Deploy Docker Apps in Seconds - Once Changes Everything
Something a bit different from the usual gaming and distro content. I've been playing with Once, the new platform from 37signals for installing and managing Docker-based applications, and it's genuinely impressive. If you've ever wanted to
Something a bit different from the usual gaming and distro content. I've been playing with Once, the new platform from 37signals for installing and managing Docker-based applications, and it's genuinely impressive. If you've ever wanted to self-host apps without the usual Docker headache, this is worth paying attention to.
you can get once here https://github.com/basecamp/once
more scripts stuff at
Once gives you a clean, Omarchy-style terminal interface to deploy, start, stop, and remove web applications on your own server. No logging into hosting provider dashboards, no fiddling with config files — just a TUI that lets you spin things up and tear them down in seconds.
WHAT I'M RUNNING
I've got Once set up on a cheap VPS — about six to eight dollars a month — and I'm managing everything through SSH from Omarchy. In this video I walk through what's already deployed on my no-signal.uk domain.
Campfire — 37signals' chat app. I deploy it live in the video. Type a hostname, point it at a subdomain, and it's up. camp.no-signal.uk had a working login screen within seconds. Set up a user, and you've got a fully functional team chat platform. When I'm done, I stop it and delete it from the same interface.
Satamic CMS — I imported a full CMS site into a Docker container, pushed it to Git, pulled it down onto the server, and deployed it through Once. My own website running on my own infrastructure, built in minutes.
Open Claw — Deployed on claw.no-signal.uk. It's an assistant-style platform. Honestly not something I'd use day to day since I do most of that kind of work through Claude directly, but on Linux where you don't have the full Claude desktop experience that Windows gets, it could be a genuinely useful self-hosted alternative.
Books — 37signals' writing and publishing platform. Installed as one of the built-in Once apps.
THE WILDCARD DNS TRICK
One thing that makes this so flexible is wildcard DNS. I've configured my domain so any subdomain I make up on the fly — camp.no-signal.uk, claw.no-signal.uk, www.no-signal.uk — all resolve to my VPS. That means I can deploy a new app, give it any subdomain I want, and it just works without going back to touch DNS settings every time. I'll walk through exactly how to set this up in a follow-up video.
WHY THIS MATTERS
If you've ever tried to self-host Docker apps on a VPS manually, you know the pain. Setting up reverse proxies, SSL certificates, managing containers, configuring networking — it's a lot of moving parts. Once abstracts most of that away into a simple interface.
And here's the really powerful bit — combine Once with Claude Code. You can connect Claude to your server, describe what you want, and it'll work out how to build a Docker container, deploy it, and get it running. DHH showed this in his own demo where he vibe-coded an app and deployed it through Once. For someone like me who needs to spin up quick projects, test sites, or tools, it's a massive timesaver.
You could genuinely get Claude to build you a website, host it on a VPS through Once for a few dollars a month, and have the whole thing running without ever touching a hosting provider's control panel.
WHAT'S COMING
This is the first in a series. The next videos will cover setting up a VPS from scratch, configuring DNS with wildcards, locking down the server properly, installing Once, and then building and deploying apps using Claude Code to do the heavy lifting. I'll step through everything so you can follow along even if you've never touched a server before.
A BIT DIFFERENT
I know this channel is mostly Linux gaming and Omarchy content and that's not going away. The Gamescope launcher project is close to a universal version that covers Debian, Arch, and Fedora in one installer — that's a long-term job but it's coming. In the meantime, this Once stuff is too useful not to share, especially for anyone on Omarchy who wants to do more than just game and edit video.
If there's anything specific you'd like to see built and deployed with Once, drop it in the comments.
I make videos about Linux, Omarchy, gaming, scripting, and increasingly about self-hosting and building things with AI. Subscribe if any of that sounds interesting.