Local Deployment Mode

Local deployment mode skips SSH and rsync entirely, copying files directly on the same machine. This is useful for self-hosted CI/CD runners that run on the deployment target.

Usage

hostfn deploy production --local

When to Use Local Mode

Self-hosted GitHub Actions runners running directly on your VPS
Local development servers where the app runs on the same machine
Testing deployment workflows without needing a remote server

How It Differs from Remote Mode

Aspect	Remote Mode	Local Mode
Connection	SSH over network	Direct local execution
File Transfer	rsync over SSH	Node.js `cpSync`
Commands	Executed via SSH	Executed via `child_process.exec`
rsync Required	Yes	No
SSH Key Required	Yes	No

How It Works

Instead of establishing an SSH connection, HostFn creates a LocalExecutor that runs commands using Node.js child_process
Files are copied using fs.cpSync instead of rsync, respecting the same exclude patterns
All other phases (build, PM2 deployment, health check) work identically

Example: Self-Hosted Runner

.github/workflows/deploy.yml

name: Deploy
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: self-hosted
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: 20

      - run: npm install -g hostfn
      - run: hostfn deploy production --local --ci

Combining with CI Mode

You can combine --local with --ci for non-interactive local deployments:

hostfn deploy production --local --ci