Frequently asked questions

A platform-as-a-service running on Lookerhost's own cloud. You connect a Git repository, we build your project and run it behind HTTPS on a lookerhost.com subdomain — no servers to manage. VPS and managed databases are available on the same account when you need lower-level control.

No. Your code stays on GitHub — Lookerhost only needs read access to clone and build it. You do not need to mirror, migrate or push your repository anywhere: keep working on GitHub as usual and Lookerhost deploys from there.

Sign-up is by invitation: ask your Lookerhost contact for one and follow the link, or sign in with Google or Apple using the email you were invited with — the account is created for you with that same email, no password needed. If your provider returns a different email than the one invited (for example, Apple's "Hide My Email"), the dashboard asks for your invitation code once to finish creating the account.

Create an account and open the dashboard, then click Create → App. Paste the repository URL, pick the branch to deploy, choose a build pack (auto-detection is the default) and confirm. The platform provisions the runtime, builds your project and serves it at a URL like your-app-xxxxxx.apps.lookerhost.com.

Build detection (Nixpacks) covers Astro, Next.js, React, Vue, Svelte, Node.js, Python, Go, Rust and PHP, among others. Pure static sites can use the Static build pack, and any project with a Dockerfile or docker-compose file can use those directly.

For a standard static Astro site (the default output), choose the Static build pack — the platform runs your build and serves the dist/ folder. For Astro with SSR (Node adapter), use the Nixpacks build pack and set the port your server listens on. No config files specific to Lookerhost are required in your repo.

Yes. Mark the repository as private in the creation wizard and the platform authenticates through its GitHub App integration. Public repositories only need their URL.

Apps connected through the GitHub App rebuild and redeploy when you push to the configured branch. Apps created from a public URL can be redeployed with one click from the dashboard. Build logs are available in the dashboard for every deploy.

Yes. Every app gets a free subdomain under apps.lookerhost.com, and you can attach your own domain by pointing DNS at the platform — TLS certificates are issued automatically.

Yes — managed database instances (created from the same dashboard) run next to your apps, so you can attach PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB or Redis without running your own VPS.

Yes. Besides Redis as a managed database engine, you can create a standalone Redis instance with its own endpoint, ACL username and password. It is born closed — with no allowed IPs there is no public endpoint — and you choose which addresses can connect. The password is only shown when it is created or rotated; the dashboard never stores it in plain text.

Yes, in one click. The AI app catalog includes n8n (workflow automation), Hermes Agent, OpenClaw and Steel Browser (a headless browser for agents). Agents run on a dedicated, isolated VM provisioned automatically for your account, with a public HTTPS URL. You can bring your own AI provider key (Anthropic, OpenAI or OpenRouter) — it is encrypted into the deployment and never stored by the panel — or, if your account has AI credits, use those instead of your own key for Steel Browser (Hermes Agent always needs your own key: its own startup process ignores the platform's credits for its main agent).

From the dashboard: Create → AI app, pick the app, name it and fill in the credentials it asks for. n8n is ready in seconds; agent apps take ~3–5 minutes while their dedicated VM is provisioned. See the step-by-step guide at /docs/ai-apps.

Yes. Lookerhost exposes an MCP server: with an API key scoped to your account, any MCP-compatible agent can list services, deploy apps, create databases and even provision more AI apps. Discovery manifest at api.lookerhost.com/.well-known/mcp.json and full docs at /docs/mcp.