Getting started

Conductor is the control plane for self-hosted Rails ops across a fleet — it manages servers, apps, routing, databases, backups, and provider APIs, across Kamal, native, and Docker deploys, driven by a web UI, a CLI, and AI agents over MCP.

The core loop

Register a server  →  Add an app  →  Connect GitHub  →  Deploy  →  Point a domain

1. Register a server. Add a host Conductor can reach over SSH (provide its IP + an SSH key). One server can host many apps.
2. Provision a database (optional). Register a Postgres cluster and provision a per-app database + role; Conductor surfaces the DATABASE_URL.
3. Add an app. Give it a name, repository URL, server, and a deploy method — kamal, native, or docker.
4. Connect GitHub. So Conductor can clone private repos.
5. Set env vars. SECRET_KEY_BASE, DATABASE_URL, API keys — managed per app in Conductor.
6. Deploy. From the UI or an agent (an MCP endpoint any agent can drive).
7. Point a domain. Conductor manages routing + TLS (Let's Encrypt) via the shared proxy.

Topologies

Conductor doesn't force one layout:

• Standalone — one app on its own box.
• Fleet — many apps on one shared box (shared proxy + shared Postgres), for density.

Deploy method and topology are independent choices.

Drive it two ways (CLI in progress)

• Web UI — the dashboard at /dashboard.
• MCP — the full toolset over HTTP: AI agents (or your own scripts via curl) call Conductor's tools to run the whole loop programmatically. Connect an agent by signing in through the browser (OAuth) — no token to paste. See Deploy via MCP.
• CLI (early / in progress) — bin/conductor currently covers secret-safe set-env and a generic call <tool> passthrough over the MCP endpoint. A fuller command set is planned; until then, script against MCP directly.

Next: Deploy an app.