Git Workflow and Deployment Strategies for Teams Using VPS Hosting

GitFlow vs Trunk-Based Development

GitFlow uses long-lived branches (develop, feature, release, hotfix). It is well-suited for software with scheduled release cycles. Trunk-based development has all developers commit to a single main branch with feature flags controlling feature visibility. It enables continuous delivery and is preferred for web applications.

GitHub Actions CI/CD to VPS

name: Deploy to VPS
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: Deploy via SSH
        uses: appleboy/ssh-action@master
        with:
          host: ${{ secrets.VPS_HOST }}
          username: ${{ secrets.VPS_USER }}
          key: ${{ secrets.SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }}
          script: |
            cd /var/www/myapp
            git pull
            npm install --production
            pm2 reload myapp

FAQ

Should I use GitHub Actions or Jenkins for VPS deployment?

GitHub Actions is simpler and free for public repositories (2,000 minutes/month for private). Jenkins provides more control and is better for complex enterprise pipelines. For most VPS deployments, GitHub Actions is the pragmatic choice.