Deploy
Also called deployment, publish, or ship
Building your app and publishing it to servers so anyone can use it at a public URL. Each deploy puts a new version live.
Get the app ready to deploy: move every API key and secret into environment variables, make sure the production build passes, and read the database URL from the environment. Then list every variable I need to set on the host.
Paste into Layerwise or any AI coding tool.
What is Deploy?
Deploying turns the project on your computer into a live app. The tool builds optimized files, uploads them with any server code, connects the production database and secrets, and points a public URL at the new version.
Each deploy creates a release. Good hosting keeps earlier releases, so you can roll back in seconds if the new one breaks. Production also needs its own environment variables, such as API keys, which live in the hosting settings and stay out of the code.
Test the important paths in the preview before you deploy, and check the live site afterward. In Layerwise, Publish creates a production release with its database, sign-in, and backend logs, and earlier releases stay ready for instant rollback.
Often confused with
- Live preview
- A live preview is a private copy running on your computer while you build. A deploy puts a version online for everyone.
Related terms
All termsLive preview
A running copy of your app beside the code or chat that updates as soon as a file is saved, so you see each change without reloading.
Checkpoint
A snapshot of your project that an AI coding tool saves as it works, so you can rewind the code to an earlier point when a change goes wrong.
Git commit
A saved snapshot of a project in Git with a short message describing the change. Commits form a history you can compare, review, and restore.
Frontend and backend
The two halves of a web app: the frontend runs in the browser and draws what you see, and the backend runs on a server and handles data.
Build it with Layerwise
Describe your app, watch it run in a live preview, and publish it with a database, storage, and sign-in built in.