Using capistrano to deploy from different git branches

Question

I am using capistrano to deploy a RoR application. The codebase is in a git repository, and branching is widely used in development. Capistrano uses deploy.rb f

Answer 1

With multistage, it's actually now:

cap production deploy -s branch=my-branch

The previous post syntax does not work in my environment

Answer 2

This command won't work anymore:

cap deploy -s branch=your_branch

Support for -sS flags was removed in capistrano v3+.
Here you can read more about it: link
It was mentioned in couple of answers, but currently is not correct.

What works for me:
in deploy.rb file add

set :branch, ENV['BRANCH'] || :master

then run:

BRANCH=your_branch cap deploy

Also please notice that, in order to successfully run this command, you need to be on master branch.

Answer 3

Alternatively you could structure it from the command line where you have a default branch and environment and also you are able to pass parameters to the cap call which could include the environment and the branch to use. This could be a branch that is explicitly passed or you could have a parameter which would indicate current branch as described in the link you listed.

#call with cap -S env="<env>" branch="<branchname>" deploy
...

# Prevents error if not parameter passed, assumes that default 'cap deploy' command
# and should deploy the master branch to the production server
set(:env, ‘production’) unless exists?(:env)
set(:branch, ‘master’) unless exists?(:branch)

if !env.nil? && env == "production"
   role :web, "production_ip_address"
else   # add more as needed 
   role :web, "development_ip_address"
end

if !branch.nil? && branch == "current"
   set :branch, $1 if `git branch` =~ /\* (\S+)\s/m
elsif !branch.nil?
   set :branch, branch
else   # add more as needed 
   set :branch, "master"
end
...

Code example borrowed heavily from here

Answer 4

Using Capistrano 3.1.0+, none of these were working for me anymore. Instead, according to their commented instructions:

   ask :branch, proc { `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD`.chomp }

But, you don't want to use ask or it will prompt you. Instead you should use set. HEAD is the top most branch; 'edge' as it's called. If you want a different branch, replace HEAD with your branch name, eg: master, staging, etc.

To conclude with examples, in /config/deploy/production.rb, you might include this line:

   set :branch, proc { `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref master`.chomp }

...or

   set :branch, proc { `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD`.chomp }

btw, HEAD is the default setting, so no need to really state that in file. Might be used better in a /config/deploy/edge.rb.

In /config/deploy/staging.rb, you might include this line:

   set :branch, proc { `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref staging`.chomp }

...or

   set :branch, proc { `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref test`.chomp }

You get the idea!

I hope these examples help future users of capistrano (^_^)

Answer 5

For capistrano 3 users:

desc "prompt for branch or tag"
task :git_branch_or_tag do
  on roles(:all) do |host|
    run_locally do
      execute :git, 'tag'
      tag_prompt = "Enter a branch or tag name to deploy"
      ask(:branch_or_tag, tag_prompt)
      tag_branch_target = fetch(:branch_or_tag, 'master')
      set(:branch, tag_branch_target)
    end
  end
end

before 'deploy:updated',  :git_branch_or_tag

Answer 6

Im using version 3.3.5 and i have this working:

set :branch, 'develop'