Quickstart

Ship your first app to Lizard in a few minutes. You’ll need Node.js 18+ and npm — a Lizard account is created automatically the first time you lizard login. You’ll install the CLI, log in, and deploy — either straight from a GitHub repo or from a local directory.

1. Install the CLI

Install the lizard binary globally from npm:

npm install -g @lizard-build/cli

Verify it’s on your PATH:

lizard --version

Don’t use npx. Always use the globally installed lizard binary. Running npx @lizard-build/cli pulls a throwaway copy whose version may drift from the platform. Upgrade in place later with lizard upgrade.

Permission errors (EACCES)? Don’t use sudo. Point npm at a user-owned prefix instead:

mkdir -p ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix ~/.npm-global
echo 'export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.zshrc && source ~/.zshrc
npm install -g @lizard-build/cli

2. Log in

lizard login

This opens your browser to authenticate, then drops back to your terminal once you confirm. In CI or other non-interactive environments, authenticate with a token instead:

export LIZARD_TOKEN=lzd_xxx
# or
lizard login --token lzd_xxx

Check who you are at any time:

lizard whoami

3. Deploy

Pick the path that matches where your code lives.

Option A — Deploy a GitHub repo (recommended)

If your code is on GitHub, create a service straight from the repo. Lizard clones it, auto-detects the stack, builds it, and returns a live URL:

lizard add -r your-org/your-app

Pushes to the tracked branch will auto-redeploy from then on. For private repos, connect the GitHub App first:

lizard git connect

Option B — Deploy local code

From inside your project directory, upload and deploy the current folder (respects .gitignore):

lizard up

If the directory isn’t linked to a project yet, up will create or select one interactively. In CI, link explicitly first with lizard init --name my-project.

Either way, when the build finishes you’ll get a generated URL like https://your-app-production.onlizard.com.

4. Watch it build and run

lizard ps          # services in the project, with status + URL
lizard logs        # last runtime log lines
lizard logs --build  # the most recent build's logs
lizard open        # open the project in the dashboard

5. Add a database (optional)

Provision a managed Postgres and reference it from your service:

lizard add postgres
lizard secrets set DATABASE_URL='${{postgres.DATABASE_URL}}' --service your-app
lizard redeploy --service your-app

The ${{postgres.DATABASE_URL}} reference is resolved at deploy time and rotates automatically with the addon. See Managed Addons.

Next steps

Core Concepts — understand projects, services, and the build pipeline.
Deploying from GitHub — branches, monorepos, and auto-redeploys.
Variables & Secrets — scoping and precedence.
Networking — attach your own hostname with automatic TLS.

Introduction Overview