appliku.yml Configuration¶

The appliku.yml file is a YAML configuration file that defines how your application should be built, deployed, and configured in Appliku. Place this file in the root directory of your application repository.

To verify the configuration, go to the application settings page, "YAML Config" tab.

You can specify a different file for configuration, which is convenient for production/non-production environments running different sets of commands.

Example¶

You can check out an example in the SpeedPy boilerplate: appliku.yml

Root Level Structure¶

The configuration file contains the following top-level sections:

build_settings — Application build configuration
services — Application processes/services
databases — Database services
volumes — Persistent storage volumes
cronjobs — Scheduled tasks
commands — Saved commands for the Run Command tab

Build Settings¶

The build_settings section configures how your application is built and prepared for deployment.

Required Fields¶

build_image (string) — The buildpack or runtime environment to use

Optional Fields¶

build_command (string) — Command to run during the build phase
dockerfile (string) — Custom Dockerfile content (when using dockerfile or custom build_image)
dockerfile_path (string) — Path to Dockerfile in repository (default: "Dockerfile")
dockerfile_context_path (string) — Build context path for Dockerfile
container_port (integer) — Port your application listens on inside the container
skip_release_command (boolean) — Skip running release command after deployment (default: false)
expose_web_port (boolean) — Expose container port on all interfaces (default: false)
is_static_site (boolean) — Mark application as static site (default: false)
output_directory (string) — Directory containing built static files
environment_variables (array) — Environment variables for the application

Available Build Images¶

Python Runtimes: - python-3.13, python-3.12, python-3.11, python-3.10

Python + Node.js Runtimes: - python-3.13-node-20.18, python-3.12-node-20.10, python-3.11-node-20.10, python-3.10-node-20.10

Ruby Runtimes: - ruby-3.4.1, ruby-3.3-rails

Node.js Runtimes: - node-20-npm, node-20-yarn, node-14

Alternative Runtimes: - pypy2, pypy3

Custom: - dockerfile — Use Dockerfile from codebase - custom — Custom Dockerfile entered in the dashboard

See Predefined Dockerfiles for the full Dockerfile contents of each build image.

Environment Variables¶

Environment variables can be configured in four ways:

1. Static Value:

environment_variables:
  - name: MY_ENV_VAR
    value: my_value

2. From Database (public connection):

environment_variables:
  - name: DATABASE_URL
    from_database:
      name: db
      property: connection_url

3. From Database (private/internal connection):

environment_variables:
  - name: DATABASE_URL
    from_database:
      name: db
      property: private_connection_url

4. From Domains:

Sets the variable to a comma-separated list of all domains added to the application, including the default .applikuapp.com subdomain if enabled.

environment_variables:
  - name: ALLOWED_HOSTS
    from_domains: true

5. Manual Configuration:

Documents that a variable is supposed to be set by the user. It will be present with an empty value in the list of environment variables in the dashboard.

environment_variables:
  - name: OPENAI_API_KEY
    source: manual

Services¶

The services section defines the processes that run your application. Each service is a key-value pair where the key is the service name and the value contains the service configuration.

Service Configuration Fields¶

command (string) — Command to run the service
scale (integer) — Number of instances to run (default: 1)
mode (string) — Service mode: replicated or global (default: "replicated")
placement_constraints (string) — Docker Swarm placement constraints
resources_limits_memory (string) — Memory limits (e.g., "512M", "2G")
resources_limits_cpus (string) — CPU limits (e.g., "0.5", "2")
resources_reservations_memory (string) — Memory reservations
resources_reservations_cpus (string) — CPU reservations
image — Use an existing image (e.g., from Docker Hub)
volumes — List of Docker volumes
shm_size — Shared memory size
ports — Port mappings between host and containers
mem_limit — Memory limit for the container

See Docker Services Specification and Docker Deploy Specification for more details.

Example Services¶

services:
  web:
    command: gunicorn project.wsgi --log-file -
    scale: 1
    mode: replicated
    resources_limits_memory: 512M
    resources_limits_cpus: "0.5"

  worker:
    command: celery -A project worker -l info
    scale: 2
    mode: replicated

  release:
    command: bash release.sh

Databases¶

The databases section defines database services that will be provisioned for your application.

Available Database Types¶

Type	Key
PostgreSQL 17	`postgresql_17`
PostgreSQL 16	`postgresql_16`
PostgreSQL 15	`postgresql_15`
PostgreSQL 12	`postgresql_12`
PostGIS 16 + 3.4	`postgis_16_34`
PostgreSQL 16 + pgvector	`postgresql_16_pgvector`
TimescaleDB 15	`timescale_db_15`
MySQL 8	`mysql_8`
Redis 7	`redis_7`
Redis 6	`redis_6`
RabbitMQ	`rabbitmq`
Elasticsearch 8.17	`elasticsearch_8_17`

Example Databases¶

databases:
  db:
    type: postgresql_17
  redis:
    type: redis_7

Volumes¶

The volumes section defines persistent storage volumes for your application.

Volume Configuration Fields¶

target (string, required) — Path inside the container where volume is mounted
url (string, optional) — URL path for web access to volume
environment_variable (string, optional) — Environment variable name for volume path
source (string, optional) — Source path on host (for bind mounts)

Example Volumes¶

volumes:
  media:
    target: /uploads/
    url: /media/
    environment_variable: MEDIA
  data:
    target: /app/data/
    environment_variable: DATA_PATH

Cron Jobs¶

The cronjobs section defines scheduled tasks that run at specified intervals.

Cron Job Configuration Fields¶

schedule (string, required) — Cron schedule expression
command (string, required) — Command to execute

Example Cron Jobs¶

cronjobs:
  send_emails:
    schedule: "0 * * * *"  # Every hour
    command: python manage.py send_emails
  daily_backup:
    schedule: "0 2 * * *"  # Daily at 2 AM
    command: python manage.py backup

Commands¶

The commands section lets you define a list of frequently used commands for your application. These commands appear as autocomplete suggestions in the Run Command tab, saving you from typing or copy-pasting them repeatedly.

The list is replaced on every deployment — whatever is in appliku.yml becomes the current set of suggestions.

commands:
  - python manage.py show_urls
  - python manage.py validate_templates
  - python manage.py check
  - python manage.py send_queued_mail

Note

These commands are only suggestions — nothing is run automatically. You still trigger execution manually from the Run Command tab.

Using the Configuration¶

Validation¶

The configuration file is automatically validated when: - You push code to your repository - You manually trigger a deployment - You import the configuration through the Appliku dashboard

Configuration Updates¶

When you update the appliku.yml file and push to your repository, Appliku will: 1. Validate the new configuration 2. Apply the changes to your application 3. Deploy the updated configuration

Exporting Configuration¶

You can export the current application configuration as an appliku.yml file from the Appliku dashboard.

Go to the application settings page, "YAML Config" tab, and click "Export YAML Config". You can then copy the contents to the clipboard or download it as an appliku.yml file and save it to your application repository.

Complete Example¶

build_settings:
  build_image: python-3.11-node-20.10
  build_command: npm run build
  container_port: 8000
  environment_variables:
    - name: DEBUG
      value: "false"
    - name: DATABASE_URL
      from_database:
        name: db
        property: connection_url
    - name: REDIS_URL
      from_database:
        name: redis
        property: connection_url
    - name: ALLOWED_HOSTS
      from_domains: true
    - name: SECRET_KEY
      source: manual

services:
  web:
    command: gunicorn project.wsgi --log-file -
    scale: 2
  worker:
    command: celery -A project worker -l info
    scale: 1
  release:
    command: python manage.py migrate

databases:
  db:
    type: postgresql_17
  redis:
    type: redis_7

volumes:
  media:
    target: /app/media/
    url: /media/
    environment_variable: MEDIA_ROOT

cronjobs:
  cleanup:
    schedule: "0 3 * * *"
    command: python manage.py cleanup_old_files

commands:
  - python manage.py show_urls
  - python manage.py validate_templates
  - python manage.py check
  - python manage.py send_queued_mail