@webhikers/cli

CLI for creating and deploying webhikers projects on Hetzner/Coolify.

Prerequisites

Before using this CLI, you need:

1. Hetzner Cloud Server with Coolify installed
2. Wildcard DNS *.preview.webhikers.dev pointing to your server IP
3. GitHub CLI (gh) installed and authenticated
4. Node.js >= 18
5. SSH Key on your machine, added to the Hetzner server

Server Setup (one-time)

1. Create a Hetzner CX23 server (Ubuntu 24.04)
2. Add your SSH public key during server creation
3. SSH into the server: ssh -i ~/.ssh/your-key root@SERVER_IP
4. Install Coolify: curl -fsSL https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/install.sh | bash
5. Open http://SERVER_IP:8000, create admin account
6. Enable API access: Settings → API Settings → API Access checkbox
7. Create API token: Keys & Tokens → create token with root permissions
8. Note your Server UUID: Servers → click server → UUID is in the URL

DNS Setup (one-time)

Add a wildcard A record for your domain:

| Type | Name | Value | |------|------|-------| | A | *.preview | SERVER_IP |

This makes every project available at project-name.preview.webhikers.dev.

Install

npm install -g @webhikers/cli

Setup (once per machine)

webhikers config

You will be asked for:

| Prompt | Where to find it | |--------|-----------------| | Server IP | Hetzner Cloud Console → Server | | Coolify Port | Default: 8000 | | Coolify API Token | Coolify UI → Keys & Tokens | | Server UUID | Coolify UI → Servers → UUID in URL | | SSH User | Default: root | | SSH Key | Select from detected keys on your machine |

Config is saved to ~/.config/webhikers/config.json.

Create a new project

webhikers create my-project

This will:

1. Create a private GitHub repo from the nextjs-vibe-starter template
2. Clone it and install dependencies
3. Generate .env with a random PAYLOAD_SECRET
4. Create a Coolify project with domain my-project.preview.webhikers.dev
5. Set environment variables in Coolify
6. Trigger the first deploy

After creation, add persistent volumes in Coolify UI:

1. Open Coolify → Projects → select your project
2. Go to Storages tab
3. Add volume: /app/data (SQLite database)
4. Add volume: /app/public/media (uploaded images)
5. Redeploy the application

Then start local development:

cd my-project && npm run dev

Architecture

~/.config/webhikers/
  config.json        ← Coolify token, server IP, SSH config (global)
  ssh_key            ← SSH private key (chmod 600)

project/
  .env               ← PAYLOAD_SECRET + SITE_URL (local dev, gitignored)
  .deploy.json       ← Server IP, domain, Coolify UUIDs (gitignored)

• Local dev: npm run dev → localhost:3000
• Sync from prod: npm run sync:pull (git pull + DB + media)
• Deploy: npm run sync:push (media push + git push → Coolify builds)
• Coolify handles Docker build, Payload migrations, and seed on every deploy

Adding a team member

Your team member creates their own SSH key and sends you the public key (.pub file). Then:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/your-key root@SERVER_IP
echo "their-public-key-content" >> /root/.ssh/authorized_keys

They install the CLI and run webhikers config with the same server details.

Scaling

| Server | RAM | Capacity | |--------|-----|----------| | CX23 | 4 GB | 5-10 sites | | CX33 | 8 GB | 20-30 sites | | CX43 | 16 GB | 50-80 sites | | CX53 | 32 GB | 100-150 sites |

Upgrade via Hetzner Console (30 sec, no data loss). For 150+ sites, add a second server — Coolify manages multiple servers natively.

License

MIT