Skip to main content

​
🚀 Introduction

  • Before getting started, ensure that Ruby is installed on your system. If you don’t have it yet, you can download it from the official Ruby website, or use version managers like rbenv or rvm.
  • Next, you will need to create an account on Square Cloud, which can be done through the login page. You can use your email, GitHub, or both to create the account.
  • Finally, you need to have an active paid plan on your account. You can view our plans and purchase one according to your needs here.

​
⚙️ squarecloud.app file configuration

Learn more: how to create the configuration file for Square Cloud.

The squarecloud.app file is a configuration file that will be used to configure your application; it will serve to define the name, description, version, main file, among other things.
If you are uploading your application via the Square Cloud website, you can ignore this section. The site automatically creates the squarecloud.app configuration file for you.

​
📄 Required Files

  • main.rb (Example of main file — your Ruby entry point).
  • Gemfile (Dependencies file, if using Bundler).
  • Gemfile.lock (Generated by Bundler; recommended to include for reproducible builds).
  • squarecloud.app (file containing Square Cloud configuration).

​
▶️ How to start your application

  • If the START field is not defined in the configuration file, Square Cloud will execute ruby MAIN, where the file specified in MAIN is the Ruby file (e.g. main.rb). If the START field is defined, the value in it will be executed directly. In applications using Bundler, it is common to define START as bundle exec ruby main.rb or another suitable startup command. For more information about configuration file parameters, visit configuration parameters.
For Ruby applications using Bundler, it is important to properly configure environment variables to optimize the dependency installation process on Square Cloud. Square Cloud runs the bundler installation using environment variables. To exclude unnecessary gem groups in production, configure the variable BUNDLE_WITHOUT=development:test. This also helps remove deprecations from Bundler 2.x.

​
🖥️ Preparing the project

Before hosting your project on Square Cloud, check if the project files are properly configured for hosting.
The configuration file (squarecloud.app/.config) must be located at the root of the zip file. Otherwise, Square Cloud will not be able to find it during deploy.

​
📤 How to host your project

Now that you have prepared all the files for your Ruby project, the next step is to upload them to Square Cloud and put your application online. There are several ways to upload, but we will cover two: via Dashboard or via CLI.

​
Via dashboard

1

Access the Upload Page

Access the upload page and upload your project zip file.
2

Configure Your Environment

After uploading your zip, you will need to configure the name, main file or runtime environment and other settings for your project.
If you are uploading a web project, make sure to select "Web Publication" and set a subdomain to your project.
3

Deploy Your Project

Finally, click on the "Deploy" button to host your project on Square Cloud.
After deployment, you can monitor your project's status and logs from the dashboard.

​
Via CLI

To use this method, you need to create a config file named squarecloud.app in the root directory of your project. This file will contain the necessary configuration for your project.

Learn more about: how to create the configuration file for Square Cloud.

The squarecloud.app file is a configuration file that will be used to configure your application; it will be used to define your environment.
1

Install the CLI

First, you need to have the CLI installed in your environment. If you don't have it yet, run the following command in your terminal:
npm install -g @squarecloud/cli
If you already have it, we recommend updating it. To do this, run the following command in your terminal:
squarecloud update
2

Authenticate

Now, to authenticate and use other CLI commands, you will find your authorization key here by clicking on "Request API Key". After obtaining your authorization key, run the following command:
squarecloud auth login
3

Upload Your Project

Finally, to deploy your application to Square Cloud using the CLI, you need to run the following command:
squarecloud upload
Or if you created the zip manually, you can use:
squarecloud upload --file <path/to/zip>

​
Contact us

If you continue facing technical difficulties, our specialized support team is available to assist you. Contact us and we'll be happy to help you resolve any issue.