Last updated on 5th May 2026

Managed VPS Hosting

Managed VPS Hosting allows you to provision cloud servers directly from DeployHQ, either inside a specific project or as a global server reusable across projects. We handle the infrastructure so you can focus on deploying your code. Servers are provisioned on DigitalOcean and fully managed by DeployHQ.

Managed VPS is currently a beta feature. To use it, enable beta features under Settings > Beta Features on your account.

Getting started

Managed VPS is available as a server type when adding a new server to your project. Simply select Managed VPS from the protocol picker under the Hosting section. If beta features are not enabled on your account, the option will be visible but disabled.

Provisioning a new server

  1. Navigate to your project and click New Server
  2. Enter a name for your server
  3. Select Managed VPS from the protocol picker
  4. Choose a region (data center location) and server size
  5. Optionally select an existing SSH key or paste your own private key
  6. Set your deployment path (where your files will be placed on the server)
  7. Click Create Server

Your server will begin provisioning. This usually takes about a minute. The status will update automatically once the server is ready.

SSH keys

When provisioning a Managed VPS, DeployHQ handles SSH key management automatically:

  • If you select an existing SSH key from your account, that key will be used
  • If you paste your own private key, it will be saved as a global SSH key for your account
  • If no key is selected, a new key called "Managed VPS Key" will be created automatically

You can manage your SSH keys from Settings > SSH Keys.

Managing hosted resources

Once provisioned, your Managed VPS servers appear in Settings > Hosted Resources. From here you can:

  • View details including IP address, region, size, and monthly cost
  • Sync to refresh the server status from the hosting provider
  • View linked servers to see which projects are using this resource

Server sizes and pricing

Available server sizes range from 1 vCPU / 1 GB RAM up to 2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM. The provisioning form shows the current monthly cost for each size in your account's currency. Pricing is billed monthly as an addon to your DeployHQ subscription.

Trial accounts

Trial accounts can provision one Managed VPS server using the smallest available size. Custom SSH keys are not available on trial; the platform creates and uses a managed key automatically. To provision additional servers, choose larger sizes, or use a custom SSH key, upgrade to a paid plan.

Deploying to your Managed VPS

Once your server is provisioned and active, you can deploy to it just like any other server in DeployHQ. The server connects via SSH using the key configured during provisioning.

Default configuration

  • Username: root
  • Port: 22
  • Protocol: SSH/SFTP

You can configure the deployment path, enable accelerated transfers, parallel uploads, and zero-downtime (atomic) deployments from the server settings.

Powering a server on or off

You can power your Managed VPS on or off by toggling the server's Enabled state from its server settings page. Disabling the server powers off the underlying VPS; re-enabling it powers it back on. Billing continues while the server is powered off.

Suspension and account lifecycle

If your account is suspended (for example, after a trial expires without payment, or when a renewal payment fails), all of your Managed VPS resources are automatically powered off and marked as suspended. Reactivating your account powers them back on and restores the active status.

Suspended resources are kept available for a grace period before being permanently destroyed:

  • Trial accounts: 7 days
  • Paid accounts: 30 days

A warning notification is sent 5 days before a suspended resource is removed, giving you time to reactivate the account and recover the server. Once the grace period expires, the resource is destroyed and the underlying infrastructure is removed.

Destroying a server

To remove a Managed VPS server, delete it from your project's server list. The underlying hosted resource and its associated infrastructure will be destroyed, and billing will be cancelled.

Templates

Managed VPS is intentionally not available as a protocol in templates. Templates are configuration blueprints copied into new projects, while a Managed VPS is a single real server tied to one account. If we provisioned a droplet at template-create time, every project derived from it would either share that one droplet or duplicate it -- neither matches the template model.

If you want to scaffold a project that uses an existing Managed VPS, provision the VPS as a global server and add it to projects from the global servers list.