Introduction
Talos is a self-hosted deployment platform for Dockerized applications running on a single VPS. It is designed for solo operators and small technical teams who want a simple control plane for deploying and operating apps without adopting a larger platform.
What Talos Does
- Deploys Dockerized applications from GitHub onto one VPS
- Manages app routing through Talos-managed Traefik
- Supports GitHub Actions webhook-based deployment flow
- Provides backup, restore, and upgrade workflows
- Provisions managed backing services (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, Garage)
What Talos Is Not
Talos is intentionally scoped. It is not:
- A Kubernetes replacement
- A multi-node orchestrator
- A multi-tenant hosting platform
- A general CI/CD system
Product Principles
| Principle | Meaning |
|---|---|
| One obvious happy path | The primary deploy workflow should be immediately understandable |
| Reliability before breadth | A smaller tool that works reliably beats a wider tool that breaks |
| Opinionated defaults | Good defaults reduce decision fatigue |
| One VPS is a feature | Simpler mental model, lower operational complexity |
Quick Start
bash
# SSH into your VPS and run the installer
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/logic-roastery/project-talos/master/scripts/install.sh | sudo bash
# Or with Docker mode
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/logic-roastery/project-talos/master/scripts/install.sh | sudo bash -s -- --dockerIf you want to keep the installer for later upgrades, download it first instead of piping it directly to bash.
Then open http://YOUR_VPS_IP:3000 in your browser, create an admin account, and start deploying.
Next Steps
- Installation — Detailed installation options
- Configuration — Environment variables and settings
- Your First Deploy — Deploy an app step by step