Hey everyone! I've been diving into DevOps lately and want to create a more hands-on project rather than just following tutorials. I'm thinking of building a platform where people can deploy their GitHub projects (whether frontend or backend) temporarily for 24 hours. Here's the basic plan:
- Users provide a GitHub link.
- Jenkins automatically pulls the code, builds it using Docker, and hosts it on my server with a unique port or subdomain.
- Users receive a link via email.
- After a day, the app gets deleted automatically.
I plan to only have 4-5 apps live at one time to manage the load on my VPS. My goals are to learn CI/CD, automation, and container management while also creating something useful for other developers who might need a quick place to showcase or test their apps.
I'm not trying to turn this into a startup—just a project for my resume and to help out the dev community. I'm looking for your feedback:
- Is this idea worth pursuing?
- Any suggestions for improvements or features?
- What potential issues should I be aware of?
Thanks for your help! 🙏 I'm eager to learn and build something beneficial for everyone!
4 Answers
To be honest, it's a bit tricky. If it's just for your learning and not open to the public, then go for it. But making it public could expose you to serious issues. There are so many platforms already available that allow people to deploy apps for free or very cheap. Would anyone really choose yours when they could use something more established?
Have you checked platforms like App Engine, Heroku, and Vercel? They offer similar services, and it might be worth looking into their models so you can refine your idea further.
Yeah, but he's aiming for something unique for his resume, which is understandable!
If you're just looking to build, then a basic Dockerfile and good documentation will be essential! You should make it easy for users to get started and set up their apps. Maybe consider having a tech stack selection option.
Great idea! Having sample Dockerfiles for different stacks would definitely help beginners.
Seriously, this sounds like a hacker's playground. You'll face liability concerns if someone uses it for something illegal. Making the code open source is cool, but keep the service private if you want to avoid trouble.
I totally get that, but he's just trying to build something innovative and learn, right?
I see your point about established platforms, but what if he limited resources per project and had a strict policy against misuse?