# Shipper documentation

> Install, deploy, back up, recover, and troubleshoot Shipper on a server you own.

Canonical docs: https://shipperkit.dev/docs/

- [API](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/api/): The Shipper /api/v1 contract for applications, application facts, plans, deployments, logs, tasks, rollback, and system operations.
- [Backups](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/backups/): Encrypted instance recovery archives, the recovery key, application database and volume plans, and what a Shipper backup does not include.
- [Builds and checks](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/builds/): How Shipper selects a build method, infers the container port, runs readiness checks, and builds Dockerfile, Railpack, static, and Compose applications.
- [Deploy tokens](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/deploy-tokens/): Create an application-scoped deploy token, call the deploy endpoint, and revoke the token without granting dashboard access.
- [Domains](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/domains/): Point DNS at Shipper, add application hostnames, configure aliases and redirects, and use path, header, compression, and maintenance route options.
- [Environment variables](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/environment/): Build and runtime scopes, adding variables, Compose service variables, review and apply, and rotating values.
- [First deploy in five minutes](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/first-deploy/): Go from a fresh Shipper install to a live HTTPS application. Deploy from a Git repository, a local folder, or a container image, then verify the release and its route.
- [Host recovery](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/host-recovery/): Recover the dashboard domain, a stopped control plane, an unavailable Docker engine, or a lost server.
- [Documentation](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/): Shipper documentation for installation, deployment, domains, releases, backups, recovery, access, and the API reference.
- [Install](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/install/): Run the Shipper installer on Ubuntu 24.04, claim the first administrator, add the dashboard domain, and verify the control plane.
- [What the installer changes](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/installer/): The files, systemd units, containers, and Docker repository entries created by the Shipper installer on Ubuntu 24.04.
- [Instance variables](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/instance-variables/): Every SHIPPER_ and Docker variable that configures the control plane, its defaults, precedence, managed-install values, and the settings that require a restart.
- [Lost access](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/lost-access/): Recover an owner password, reset a second factor, use recovery codes, and restore a sign-in method from the host.
- [Maintenance](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/maintenance/): Free disk space safely, review cleanup and retention, repair the proxy, and read host maintenance status.
- [Move an existing app](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/move-an-app/): Move a Dockerfile, Compose stack, static site, database, and domain from another host or platform to Shipper without a blind cutover. Includes a cutover checklist and rollback plan.
- [OAuth](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/oauth/): Configure Google, GitHub, or Discord sign-in, register the exact callbacks, and link one identity to a provisioned Shipper account.
- [Off-server storage](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/off-server-storage/): Configure an S3-compatible destination, control retention and schedules, and keep an off-server copy that survives loss of the VPS.
- [Ports](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/ports/): The inbound and outbound ports Shipper needs, what each one carries, how to verify a firewall rule, and the internal ports used by the proxy and application containers.
- [Prerequisites](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/prerequisites/): Supported hosts, resources, Docker requirements, ports, DNS, and base tools for a Shipper installation.
- [Recovery runbook](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/recovery/): The first five minutes of a Shipper incident, a scenario table, the evidence to preserve, and the pages for lost access, host recovery, and data restore.
- [Releases](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/releases/): What a Shipper release records, how deploy and apply differ, where deployment logs live, and how image retention affects rollback.
- [Restore](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/restore/): Restore a Shipper instance archive on a managed install, restore an application database or volume as a copy, import an archive, and test the result.
- [Rollbacks](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/rollbacks/): Restore a recorded release, what rollback does and does not recover, Compose requirements, and how to verify the restored release.
- [Secrets](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/secrets/): How Shipper encrypts and masks secret values, how to use build secret mounts, and how the instance encryption key relates to backups.
- [Sources](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/sources/): Deploy from a public or private Git repository, a local folder, a container image, a Compose file, or an inline Dockerfile.
- [HTTPS and certificates](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/tls/): Automatic HTTPS for the dashboard and applications, ACME HTTP-01, certificate verification, renewal, CDN behavior, and common certificate failures.
- [API and agent tokens](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/tokens/): Create scoped, expiring operation tokens for scripts and agents, use the /api/v1 API, and revoke access.
- [Troubleshooting](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/troubleshooting/): Fix failed builds, containers that exit, readiness failures, 502 routes, certificate warnings, failed tasks, missing Compose dependencies, and stale data.
- [Two-factor authentication](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/two-factor/): Enroll TOTP, store recovery codes, require 2FA for the instance, and reset a factor offline.
- [Uninstall](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/uninstall/): Stop the Shipper control plane, remove its metadata, or delete every owned application and volume. Three levels of removal with the exact commands and the data each one preserves.
- [Updates](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/updates/): Choose the Main or Nightly update channel, enable automatic updates, understand the host update helper, recover a failed candidate, and update manually with the installer.
- [Users and roles](https://shipperkit.dev/docs/users/): Provision Shipper accounts, choose admin, developer, or viewer, manage passwords and sessions, review audit, and protect the last administrator.