Capistrano

Spec sheet

Purpose

Capistrano is a remote server automation and deployment tool written in Ruby.Read 11 Oct 2026 · capistranorb.com

Deployment

It can deploy web applications to multiple machines simultaneously, in sequence, or as a rolling set.Read 11 Oct 2026 · capistranorb.com

Security

The documentation recommends SSH keys, ideally passphrase-protected and used with an SSH agent, for workstation-to-server authentication.Read 11 Oct 2026 · capistranorb.com

Support

The project points users to Stack Overflow and a mailing list monitored by Capistrano contributors for help.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

License

The project is distributed under the MIT License and states that it is provided without warranty.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Audience fit

The project says Capistrano may not suit users who are not comfortable using SSH and the command line on Linux servers.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Deployment limits

Capistrano deploys code but does not know how to execute the application or provision supporting server software by itself.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Deployment stages

A deployment can be parameterized for multiple environments such as QA, staging, and production.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Deployment tasks

It extends the Rake DSL with methods for running commands on servers.Read 11 Oct 2026 · capistranorb.com

Deployment workflow

Capistrano v3 provides deployment and rollback flows with hook tasks that users can extend.Read 11 Oct 2026 · capistranorb.com

Language support

Although Capistrano is written in Ruby, it can be used to deploy any language.Read 11 Oct 2026 · capistranorb.com

Official plugins

Official plugins are listed for Bundler, Composer, Drupal, Laravel, npm, Phusion Passenger, Ruby version managers, Rails, and Symfony.Read 11 Oct 2026 · capistranorb.com

Parallel execution

Deployment tasks can run concurrently across application servers, using connection pooling.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Plugins

Official plugins cover Bundler, Composer, Drupal, Laravel, npm, Phusion Passenger, Ruby version managers, Rails, Symfony, and other tools.Read 11 Oct 2026 · capistranorb.com

Rails support

The capistrano-rails gem provides asset pipeline and database migration support.Read 11 Oct 2026 · capistranorb.com

Remote execution

Capistrano executes remote commands over SSH using SSHKit.Read 11 Oct 2026 · capistranorb.com

Requirements

The quick start lists Ruby 2.5 or higher locally and source control; Git, Mercurial, and Subversion support is built in.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Rollback limitation

Rollback behavior depends on the application and assembled plugins, so users are advised to test their procedure beforehand.Read 11 Oct 2026 · capistranorb.com

Security limitation

The documentation notes that sharing one deployment user among team members may be unsuitable or against regulations in some jurisdictions.Read 11 Oct 2026 · capistranorb.com

Security reporting

The project directs suspected vulnerability reports to [email protected] instead of GitHub issues.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Server roles

Servers can be assigned roles to control where tasks run.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Shell support

Capistrano 3 expects a POSIX shell such as Bash or Sh on deployment servers.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Source control

The built-in source control plugins support Git, Subversion, and Mercurial, and custom SCM plugins are possible.Read 11 Oct 2026 · capistranorb.com

SSH authentication

Capistrano requires key based SSH authentication to deployment servers.Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com

Where Specifiction places it

• Deployment Automation Software#22 of 347.8