Shipown is a cross-platform Electron desktop application that deploys and operates web applications on Linux servers you own. It gives you the workflow of a managed deployment platform — connect a source, build, get a live URL, roll back — while the servers and the data stay yours.

How is Shipown different from Vercel or Netlify?

Managed platforms run your app on their runtime and their account. Shipown deploys to a server you already rent or own, over plain SSH, and installs no agent to do it. You keep the smooth workflow without handing over the infrastructure.

What can it deploy today?

Three runtimes. Node applications run by PM2 — Next.js, Nuxt, Remix, SvelteKit, NestJS, Fastify and plain Express. Static sites served by Nginx, including Vite with React or Vue, Astro and plain HTML. And Docker, from a Dockerfile or a compose file, which covers any language that ships in a container. Python, Go, Rust, PHP, Ruby, Java and .NET have no native runtime here; deploy them in a container.

Does Shipown need Docker?

No. Node applications run directly under PM2 and static sites are served by Nginx, on a server with no Docker at all. If you do use Docker, Shipown deploys to it as well — a Dockerfile or a compose file, with releases, health checks and rollback — and manages the containers already on the server: every container inspected, published and internal ports mapped, CPU and memory gauges, crash loops called out, start, stop, restart, a shell inside the container, and its logs. It can also install Docker on a server that has none.

Where does it deploy to?

A Linux server you can reach over SSH — a VPS, a cloud VM, or a box in your office. Ubuntu, Debian, the RHEL family and Alpine are handled. Your own computer is where a project comes from, not somewhere Shipown deploys to.

Are my SSH keys or environment variables uploaded anywhere?

No. SSH private keys, passwords, passphrases, environment variable values, source code and project files never leave your machine for licensing or telemetry. Credentials are held by the Electron main process and are never exposed to the interface. The one exception is one you opt into: the AI terminal sends its conversation to the AI provider you pick.

Where does the AI terminal send my server’s data?

Only to the provider you choose (DeepSeek, Anthropic Claude, or OpenAI), and only while you actively interact with it. The AI operator sends your prompt and the terminal outputs of the commands it runs under your own encrypted API key. Shipown does not intercept or store this telemetry. Destructive commands (reboots, rm -rf, firewall changes, stopping SSH) are never executed automatically without your explicit confirmation.

Can I roll a bad deployment back?

Yes. Every deploy lands in its own release directory, and the live pointer moves only after the build and the health check pass. A deploy that fails restores the previous release by itself, and you can switch back to an earlier release later from the app.

Does it deploy automatically when I push?

No. Shipown tells you when a branch has moved ahead of what a server is running, and how many commits are waiting, but a person still presses deploy. Automatic deployment on push is not part of this beta.

Is Shipown open source?

No. Shipown is a commercial product and its source is not published. What runs on your servers is plain SSH and shell — nothing is installed to phone home — but the desktop application itself is licensed, not open.

Is Shipown free, and how do I get access?

The beta is invite-only. An administrator issues a revocable licence key with an expiry and a device limit — typically two machines per key. Activation is checked server-side, and keys can be extended, revoked, or have a device slot freed.

Which platforms does the desktop app run on?

Windows, as an .exe installer, and Linux, as a .deb for Debian and Ubuntu. Both come from the same download server the app updates from, so the file on the invite page and the file an update fetches are the same file. macOS is not published yet.

Docs/Troubleshooting/Common Issues & FAQ

Common Issues & FAQ

Resolving SSH timeout errors, key format mismatches, Docker socket permissions, and local firewall configurations.

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Common Issues & FAQ

A recorded walkthrough for this page has not been made yet.

01.How It Works

Most failures come from one of four things: the server is unreachable at the address saved for it, the key or password is wrong, the SSH user cannot reach Docker, or a change needs root and there is no passwordless sudo. The error the app shows is the one the server or SSH gave it, not a summary, so it can be repeated by hand over SSH.

Step A

Zero Cloud Relays

Client-side operations encrypted directly between your desktop and target server.

Step B

Credentials stay on your computer

SSH keys, passwords and API keys are held by the desktop app and encrypted with your OS keychain.

02.Key Capabilities

# What Shipown runs on the server, over your own SSH connection

$ pm2 jlist

$ docker ps -a --format '{{json .}}'

[ok] Connected to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (x86_64)

03.Configuration & Setup

Initialize target configurationPick one of your saved servers, or add it with its host, port, user and SSH key.

Deploy & MonitorVerify telemetry in real time without polling overhead.

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