✅ Built-in | ❌ |