Strut

strut — VPS Stack Management

strut is a Bash CLI for managing Docker Compose stacks on VPS infrastructure. Commands follow the shape:

strut   [--env ] [options]

--env selects the environment file ..env (e.g. --env prod reads .prod.env). Most commands run against a VPS over SSH; some run locally.

Command Quick Reference

# Deploy & release
strut  release --env prod          # update repo → migrate → deploy → verify (on VPS)
strut  deploy  --env prod          # deploy containers (local, or VPS if VPS_HOST set)
strut  rebuild --env prod          # build images on target + deploy
strut  stop    --env prod          # stop containers
strut  rollback --env prod         # restore previous deploy snapshot

# Inspect
strut  status  --env prod          # container status
strut  health  --env prod --json   # health checks
strut  logs  --follow --env prod
strut  diff    --env prod          # preview pending changes vs VPS
strut fleet status                        # git sync state across all [hosts]

# Data
strut  backup all --env prod       # backup all databases
strut  restore  --dry-run    # rehearse a restore (non-destructive)
strut  db:pull --env prod          # pull prod data to local

# Drift & secrets
strut  drift detect --env prod     # config drift vs git
strut  drift images --env prod     # stale container image digests
strut  secrets push --env prod     # sync .env to VPS
strut  keys db:rotate postgres --env prod

# Infrastructure
strut  domain example.com admin@example.com --env prod
strut audit  [user] [ssh-key]   # discover what's running on a VPS
strut migrate                   # interactive migration wizard

When to Read Each Reference

Load the relevant reference file for detailed, step-by-step procedures:

| Task | Reference | |------|-----------| | Deploying, releasing, updating, stopping services | [references/deployment.md](references/deployment.md) | | Diagnosing production issues, 502s, crashes, disk/DB problems | [references/debugging.md](references/debugging.md) | | Backing up or restoring databases, pulling prod data | [references/backups.md](references/backups.md) | | Detecting or fixing config drift, auto-fix, drift history | [references/drift.md](references/drift.md) | | Rotating SSH keys, API keys, DB passwords, env secrets | [references/secrets.md](references/secrets.md) | | Setting up Prometheus/Grafana/Alertmanager monitoring | [references/monitoring.md](references/monitoring.md) | | Configuring custom domains and SSL/TLS certificates | [references/domains-ssl.md](references/domains-ssl.md) | | Validating stack structure and config before deploy | [references/validation.md](references/validation.md) | | Auditing an existing VPS and migrating to strut | [references/migration.md](references/migration.md) |

Core Principles

1. Always --dry-run first for destructive commands (deploy, restore, drift fix, stop).
2. Back up before major changes: strut backup all --env prod.
3. Use release for VPS (runs remotely over SSH), not deploy (runs locally).
4. Make changes in git, not on the VPS — let deployments propagate; drift detection catches manual edits.
5. Health checks gate success — driven by services.conf; keep it current.

Environment Files

Per-environment .env files live at the project root (.prod.env, .staging.env). They contain literal KEY=VALUE pairs — shell expansion ($VAR, $(cmd)) is not evaluated (strut reads them with a safe parser, not source). Files are written mode 0600.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: gfargo
• Source: gfargo/skills
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://griffen.codes

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.