Interactive Workflows

This page provides actionable, step-by-step guides for the most common operations in CtrlOps. Follow these workflows to master server orchestration.

1. Add and Connect to a Server

The foundation of CtrlOps is establishing a secure connection to your Linux infrastructure.

Navigate to the Dashboard and click the "Add New Server" button.

Enter your server's IP address, username, and port (default is 22).

Upload your .pem or .key file. CtrlOps supports RSA, ED25519, and ECDSA keys.

Ensure your system's SSH agent is running. CtrlOps will automatically attempt to use loaded keys.

Enter your user password. Note: We recommend switching to keys for better security.

Click "Connect". CtrlOps will initiate the SSH handshake and open a persistent session with integrated SFTP support.

Automate the process of moving code from Git to production.

Select your active server and click on "Deployment" in the sidebar.

Paste your Git repository URL (SSH preferred) and specify the branch (e.g., main).

Define your install and build commands.

Click "Deploy Now". You can monitor the real-time build logs in the integrated terminal window.

Secure your domain with Let's Encrypt in under 60 seconds.

Navigate to the "Certbot / SSL" section under your server details.

CtrlOps will list all domains found in your Nginx configurations. Select the one you wish to secure.

Click "Issue Certificate". CtrlOps handles the Certbot installation and ACME challenge automatically.

Once successful, Nginx is reloaded with the new SSL parameters. Visit your site via https:// to verify.

Manage web traffic and reverse proxies without manual terminal editing.

Open the "Nginx Management" module. You'll see a list of sites separated into Available and Enabled.

Click the edit icon on an available site. Use the built-in editor to define your proxy rules or static paths.

Click "Test Config". This runs nginx -t on the server to ensure there are no syntax errors.

Toggle the site to "Enabled". CtrlOps creates the symbolic link and executes systemctl reload nginx instantly.

Use the power of AI to diagnose and fix server issues.

If a command fails in the terminal or a service won't start, CtrlOps will highlight the error.

Click the "Ask AI" button next to the error output.

The AI Assistant will analyze the error logs, system status, and recent commands to identify the root cause.

The Assistant will provide a one-line fix or a sequence of commands. Click "Run in Terminal" to apply the solution directly.

Need more depth on how these work under the hood? Check out the System Architecture page.