Introduction

Alaf Server is a tool that takes your code and turns it into a real, working website or app with its own web address. You point it at your code once, and it does the boring parts — building, wiring up a web address, turning on HTTPS — for you.

Here's a way to picture it: your code is a recipe, and Alaf Server is the kitchen. You hand it the recipe, and it cooks the meal and puts it on the table. You don't have to know how the oven works.

Two things make Alaf Server a little different from other tools like it:

• It's open source. The whole thing is free to use, read, and change, under the Apache 2.0 license.
• You choose where it lives. You can run Alaf Server — and the apps you deploy with it — on your own computer, on your own server, or on Alaf Server Cloud. Your stuff stays where you put it.

Who it's for

If you have some code and you want it online without becoming a server expert, Alaf Server is for you. That covers a lot of people:

• A solo developer shipping a side project from a laptop.
• A team running real production apps who want one tool for everything.
• Anyone who'd rather own their setup than rent it from a big provider.

You do not need to know Docker, write pipeline files, or hand-edit YAML. Alaf Server looks at your code, figures out what kind of app it is, and sets things up for you.

Where your code comes from

Alaf Server can pick up your app from two places:

• From GitHub — connect a repository, and Alaf Server pulls the code and deploys it. It can even redeploy by itself every time you push. See Deploy from GitHub.
• From a folder — point Alaf Server at a folder on your computer and deploy what's there, no Git required.

Either way, the next part is the same.

The three ways to run your apps

When you deploy, Alaf Server asks one important question: where should this app actually run? There are three answers, and you can pick a different one for each project.

The same dashboard, CLI, and steps work for all three. Moving an app to a different place later doesn't mean learning a new tool.

Three ways to drive it

However you like to work, there's a way in:

• Desktop app — a full window with buttons, live logs, and one-click everything. Bundles the whole platform, so it's great for deploying straight from a folder.
• Web dashboard — the same screens in your browser, built for teams to share.
• CLI — type commands in your terminal; ideal for scripts and automation.

There's also a REST API and an MCP server (a way for AI tools to drive Alaf Server) for anyone building on top.

Pick your path

New here? Start with the Quickstart. Setting up a server of your own? Start with Installation.