@plugdash/autobuild

Use autobuild only when a static or prerendered site reads EmDash content at build time. A server-rendered EmDash site (output: "server", the default in all templates) shows new content at once and does not need a rebuild.

When one of those static sites needs a rebuild, autobuild calls a Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, or Vercel deploy hook after you publish or unpublish. Only on EmDash - the hook fires from the CMS lifecycle, not from a git push.

Install

pnpm add @plugdash/autobuild

Register

// astro.config.mjs
import { defineConfig } from "astro/config";
import emdash from "emdash/astro";
import { autobuildPlugin } from "@plugdash/autobuild";

export default defineConfig({
	integrations: [
		emdash({
			plugins: [
				autobuildPlugin({
					hookUrl: process.env.DEPLOY_HOOK_URL,
					collections: ["posts"],
					debounceMs: 5000,
				}),
			],
		}),
	],
});

Keep the hook URL in an environment variable. Never commit it. Options are passed to the plugin by EmDash at runtime, so they work in astro dev and in a production build.

Or set the URL in the admin: Plugins - Autobuild - settings, field "Deploy hook URL" (a secret). The admin value wins over the hookUrl option. Secret settings need EMDASH_ENCRYPTION_KEY in the server environment (pnpm exec emdash secrets generate; a Worker secret on Cloudflare). The admin page shows whether the URL is accepted.

Getting a deploy hook URL

• Cloudflare Pages: Project -> Settings -> Builds & deployments -> Deploy hooks. Creates a URL like https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/pages/webhooks/deploy_hooks/...
• Netlify: Site settings -> Build & deploy -> Build hooks. Creates a URL like https://api.netlify.com/build_hooks/...
• Vercel: Project Settings -> Git -> Deploy Hooks. Creates a URL like https://api.vercel.com/v1/integrations/deploy/...

Options

| Option | Type | Default | Description | | -------------- | ------------------------- | --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | hookUrl | string | none | Deploy webhook URL. https only, no localhost or private IPs | | method | "POST" \| "GET" | "POST" | HTTP method | | collections | string[] | all collections | Only these collections trigger a deploy | | debounceMs | number | 5000 | Triggers inside this window make one deploy | | timeout | number | 5000 | Request timeout in ms | | body | Record<string, unknown> | none | Optional JSON body | | headers | Record<string, string> | none | Optional extra headers | | allowedHosts | string[] | see below | Extra hosts the plugin may call, added to the defaults |

allowedHosts always includes api.cloudflare.com, api.netlify.com, api.vercel.com and the host of the hookUrl option. A hook URL entered in the admin on any other host is refused until you add that host here.

How it works

1. content:afterPublish and content:afterUnpublish schedule a deploy. Autosaves do not: editing a draft or a live post changes nothing a reader can see.
2. Deleting an entry schedules a deploy only if it was published. content:beforeDelete notes that in KV, because afterDelete only carries the id.
3. Each trigger writes a token to plugin KV and waits debounceMs. Only the trigger whose token is still the latest calls the hook, so a burst makes one request, even across Workers isolates.
4. The request goes out through ctx.http.fetch(). A failure is logged and never fails the publish.
5. With no hook URL, the plugin logs one warning per process: no hook URL configured, deploys are off.

Security

The hook URL is checked before every request: https:// only, no localhost, 127.x, 10.x, 172.16-31.x, 192.168.x, 169.254.x, ::1, 0.0.0.0, and the host must be in allowedHosts. A bad URL fails closed with a logged error.

What it does not do

• Does not retry failed deploys. The next publish retries.
• Does not check that the deploy succeeded - use your host's dashboard.
• Does not sign requests. Deploy hooks are already secret URLs.
• Does not ship a UI component. This plugin is pure infrastructure.