App Settings

Configure every aspect of a Skytells app — general info, build system, Git integration, deployment behavior, and lifecycle operations.

The Settings page is organized into five tabs: General, Build, Git, Deployment, and Danger Zone. Changes are saved per-tab with the Save button at the bottom of each section.

General

The General tab contains basic metadata for the app.

Field	Description
App name	Display name shown in the Console and used for the default `*.skytells.app` domain slug.
Description	Optional free-text description to help teammates understand this app's purpose.

Changes to the app name update the Console display. The *.skytells.app domain is set at creation time and does not change if you rename the app.

Build

The Build tab controls how Skytells builds your app from source.

Build Type

Select the build system that matches your project:

Build type	Best for
Nixpacks (default)	Automatically detects language and framework. Zero configuration for most Node.js, Python, Go, Ruby, and Rust projects.
Dockerfile	Your repository contains a `Dockerfile`. Skytells builds the image using it directly. Full control over the build environment.
Railpack	Modern build system, alternative to buildpacks.
Heroku	Uses Heroku-compatible buildpacks. Useful for migrating from Heroku.
Paketo	Cloud Native Buildpacks (CNB-compatible) build system.
Static	For fully static sites — Skytells serves the output directory directly without a running server.

Build Command

The command Skytells runs to compile or prepare the application after installing dependencies.

npm run build

Leave empty to skip the build step (for pre-built Docker images or static file projects).

Install Command

The command Skytells runs to install dependencies before building.

npm install

Common alternatives: yarn install, pnpm install, pip install -r requirements.txt.

Output Directory

The directory containing the build output. Leave empty to use Auto-detect — Skytells tries common output paths (dist/, build/, .next/, public/) automatically.

Required for Static build type. For server-rendered apps, leave empty.

Root Directory

Path to the app's root within the repository. Defaults to ./ (repository root).

For monorepos, set this to the sub-directory containing the app you want to deploy (e.g. apps/web or packages/api). Skytells resolves all build commands relative to this path.

After changing any Build setting, select Save and then trigger a Redeploy from the App Overview for the new configuration to take effect.

Git

The Git tab shows your connected repository details and controls preview deployment behavior.

Preview Deployments

Setting	Description
Enable preview deployments	When checked, Skytells creates a temporary deployment environment for every pull request to the production branch, or for pushes to a designated preview branch. Each preview gets its own `*.skytells.app` URL.

Preview deployments let you review changes in a live environment before merging. They are automatically torn down when the pull request is closed or merged.

Repository (read-only)

This section shows the connected repository metadata:

Field	Value
Repository URL	The full GitHub repository URL (e.g. `https://github.com/your-org/your-repo`).
Production Branch	The branch Skytells deploys to production on push (e.g. `main`).
Source Type	How the repository is connected — `GitHub (OAuth)` for OAuth-linked repos.
Framework	Auto-detected framework (e.g. `Next.js`, `Express`, `Vite`).

To change the connected repository, disconnect the current one from the Integrations settings and reconnect.

Deployment

The Deployment tab controls how and when Skytells triggers new deployments.

Auto-deploy

When enabled (default), Skytells automatically deploys your app every time a commit is pushed to the production branch. No manual action needed.

When disabled, deployments only happen when triggered manually from the App Overview or via the Skytells API.

Clean cache on next deploy

A one-shot action. When checked, Skytells clears the build cache on the next deployment, then automatically disables itself.

Use this when:

A dependency update is not being picked up because a stale cache entry is being used
The build is producing unexpected output that was correct in a previous version
You want to verify the app builds cleanly from scratch

The build cache stores previously installed dependencies and intermediate build artifacts. Clearing it makes the next build slower but ensures a completely fresh output.

Danger Zone

The Danger Zone tab contains irreversible lifecycle operations.

Delete Application

Permanently deletes this app, including:

All deployment history and build logs
All configured domains (the managed *.skytells.app domain is released)
All environment variables
All schedules
All app-level configuration

This action cannot be undone.

Select Delete App

Select Delete App (red button).

Confirm the App Name

A confirmation dialog appears. Type the app name to confirm.

Execute Deletion

Select Confirm Delete. The app is removed immediately.

Deleting an app does not delete associated project-level databases or environment variables. Those remain in the project and must be cleaned up separately if no longer needed. Any other apps still connecting to a shared database will be unaffected.

Deployments — trigger and review builds after changing settings.
Environment — manage build-time and runtime variables.
GitHub Integration — configure the OAuth connection used by the Git tab.
Create App — initial setup and build configuration at creation time.

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