How to Make Simple Quick GitHub Actions Deployment for Hostinger

Stop Uploading Files Manually Like It's 2010! 🚀

So you've been deploying to Hostinger by manually uploading files via FTP? Or worse, SSHing in and running git pull every single time you make a change? Yeah, I've been there too. It's 2025, and we deserve better!

Let me show you how I set up automatic deployment for my Laravel projects on Hostinger using GitHub Actions. It's actually way simpler than you think!

What We're Building

Every time you push to your main branch, GitHub Actions will automatically:

SSH into your Hostinger server
Pull the latest code
Install dependencies
Run migrations
Clear and optimize caches
Fix those annoying symlink issues on shared hosting

Basically, it does everything you'd do manually, but without you lifting a finger. Sweet, right?

Prerequisites

Before we dive in, make sure you have:

A Laravel project on GitHub
Hostinger hosting with SSH access
Your deployment credentials ready

That's it! No fancy tools or complicated setups needed.

Step 1: Set Up Your GitHub Secrets

First things first - we need to store your server credentials securely. Head over to your GitHub repo and go to:

Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions → New repository secret

Add these secrets:

HOST - Your server IP or domain
USERNAME - Your SSH username
PASSWORD - Your SSH password (yeah, I know SSH keys are better, but passwords work fine for quick setups)
PORT - Usually 22, but check your Hostinger docs
LOCATION - The full path to your project on the server (like /home/username/public_html)

Pro tip: Don't share these with anyone. They're called secrets for a reason! 😉

Step 2: Create the GitHub Actions Workflow

Now for the fun part! Create a new file in your repo:

.github/workflows/deploy.yml

Here's the complete workflow:

name: Deploy to Server
 
on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
 
jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout Code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
      - name: Deploy via SSH
        uses: appleboy/ssh-action@v1.0.3
        with:
          host: ${{ secrets.HOST }}
          username: ${{ secrets.USERNAME }}
          password: ${{ secrets.PASSWORD }}
          port: ${{ secrets.PORT }}
          script: |
            cd ${{ secrets.LOCATION }}
            git pull origin main
 
            # Install PHP dependencies
            composer install --optimize-autoloader
 
            # Run migrations and seeders
            php artisan migrate --force
 
            # Shared Hosting Symlink Fix
            rm -rf public/storage
            ln -s $(pwd)/storage/app/public $(pwd)/public/storage
 
            # Optimize Laravel
            php artisan optimize
            php artisan view:cache
            php artisan config:cache

Breaking It Down (So It Actually Makes Sense)

Let me explain what each part does:

The Trigger

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

This tells GitHub: "Hey, whenever someone pushes to the main branch, run this workflow." You can change main to whatever branch you use for production.

Checkout Code

- name: Checkout Code
  uses: actions/checkout@v4

This just grabs your latest code. Nothing crazy here.

The SSH Magic

- name: Deploy via SSH
  uses: appleboy/ssh-action@v1.0.3

This is where the magic happens! We're using this awesome action that handles SSH connections for us. Much easier than writing custom scripts.

The Deployment Script

The script section is literally the commands you'd run manually. Let's break them down:

1. Navigate and Pull

cd ${{ secrets.LOCATION }}
git pull origin main

Goes to your project folder and pulls the latest code.

2. Install Dependencies

composer install --optimize-autoloader

Installs all your PHP packages. The --optimize-autoloader flag makes it faster!

3. Run Migrations

php artisan migrate --force

Updates your database. The --force flag is needed for production environments.

4. Fix Symlinks

rm -rf public/storage
ln -s $(pwd)/storage/app/public $(pwd)/public/storage

This is super important for shared hosting! It recreates the storage symlink because shared hosting can be weird about this.

5. Optimize Everything

php artisan optimize
php artisan view:cache
php artisan config:cache

Makes your app run faster by caching configs and views.

Step 3: Test It Out!

Commit this workflow file and push it to GitHub:

git add .github/workflows/deploy.yml
git commit -m "Add deployment workflow"
git push origin main

Now head over to your GitHub repo and click on the Actions tab. You should see your workflow running!

If everything goes green ✅, congrats! Your deployment is automated.

If it fails ❌, don't panic. Check the logs - they're usually pretty clear about what went wrong. Common issues:

Wrong credentials in secrets
Wrong server path
SSH not enabled on your Hostinger account
File permission issues

Pro Tips & Things I Learned The Hard Way

1. Test on a Staging Branch First

Before automating production, create a staging branch and test there. Future you will thank present you!

2. Watch Out for .env Files

Your .env file isn't in Git (and shouldn't be!), so make sure it exists on your server. The workflow won't create it for you.

3. Add Slack/Discord Notifications

You can extend this workflow to send you notifications when deployments succeed or fail. Super useful!

4. Database Backups

Always, ALWAYS back up your database before running migrations in production. I learned this the hard way 😅

5. Composer Memory Issues?

If you hit memory limits, you can add this before composer install:

export COMPOSER_MEMORY_LIMIT=-1

What About SSH Keys Instead of Passwords?

Yeah, SSH keys are more secure. If you want to use them instead:

Generate a key pair on your local machine
Add the public key to your Hostinger server
Add the private key as a GitHub secret called SSH_PRIVATE_KEY
Update your workflow to use key instead of password

But honestly, for most small projects, passwords work just fine.

Wrapping Up

That's it! You now have a fully automated deployment pipeline for your Laravel app on Hostinger. Every time you push to main, your changes go live automatically.

No more:

❌ Manual file uploads
❌ Forgetting to run migrations
❌ Cache issues in production
❌ "Works on my machine" problems

Just:

✅ Push your code
✅ Watch the magic happen
✅ Grab a coffee while it deploys

This setup has saved me hours of deployment time and countless headaches. Hope it does the same for you!

Questions? Issues?

If you run into any problems or have questions, feel free to drop a comment below or shoot me an email at hello@rathik.dev. I'm always happy to help!

Happy deploying! 🚀

P.S. - This workflow works for most Laravel apps, but you might need to tweak it based on your specific setup. Don't be afraid to customize it to fit your needs!