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Use this when your app already runs somewhere (another host, a PaaS, a hand-built server) and you want Monk to run it in your own cloud account. Monk builds fresh infrastructure from your source code, alongside the original. It does not touch the original deployment. Moving data and switching traffic are separate steps you review.

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Before you start

  • Monk is installed and you are signed in. See Install.
  • The repository is open in your coding agent.
  • Credentials for the cloud you want to use: AWS, GCP, Azure, DigitalOcean or Hetzner. You can also deploy locally first.

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Ask Monk

Monk reads the repository and finds the services, what they connect to, and the configuration that is missing. Your coding agent writes any Dockerfiles and the MANIFEST that are needed. You can be specific from the start:

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What you review

The plan opens in the local dashboard. It lists:
  • the services Monk will run and how they connect
  • databases and other dependencies, and whether each is self-hosted or managed
  • configuration and secrets that are missing
  • the cloud, region and machine sizes, with an estimated cost
If a credential is missing, a form opens in the dashboard. Fill it in there, not in chat. Nothing is created until you approve the plan.

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What you get

  • A cluster in your cloud account running the app from source
  • Services wired together, with connection settings injected
  • A model of the running app that later requests (logs, scaling, CI/CD) build on
Check the result:

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Moving over from the original

The new environment runs next to the old one, and both cost money while they run. When you are ready:
  1. Data. Copy the data yourself, or ask Monk which backup and restore actions your database supports. See Back up and restore.
  2. Traffic. Point your domain at the new environment. See Custom domain.
  3. Retire the original with the tools of wherever it runs.
Data, undocumented settings and external account state are not copied from the original. Check them before you switch traffic.

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