J—P

This project came out of one too many botched FTP uploads. I’d bounce between laptops, forget to pull the latest commit, and end up pushing an outdated build to production. Even the “reliable” FTP sync tools couldn’t solve the real problem: knowing exactly what changed—especially when switching machines. Sure, I could have gone full CI/CD, but spinning up containers, reinstalling dependencies, and shipping everything over slow FTP always felt like firing up a rocket to deliver a pizza.

PHP Git Deploy is the smaller, saner alternative. Drop a _deploy/ directory onto your shared host, point it at your GitHub repo, and let a webhook trigger a real git pull on the server. The script verifies the request, fetches only the commits you’re missing, and runs Composer or other post-deploy commands right where your site lives. No more manual diff sessions, no mystery uploads, no wondering if your latest fix actually made it online.

Most everyday hosts still let PHP execute shell commands even when SSH is blocked—and that tiny loophole is enough. With PHP Git Deploy, dependencies install directly where the project lives, code stays perfectly in sync, and the process remains light enough for modest setups. By transferring only what changed, it’s even a little greener. (I’m not saying you should put “saves the rainforest” on the landing page—but I’m also not not saying it.)

It’s not the flashiest deployment system out there, but for anyone juggling client sites on budget hosting, it keeps things beautifully boring. Build, push, let the webhook do its thing, and move on. That’s all I wanted.

Grab the code from github.com/lemmon/php-git-deploy, drop it into your next webhosting project, and see how much calmer deployments can feel.