Skip to main content

​
What It Does

Once your application is deployed, Monk can set up continuous deployment so every code change automatically updates your running application. No writing GitHub Actions workflows, no configuring secrets, no container registry setup. Just tell Monk to set up CI, and your application will auto-deploy on every push to main.

​
How to Set It Up

​
Trigger CI/CD Setup

After your application is deployed, chat with Monk in your IDE: You: set up CI/CD for this project Monk will guide you through the setup process. CICD

​
Prerequisites

Before setting up CI/CD, you need:
  1. GitHub repository - Your project must be in a GitHub repo
  2. Deployed application - Your project must already be deployed and running
  3. GitHub PAT (optional) - Generate a Personal Access Token for Monk to automate the setup ß
Without a PAT: Monk will generate the necessary files and guide you through manual GitHub configuration. With a PAT: Monk handles everything automatically, including secure injection of deployment keys.

​
How It Works

​
Step 1: Configuration

Once you ask Monk to configure CI and code analysis completes, Monk:
  1. Generates GitHub Action workflow - Creates .github/workflows/deploy.yml
  2. Configures intelligent rebuilds - Only rebuilds components that changed:

​
Step 2: Deployment Keys

If you provided a GitHub PAT:
  • Monk securely injects deployment keys into your repository secrets
  • Everything is configured automatically
  • You just commit and push
If you didn’t provide a PAT:
  • Monk generates the necessary secrets
  • Provides step-by-step instructions for manual GitHub configuration
  • Shows you exactly where to paste each secret

​
Step 3: Activation

  1. Review the changes - Monk shows you the generated workflow file
  2. Commit and push - The changes go into your repository
  3. Automatic from now on - Every push to main updates your deployment

​
The Build Process

The CI job mirrors what happened during initial deployment: On every push to main branch:
  1. Code analysis - Monk analyzes what changed
  2. Configuration update - Updates service configuration if needed
  3. Container rebuild - Rebuilds containers for modified services
  4. Zero-downtime deployment - Monk’s orchestrator updates running services without interruption
  5. Verification - Tests that updated services are healthy
Smart rebuilds:
  • Changed frontend → Rebuilds and redeploys frontend only
  • Changed API code → Rebuilds API container, rolling update in production
  • Changed worker → Rebuilds worker container, replaces instances
  • No code changes → Skips unnecessary builds

​
What Makes This Different

Traditional CI/CD setup requires:
  • Writing GitHub Actions/Jenkins/CircleCI workflows
  • Configuring Docker registry credentials
  • Setting up deployment keys and secrets
  • Managing environment-specific configurations
  • Writing build scripts for each service
  • Configuring health checks and rollback strategies
  • Setting up multi-stage deployments
With Monk: Ask for CI/CD setup once. Every push deploys automatically.

​
Currently Supported

CI/CD Platform:
  • ✅ GitHub Actions - Fully supported
Coming soon:
  • Jenkins
  • GitLab CI/CD
  • Bitbucket Pipelines
  • Azure DevOps
Need a different platform? Let us know! Monk’s architecture makes it straightforward to add support for additional CI/CD platforms.

​
Zero Configuration Benefits

What Monk handles automatically:
  • ✅ No container registry configuration needed
  • ✅ No secrets management required (beyond optional GitHub PAT)
  • ✅ No GitHub Actions workflow writing
  • ✅ No deployment script creation
  • ✅ No rollback strategy configuration
  • ✅ No health check setup
The deployment pipeline uses Monk’s built-in:
  • Private container registry - Already configured during initial deployment
  • Orchestrator - Handles zero-downtime updates automatically
  • Security - Deployment keys stored securely in GitHub secrets

​
Key Capabilities

  • Automatic workflow generation - GitHub Actions created for you
  • Intelligent rebuilds - Only changed components rebuild
  • Zero-downtime deployments - Rolling updates handled by orchestrator
  • One-time setup - Configure once, works forever
  • Optional automation - GitHub PAT makes setup fully automatic
  • Manual fallback - Clear instructions if you prefer manual configuration
  • Smart caching - Dependencies cached for faster builds
  • Build verification - Automatic health checks after deployment
  • Main branch tracking - Deploys on every push to main branch