Deploy from a template

Templates are pre-configured services you can add to a project in one step — databases, caches, message brokers, and object storage, with sensible defaults already filled in. They are the third deploy source alongside Git and a container image.

Common templates include Postgres, Redis, MongoDB, MySQL, RabbitMQ, and MinIO. Run bitsreef templates list for the current catalogue on your account.

From the dashboard

Open a project and click New service → From a template.
Pick a template from the catalogue.
Review its variables — a template may expose a few settings (such as a database name or a version tag) with defaults you can override.
Click Deploy. BitsReef creates the service (or services) and starts it.

A template connects to the rest of your project like any other service: its internal URL and generated credentials are available to your other services as environment variables.

From the CLI

# Browse the catalogue
bitsreef templates list

# Inspect one template — its category and the services it deploys
bitsreef templates info postgres

# Deploy it into a project (uses the linked project if omitted)
bitsreef templates deploy postgres my-project

# Override a template variable (repeat -v for several)
bitsreef templates deploy postgres my-project -v VERSION=16 -v DB_NAME=app

# See the new services
bitsreef services list my-project

bitsreef templates deploy prints the project the services landed in; from there they behave exactly like services you created yourself — scale them, add domains, attach volumes, and read their logs.

See also