Overview
ready.dev is a developer-focused infrastructure platform that combines the convenience of cloud deployment with the predictability of dedicated hardware. This guide covers the core concepts you need to get started.
Terminology
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Cluster | Your deployment environment. A cluster contains your hosts, projects, domains, and integrations. Members are granted access at the cluster level with roles like admin, deployer, or WireGuard-only. |
| Host | A compute node (physical or virtual) in your cluster. Resources are deployed onto one or more hosts. Each host runs the ready.dev agent to manage instances and networking. |
| Project | A logical grouping of resources within a cluster. Projects organize related services together and track deploy history. Resource names must be unique within a project. |
| Resource | A deployable unit within a project, for example a GitHub repo, Docker container, MySQL or Postgres database, or a manually provisioned instance. Each resource runs on one or more hosts. |
| Member | A user with access to a cluster. Members can be assigned one of three roles: cluster admin (full access), project deployer (deploy permissions), or WireGuard user (mesh network access only). |
| Domain | A hostname attached to your cluster for routing traffic to resources. Domains can be public with automatic SSL, Cloudflare-managed, or private (mesh-only). DNS records and certificates are managed from the dashboard. |
| Integration | A connection to an external service: GitHub (for repo-based deploys), Cloudflare (for DNS and domain management), or S3-compatible storage (for backups and assets). |
Resources
Resources are the deployable units within a project, for example a GitHub repo, Docker container, MySQL or Postgres database, or a manually provisioned instance. Each resource runs on one or more hosts in your cluster.
Resource Types
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| GitHub Auto-Deploy | Connect a GitHub repository and branch. Trigger deploys manually from the dashboard or via the API. |
| Dockerfile | Build and run from a Dockerfile or pull directly from Docker Hub. |
| Manual Instance | A bare instance you configure yourself via SSH. Names are unique across the entire cluster. |
| Managed Database | MySQL, PostgreSQL, or ClickHouse with built-in backup support and health checks. |
Deploying
Each deploy is tracked with a unique hash. You can roll back to any previous deployment. Resources support configurable CPU, memory, and storage sizes that can be scaled up over time.
Domains & SSL
Assign public or private domains to app resources. Public domains get automatic SSL via Let's Encrypt, or you can use Cloudflare-managed domains for DNS and certificate handling.
Health Checks & Monitoring
Resources are automatically monitored with health checks. The dashboard shows real-time status, deploy history, build and runtime logs, and backup status for databases.
Mesh Network
Every resource you deploy on ready.dev is automatically connected to a private mesh network powered by WireGuard. This creates a secure, encrypted overlay network between all of your instances regardless of physical location.
Private DNS
Each resource gets a private hostname (resource-name.cluster.ready.dev) resolvable only within your mesh.
Cross-Region Connectivity
Instances in different regions communicate seamlessly over the mesh as if on the same LAN.
The mesh network is provisioned at the cluster level. All resources and members within a cluster can reach each other over the mesh, while different clusters are isolated by default.