Own Your Stack

PHP for Small Teams

Stop fighting your infrastructure. Start shipping.

Own Your Stack book cover

The Problem

You search "PHP deployment" and get told to learn Docker, set up Kubernetes, implement GitHub Actions pipelines, and adopt GitOps practices.

Most small teams don't need any of this.

You don't need Netflix's infrastructure. You need to ship your application, keep it running, and sleep at night knowing you can fix things when they break.

What Makes This Different

Opinionated

I make decisions so you don't have to research every option. When there's a better way, I tell you.

Complete

From local development to production operations. Not just "how to deploy" but "how to run the whole thing."

Self-Hosted

Your code on your servers. No vendor lock-in, no per-seat pricing, no surprise bills.

Anti-Complexity

Every tool has a cost. This guide adds only what you need and explains what to skip.

31 Chapters + 5 Appendices

Development Environment

  1. PHPStorm Setup
  2. SSH Authentication

Server Foundation

  1. VPS Initial Setup
  2. Nginx Configuration
  3. Directory Structure and Permissions
  4. MySQL Setup

Deployment

  1. Rsync Deployment
  2. Automated Deployment with GitLab Runner
  3. Database Migrations
  4. Zero-Drama Zero-Downtime

Self-Hosted Code Review

  1. Phorge Installation
  2. Phorge as Git Server
  3. Workstation Setup with Arcanist
  4. Pre-Commit Review Workflow
  5. Post-Commit Audit Workflow
  6. Herald Rules and Automation

Operations

  1. VPS Health Monitoring
  2. Log Management
  3. Application Error Tracking
  4. Uptime Monitoring
  5. Backup Strategy
  6. Disaster Recovery
  7. Ongoing Security
  8. Intrusion Awareness

Day-to-Day Workflow

  1. Local Development Consistency
  2. Staging Environment
  3. Cron Jobs
  4. Email Sending
  5. Performance Basics
  6. Complete Workflow Example
  7. What Not to Add

Appendices

  • A. SSH Config Examples
  • B. Nginx Config Templates
  • C. Deploy Script Templates
  • D. Phorge Configuration Reference
  • E. Troubleshooting Common Issues

Who This Is For

You should know PHP and be comfortable in a terminal. You don't need prior DevOps experience.

The Math

A single Laravel Forge subscription is $19/month. That's $228/year.

GitHub Team is $4/user/month. For a 5-person team, that's $240/year - and you still don't control your code.

This guide pays for itself in under 4 months of saved subscriptions. The skills transfer to every project forever.

Get the Guide

  • PDF guide (200+ pages)
  • All code samples (deploy scripts, configs, templates)
  • Future updates included
$59 Buy Now