Ayyaztech

You just pushed a bug fix. Now you have to SSH into your server, run git pull, build the app, and restart PM2. Same five commands. Every. Single. Time.

And one day — probably at 11 PM — you'll typo a path, or forget the PM2 restart, and spend an hour debugging something that should've taken 30 seconds.

There's a better way: GitHub Actions.

In this guide, I'll show you how to set up continuous deployment so that every push to your main branch automatically deploys to your Hostinger VPS. By the end, you'll never manually deploy again.

Video Tutorial

Prefer watching? Here's the complete video walkthrough:

What You'll Build

By the end of this guide, you'll have:

✅ GitHub Actions workflow that triggers on every push
✅ Secure SSH connection from GitHub to your VPS
✅ Automatic pull, build, and restart process
✅ 30-second deploys with zero manual steps

Prerequisites

Before we start, you need:

A Next.js app already deployed to a VPS (if you don't have this, watch my Hostinger deployment video)
The app running with PM2
Nginx configured as reverse proxy
Git repository on GitHub

If you're missing any of these, set them up first. This guide assumes you have a working Next.js deployment.

Step 1: Create SSH Key for GitHub Actions

GitHub Actions needs to SSH into your VPS to deploy. We'll create a dedicated SSH key for this purpose.

On your local machine, generate a new SSH key:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "github-actions" -f ~/.ssh/github-actions

Press Enter through the prompts. Don't add a passphrase — automation needs passwordless access.

This creates two files:

github-actions — private key (stays secret, goes to GitHub)
github-actions.pub — public key (goes to VPS)

Copy Public Key to VPS

Now copy the public key to your VPS:

ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/github-actions.pub root@YOUR_VPS_IP

Replace YOUR_VPS_IP with your actual server IP address.

Test the Connection

Verify the key works:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/github-actions root@YOUR_VPS_IP

If you get in without entering a password, perfect. Type exit to close the connection.

If the connection fails:

Verify your VPS IP is correct
Make sure the public key was copied completely
Check your VPS firewall allows SSH (port 22)

Step 2: Add Secrets to GitHub

GitHub Actions needs three pieces of information to connect to your VPS. We'll store these as encrypted secrets in your GitHub repository.

Go to your GitHub repo → Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions → New repository secret.

Secret 1: VPS_HOST

Name: VPS_HOST
Value: Your VPS IP address (e.g., 123.45.67.89)

Secret 2: VPS_USERNAME

Name: VPS_USERNAME
Value: root

Secret 3: VPS_SSH_KEY

Name: VPS_SSH_KEY
Value: Your SSH private key

To get the private key, run:

cat ~/.ssh/github-actions

Copy the entire output, including the -----BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY----- and -----END OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY----- lines.

Paste it into the secret value field and click Add secret.

Your secrets page should now show three secrets with no errors.

Step 3: Create GitHub Actions Workflow

In your Next.js project, create the workflow file structure:

mkdir -p .github/workflows

Create a new file called deploy.yml:

nano .github/workflows/deploy.yml

Paste this workflow configuration:

name: Deploy to Hostinger VPS

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Deploy to VPS
        uses: appleboy/ssh-action@v1.0.3
        with:
          host: ${{ secrets.VPS_HOST }}
          username: ${{ secrets.VPS_USERNAME }}
          key: ${{ secrets.VPS_SSH_KEY }}
          script: |
            export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"
            [ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"
            cd /var/www/YOUR_REPO
            git pull origin main
            npm install
            npm run build
            pm2 restart nextjs-app

Important: Replace YOUR_REPO with your actual repository folder name on the VPS (e.g., nextjs-hostinger-demo).

Critical: The lines export NVM_DIR and [ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] load Node.js via NVM. Without these, GitHub Actions won't find npm or pm2 because non-interactive SSH doesn't load .bashrc automatically.

What This Workflow Does

Line 5: Triggers on every push to the main branch
Lines 15-18: Uses your GitHub Secrets to SSH into the VPS
Lines 19-23: Runs your deployment commands:
- Navigate to your project folder
- Pull the latest code from GitHub
- Install any new dependencies
- Build the production app
- Restart the PM2 process

Save the file with Ctrl+O, Enter, then Ctrl+X.

Step 4: Trigger Your First Auto-Deploy

Commit the workflow file and push:

git add .
git commit -m "Add GitHub Actions deployment workflow"
git push origin main

This push will trigger the workflow for the first time!

Watch It Deploy

Go to your GitHub repo → Actions tab.

You'll see your workflow running. Click on it to see real-time logs showing:

✅ Connecting to VPS
✅ Pulling code
✅ Running build
✅ Restarting PM2
✅ Success

Test With a Real Change

Now let's test it with an actual code change. Open your Next.js app and make a small edit:

// app/page.tsx or pages/index.tsx
export default function Home() {
  return (
    <main>
      <h1>Deployed with GitHub Actions!</h1>
    </main>
  )
}

Commit and push:

git add .
git commit -m "Update homepage"
git push origin main

Go back to the Actions tab. Another workflow is running.

Wait a minute or two (larger apps take longer). Then open your domain in a browser and refresh.

Your change is live.

You just deployed without touching the terminal. This is continuous deployment.

Troubleshooting

Workflow Fails to Connect

If your workflow shows SSH connection errors:

Check your secrets are spelled correctly: VPS_HOST, VPS_USERNAME, VPS_SSH_KEY
Verify the private key was copied completely: Including BEGIN/END lines
Test the SSH key manually: Run ssh -i ~/.ssh/github-actions root@YOUR_VPS_IP from your local machine

Build Fails on VPS

If the workflow connects but the build fails:

Check Node version: Make sure your VPS has the same Node version as your local machine
Verify environment variables: If your app uses .env files, make sure they exist on the VPS
Check folder path: Ensure /var/www/YOUR_REPO is the correct path

PM2 Restart Fails

If PM2 can't restart your app:

Verify the PM2 app name: Run pm2 list on your VPS to see the exact app name
Update the workflow: Change pm2 restart nextjs-app to match your actual PM2 app name

What You've Achieved

You now have professional-grade continuous deployment:

✅ Every push to main triggers automatic deployment
✅ Zero manual SSH commands needed
✅ Builds run automatically on your VPS
✅ PM2 auto-restarts to serve new code
✅ No risk of typos or forgotten steps

This is the same workflow used by professional development teams, and you set it up in under 15 minutes.

Next Steps

Now that you have CI/CD set up, consider:

Add a staging environment: Create a separate workflow for a develop branch
Run tests before deploying: Add a test step before the deployment
Add Slack/Discord notifications: Get notified when deployments succeed or fail
Deploy other frameworks: Use the same pattern for React, Vue, or Laravel

Quick Reference

SSH Key Setup

# Generate key
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "github-actions" -f ~/.ssh/github-actions

# Copy to VPS
ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/github-actions.pub root@YOUR_VPS_IP

# Get private key
cat ~/.ssh/github-actions

GitHub Secrets Required

VPS_HOST = Your VPS IP
VPS_USERNAME = root
VPS_SSH_KEY = Private key (entire output)

Workflow File Location

.github/workflows/deploy.yml

Note: The video shows the actual troubleshooting process when the workflow first fails with "npm: command not found" - this is exactly what you'll encounter if you follow typical NVM installation guides. Watch to see the real-world debugging process.

Have questions? Drop a comment on the video — I read every single one and help with debugging.

Next tutorial: Deploy React to Hostinger VPS (and the one mistake most tutorials get wrong).