Paid add-on · on your server

HERON Agent

HERON Agent is a small service on your server that keeps your HERON sites up to date. It sees each new image of a site, starts it next to the running one, checks it and switches visitors over, and you control it from Telegram.

It is a paid add-on by subscription. HERON itself, the build and every way of publishing work without it.

What the Agent does

Updates sites from new images

Every git push or Docker Hub push makes a new image of the site. The Agent sees it, starts it and puts it live, so you never log in to the server to update a site by hand.

Watches: The registries of your sites: GHCR on GitHub or your Docker Hub. It notices a new image within a minute or two.
Starts: The new version next to the old one, on the same server. Visitors still see the old version while the new one warms up.
Checks: That the home page, the 404 and the redirects answer as they should, the same test GitHub runs before publishing.
Switches: Visitors to the new version, then removes the old container a minute later.
Asks or acts: By default it asks in Telegram first; switch the question off, and it updates on its own.
Without the Agent: The same update by hand is two commands on the server, docker pull and a restart. Images and Docker Hub

Rolls back on its own

If the new version fails the check, visitors never see it. A broken release costs you a message in Telegram, not a broken site.

What happens: The old container keeps serving the site, the new one is stopped.
What you get: A message with the reason: which check failed and on which address.
What you do: Fix the page, push again; the Agent tries the next image the same way.
Going back on purpose: Ask for an earlier version from Telegram: every image stays in the registry.

Keeps an eye on the server

The Agent watches more than releases. It tells you about trouble before your visitors do.

Uptime: A site stops answering, or comes back.
Certificates: An SSL certificate is about to expire, days before it does.
Disk and images: Old images are cleaned up, so the disk does not fill up.
Quiet hours: Alerts can be muted for a while, for example during planned work.

Many sites, one server

One Agent serves every site on the server, each with its own HERON version and its own image. A small server holds many small sites.

Add a site: Name its image and domain, from Telegram or the config file.
Separate: Each site runs in its own container; one failed release never touches the others.
Own versions: An old site can stay on its HERON version while a new one uses the latest.
One list: All sites with their state, version and last update in one Telegram message.

How the link works

Three keys connect the Agent to your sites and to you. They stay on your server.

1
Install the Agent

One Docker container on your server, next to your sites.
2
Create a bot key

Make a Telegram bot with @BotFather and give its key to the Agent, or connect our bot by subscription.
3
Add the registry key

A read-only token from GitHub (packages) or Docker Hub, so the Agent can download the images of your sites.
4
Done

Telegram becomes the control panel: add sites, see their state, update or postpone.

Your own bot or ours

Your own bot

You create the bot with @BotFather and keep its key on your server.
Nothing passes through our servers.
Setup takes a few minutes and is described step by step.

Our bot, by subscription

No bot to create: connect the Agent to HERON Bot with one code.
Updates and alerts for all your servers in one chat.
Support from us when something goes wrong.

What you see in Telegram

A new version

«A new image for my-site.com is ready. Update now or later?» Updating can also be fully automatic: switch the question off in the settings, and the check and rollback still run.

The result

«my-site.com updated in 14 s, old container removed» or «Update stopped: /contacts/ answers 500. The old version keeps working.»

Alerts

A site is down or back, a certificate expires in 7 days.

Commands

List sites, add a site, update now, postpone for an hour, a day or a week.

Safety

Keys stay on your server

The bot key and the registry key are stored by the Agent on your machine and never sent anywhere else.

Read-only access

The registry token only reads images; it cannot change your repository.

Only you give orders

The Agent answers only the Telegram accounts you allowed.

Nothing reaches inside a site

The Agent swaps whole containers; it never changes files inside a running site.

Questions

Do I need the Agent to publish a site?

No. Publishing with git, Docker Hub or static files works without it. The Agent saves you the manual update on your server.

How much does it cost?

The Agent is a paid add-on by subscription. Prices will be published with its release.

What if I have no server?

Then HERON Bot does the same job without your own server.

Can it update without asking?

Yes. Switch the confirmation off in the settings, and new versions go live by themselves, with the same check and rollback.

Which registries does it support?

GHCR on GitHub and Docker Hub, public or private repositories.