Inspector.dev is a real-time web application debugging and code execution monitoring tool designed for software developers. It helps identify bugs and bottlenecks, providing instant alerts and insights into application performance. Key features and integrations include:
- Real-time Debugging: It allows developers to trace their applications at scale, helping to fix issues quickly.
- Framework Support: It offers packages and SDKs for various frameworks such as Laravel, Symfony, CodeIgniter, Drupal, Spring Boot, PHP, and Java.
- AI Integration: It's used with NeuronAI, an open-source framework for creating AI agents in PHP, offering built-in observability features for monitoring AI agents.
- Mobile DevTools: There are also tools like "Inspect" related to mobile debugging on iOS and Android.
- Flutter Package: A Flutter package named "inspector" is available for inspecting widgets, aiding in debugging and QA testing for Flutter applications.
At Inspector.dev, delivering a consistently stable and dependable platform is of vital importance. With a fast-moving development cycle powered by AWS autoscaling groups and a passionate dedication to continuous improvement, we needed a deployment setup that could keep pace with our agile development workflow. From day one, DeployHQ has been an invaluable tool, helping us achieve zero-downtime deployments, simplifying our workflows, and stay focused on delivering value to our users.
How We Ship at Inspector.dev
At Inspector.dev, flexibility and responsiveness are at the core of our development process. We use a kanban dashboard to stay laser-focused on what matters: new features, improvements, and feedback- and market-driven demands. There are no preset release cycles. Instead, updates go out when they are ready and thoroughly tested, so fixes and improvements land faster, without getting stuck in the queue.
For code management, we use Gitflow within our GitHub repositories. This establishes a dependable framework: development, release, and hotfix branches are kept separate, helping us maintain our code stable and our team aligned.
Before DeployHQ, deployments were a manual, even risky process. We relied on a combination of manual SSH access to our servers and custom scripts to transfer code and execute commands, which came with a few drawbacks:
- Downtime risk: Manual deployments often meant downtime, which directly impacted our users' ability to monitor their applications.
- Time-consuming: Manually moving files and running commands took valuable time away from real development.
- Error-prone: Human error, potentially causing misconfigurations or incomplete deployments, was a constant concern.
- Lack of automation: No automation meant repetitive tasks had to be performed manually, slowing things down and increasing overhead.
How We Use DeployHQ at Inspector.dev
DeployHQ has become a cornerstone of our current development workflow, fitting smoothly into our continuous delivery pipeline. We rely on it at the crucial deployment stage, when code has been reviewed, merged, and prepped for release.
There’s much to love about DeployHQ:
- Zero Downtime Deployments: DeployHQ's standout benefit is that it lets us deploy new code without disrupting the live application, keeping things smooth and seamless for our users.
- Automated Build Processes: DeployHQ takes care of time-consuming tasks like building our frontend and running tests on our deployment server, allowing our developers to focus on the work that really matters: writing code.
- Webhook Integration: Triggering external tools via webhooks fits perfectly with our unique infrastructure setup.
- SSH Command Execution: The freedom to run custom SSH commands before and after deployments lets us shape the process to our liking.
- Ease of Use and Configuration: Right from the start, DeployHQ has been straightforward and hassle-free to set up, with minimal overhead and a smooth integration into our workflow.
- Affordability: DeployHQ is smart and cost-effective, delivering real value for what we invest
Here is what our typical deployment process with DeployHQ looks like:
- Once a new feature or fix is ready and merged into our main branch on GitHub, we trigger a new deployment in DeployHQ.
- DeployHQ connects to our designated "model server", which acts as a staging ground for the latest release.
- DeployHQ automatically fetches the latest code from our GitHub repository.
- Next, it executes our configured build process, which includes tasks like compiling frontend assets and running automated tests.
- Using DeployHQ's zero-downtime deployment, the new version is deployed to the model server without interrupting the application currently in use.
- Upon successful deployment, DeployHQ sends a webhook to an external automation tool.
- This webhook triggers an automated process that updates the machines in our AWS autoscaling groups with the latest version of the application from the model server. This way, the new release is smoothly rolled out across our infrastructure.
What DeployHQ Brings to the Table
Here is what changes for us since bringing DeployHQ on board:
- Zero Downtime Deployments: A true game changer that allows us to provide continuous availability to our users and be rid of any disruptions caused by deployments.
- Significant Time Savings: Automation across the build process and deployments lets our developers spend less time on manual tasks and maintenance, and more time on writing code.
- Reduced Errors: Automation also cuts down the risk of human errors during deployments, making our release hitch-free and more reliable.
- Streamlined Workflow: DeployHQ has smoothed out our deployment process, making it more efficient and predictable. Developers can focus on writing code and delivering features, confident that deployment is securely being handled behind the scenes.
Although it’s hard to quantify the time saved, cutting down manual work and downtime risk has undoubtedly boosted our team’s efficiency and productivity. Reclaiming time from maintaining build and test infrastructure is particularly valuable.
Feedback on DeployHQ
At this point, we have been consistently impressed with DeployHQ's simplicity, reliability, and effectiveness. Setting it up was a breeze thanks to its intuitive user interface, which allowed it to slot right into our workflows from the get-go. The ability to hook custom SSH commands gives us just the right amount of flexibility we need to shape deployments exactly to our infrastructure’s needs.
As for improvement, our use case is pretty straightforward. For teams tackling more complex deployment setups, extra workflow customization or deeper integration with other DevOps tools may be a welcome addition. However, for what we do, DeployHQ strikes the perfect balance between power and ease of use.
Conclusion
DeployHQ has been an invaluable asset for Inspector.dev from the start. It powers our seamless, zero-downtime deployments across a dynamic AWS environment, saving us time, cutting down errors, and simplifying our development workflow.
With its user-friendly interface, cost-effectiveness, and powerful features like webhook integration and custom SSH commands, DeployHQ is a perfect fit for teams like ours prioritizing continuous delivery and a smooth experience for users. We highly recommend DeployHQ to any development team on the market for a dependable, efficient deployment automation platform.
