---
title: "Deploy Websites with Git on cPanel: A Step-by-Step Guide"
description: "This guide will walk you through the process of deploying a website using Git version control on cPanel. It is divided into three parts: preparing your code application, setting up Git version control in cPanel for public repositories, and configuring…"
url: "https://truehost.com/support/knowledge-base/deploy-websites-with-git-on-cpanel-a-step-by-step-guide/"
updated: "2025-02-04"
category: Cpanel
---

# Deploy Websites with Git on cPanel: A Step-by-Step Guide

This guide will walk you through the process of deploying a website using Git version control on cPanel. It is divided into three parts: preparing your code application, setting up Git version control in cPanel for public repositories, and configuring access to private repositories.

## **Part 1: Prepare Your Code Application**

1. **Create a `.cpanel.yml` File**
   To enable deployment via cPanel, you need to create a `.cpanel.yml` file in the root directory of your application. This file defines the deployment tasks. Here's how your folder structure will look:

![](https://truehost.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/image-15.png)

2. **Example `.cpanel.yml` File**
Below is an example of a `.cpanel.yml` file. Replace `/home/cpanelusername/public_html/` with the appropriate path for your deployment.

```
deployment:
  tasks:
    - export DEPLOYPATH=/home/cpanelusername/public_html/
    - /bin/cp index.html $DEPLOYPATH
    - /bin/cp about.html $DEPLOYPATH
    - /bin/cp services.html $DEPLOYPATH
    - /bin/cp contact.html $DEPLOYPATH
    - /bin/cp styles.css $DEPLOYPATH
    - /bin/cp script.js $DEPLOYPATH
    - /bin/cp -r assets/ $DEPLOYPATH
```

If you're deploying to a subdomain or addon domain, replace `public_html` with the appropriate directory name (e.g., `/home/cpanelusername/sub.domain.com/`).

3. **Push Changes to Your Repository**
Commit and push the `.cpanel.yml` file to your remote repository (GitHub or GitLab). If you’ve already pushed changes, simply add the `.cpanel.yml` file and update the repository.

![](https://truehost.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/image-16-1024x465.png)

## **Part 2: Set Up Git Version Control in cPanel (Public Repositories)**

1. **Log in to cPanel**
   Access your cPanel account.
2. **Navigate to Git Version Control**
   In the cPanel dashboard, locate and click on the **Git Version Control** icon.
3. **Create a Repository**
   - Click **Create** or **Clone a Repository**.
   - Enter the clone URL of your remote repository (GitHub or GitLab). Ensure the URL begins with `http://`, `https://`, `ssh://`, or `git://`.
   - Specify the **Repository Path** where the repository will be stored. If the directory doesn’t exist, cPanel will create it.
   - Provide a **Repository Name** (this is for display purposes only).

![](https://truehost.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/image-17-1024x239.png)

![](https://truehost.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/image-18.png)

![](https://truehost.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/image-19-1024x491.png)

4. **Clone the Repository**
Click **Create** to clone the repository to your cPanel account.

5. **Deploy Changes**

- After pushing changes to your remote repository, return to cPanel.
- Go to **Git Version Control**, select your repository, and click **Manage**.
- On the **Pull or Deploy** tab, click **Update from Remote** and then **Deploy Head Commit**.
- This will update your cPanel file manager with the latest code changes.

![](https://truehost.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/image-20-1024x301.png)

![](https://truehost.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/image-21-1024x500.png)

**6**. **Verify Deployment**
Access your website to ensure the updates are reflected.

**Note:** Do not delete the `.git` directory in your cPanel file manager, as this will break cPanel’s ability to manage your repository.

![](https://truehost.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/image-22-1024x486.png)

## **Part 3: Set Up Access to Private Repositories**

**Generate an SSH Key**
Use cPanel Terminal Access to generate an SSH key:

`ssh-keygen -t rsa -f ~/.ssh/cpanel-private-repo -b 4096 -C "username@mydomain.com"`

**Create an SSH Configuration File**

Create the SSH configuration file:

***`touch ~/.ssh/config`***

Update the file permissions:

***`chmod 0600 ~/.ssh/configchown username:username ~/.ssh/config`***

Open the `~/.ssh/config` file and add the following lines: Update where necessary.

***`Host *IdentityFile ~/.ssh/cpanel-private-repo`***

**Register the SSH Key with the Private Repository Host**
Add the public key (`~/.ssh/cpanel-private-repo.pub`) to your GitHub or GitLab account under SSH keys.

**Test the SSH Key**
Verify the SSH key works:

***`ssh -i ~/.ssh/cpanel-private-repo -T git@github.com`***

A success authentication message should appear.

![](https://truehost.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/image-25-1024x354.png)

**Clone the Private Repository**
Use the SSH URL to clone the repository:

***`git clone git@github.com:username/cpanel-private-repo.git`***

## **Reference Guides**

For more information, please refer to the cPanel documentation below.

- [cPanel Git Version Control Documentation](https://docs.cpanel.net/cpanel/files/git-version-control/)
- [Guide to Git Deployment](https://docs.cpanel.net/knowledge-base/web-services/guide-to-git-deployment/)
- [Guide to Git Setup for Private Repositories](https://docs.cpanel.net/knowledge-base/web-services/guide-to-git-set-up-access-to-private-repositories/)

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By following this guide, you can efficiently deploy and manage your website using Git version control on cPanel, whether your repository is public or private.

Happy Hosting!