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Server Directory Structure

This reference describes the file system layout on an Appliku-managed server. Understanding this structure is helpful when debugging, running manual commands, or inspecting application state via SSH.

Overview​

All Appliku-managed files live under the /home/app/ directory, owned by the app user.

/home/app/
├── {app-name}/                    # One directory per application
│   ├── docker-compose.yml         # Generated Docker Compose file
│   ├── code/                      # Application source code
│   └── env/                       # Environment variable exports
├── _cron_logs/                    # Cron job output logs
│   └── {job_id}/                  # One directory per cron job
├── nginx/                         # Nginx configuration
│   ├── conf.d/                    # Per-application Nginx configs
│   └── ssl/                       # SSL certificates
└── ...

Application Directories​

/home/app/APP-NAME/​

Each deployed application gets its own directory. The directory name matches the application's slug (lowercase, hyphenated).

/home/app/my-django-app/
├── docker-compose.yml     # Auto-generated; do not edit manually
├── code/                  # Your application source code
└── env/
    └── envs_export.sh     # Environment variables as shell exports

docker-compose.yml​

This file is auto-generated by Appliku on each deployment. It defines:

  • Application service containers (web, worker, etc.)
  • Database containers
  • Volumes
  • Network configuration
  • Resource limits
warning

Do not manually edit docker-compose.yml. Your changes will be overwritten on the next deployment. Use the Appliku dashboard or appliku.yml to configure your application.

code/​

Contains your application's source code, pulled from your Git repository during deployment.

env/​

Contains envs_export.sh, a shell script that exports your application's environment variables. This file is sourced during the Docker build to make environment variables available at build time.

Docker Volumes​

Persistent data (databases, uploaded files) is stored in Docker volumes. These survive container restarts and redeployments.

Default volume location:

/var/lib/docker/volumes/

To list volumes for an application:

docker volume ls | grep {app-name}

To inspect a volume's mount point:

docker volume inspect {volume-name}

Nginx Configuration​

/home/app/nginx/conf.d/​

Contains per-application Nginx configuration files. Each application with a web process gets its own .conf file that defines:

  • Server blocks for each domain
  • SSL certificate paths
  • Proxy pass rules to the application container
  • Static file serving rules (for volumes with url configured)

/home/app/nginx/ssl/​

Contains SSL certificates and private keys provisioned by Let's Encrypt.

note

Nginx configuration files are auto-generated. Use the Appliku dashboard to manage domains and SSL settings rather than editing these files directly.

Cron Job Logs​

/home/app/_cron_logs/JOB_ID/​

Each cron job writes its stdout and stderr output to log files in this directory.

To view cron job output:

ssh app@<server-ip>
ls /home/app/_cron_logs/
# Find your job ID, then:
cat /home/app/_cron_logs/{job_id}/stdout.log
cat /home/app/_cron_logs/{job_id}/stderr.log

Useful Commands​

When SSHed into the server as the app user:

# List all deployed applications
ls /home/app/

# View an application's Docker Compose config
cat /home/app/{app-name}/docker-compose.yml

# Check running containers
docker ps

# View logs for a specific container
docker logs {container-name} --tail 100

# Check disk usage by Docker
docker system df

# List Docker volumes
docker volume ls