HivePods

Your own cloud dev environment, ready in seconds. Pick an operating system, choose how much power you need, and you're in — right from your terminal.

hivepod create web1     # a quick wizard: name it, pick an OS + size
hivepod connect web1    # you're in a shell

Install

macOS / Linux:

curl -fsSL https://dockhive.io/install.sh | sh

Windows (PowerShell):

irm https://dockhive.io/install.ps1 | iex

The installer puts hivepod in its own folder (~/.hivepods), adds it to your PATH and works in every new terminal. Run it again any time to upgrade.

Prefer pip? pipx install hivepods-cli does the same. With plain pip install hivepods-cli the hivepod command may land in a folder that isn't on your PATH; python3 -m hivepods_cli always works.

Get started

hivepod login           # opens your browser to sign in
hivepod create          # short wizard: name, OS, size
hivepod connect myenv   # open a shell in your environment
hivepod list            # see everything you're running

hivepod login signs you in through the browser. On a machine with no browser, use hivepod login --no-browser for email and password instead.

No servers to manage, no setup. Each environment gets its own address (myenv.dockhive.sh), so whatever you run inside is reachable.

Everyday commands

hivepod create                       # interactive: OS, size (or custom CPU/RAM/disk), region
hivepod create api --os ubuntu-24.04 --size small    # or one-liner

hivepod connect api                  # interactive shell
hivepod exec api "npm test"          # run a single command
hivepod logs api -f                  # follow live logs

hivepod stop api                     # pause (your data stays)
hivepod start api                    # resume
hivepod restart api
hivepod rm api                       # delete (also deletes its backups)

hivepod list                         # what you have
hivepod status api                   # details + live CPU/RAM

hivepod env api LOG_LEVEL=info --unset DEBUG   # change environment variables
hivepod apply api                    # use them (recreates the environment; data/ and projects/ are kept)

hivepod backup create api            # back up the data/ and projects/ folders
hivepod backup list
hivepod backup restore <backup-id> api-copy   # a NEW environment from a backup

Backups belong to their pod: hivepod rm deletes the pod's backups with it, and the confirmation prompt says how many. To keep the files, restore a backup into a new environment (or copy what you need off the pod) before you delete it.

Anywhere a command takes a name, you can pass the environment's id instead. start, stop, restart, suspend, resume, apply, rm, backup create and backup restore wait until the work is done; add --no-wait to return straight away.

hivepod connect works on macOS, Linux and Windows (Windows Terminal or the Windows 10+ console).

Deploy an app

cd my-app
hivepod deploy                      # upload this folder; Drone builds and deploys it
hivepod deploy ./api --env DATABASE_URL=postgres://...   # set env vars (repeatable)
hivepod deploy --app my-api         # redeploy a specific app
hivepod deploy --no-wait            # return once the upload is accepted

Zero config: Drone, DockHive's AI deploy agent, reads your code, builds your app and deploys it, and fixes problems along the way so it goes live. You see Drone's progress as it works ("Reading your code…", "Building your app…"), then the live URL. If your app needs settings such as DATABASE_URL, Drone tells you which ones; pass them with --env. --verbose shows the full build log. Deploying the same folder again updates the same app (--new makes a separate one). If the folder isn't a web service (a mobile or desktop app, a CLI or library, a background worker, notebooks, infrastructure config), Drone stops before building, says what it found and what to do instead (deploy the backend folder, or use a HivePod), and nothing is billed.

What gets uploaded: the folder as a compressed archive (50 MB max) without .git, node_modules, virtualenvs, __pycache__, tool caches, large dist/build folders, and never your secrets (.env* except .env.example/.env.sample, *.pem, *.key, id_rsa*). Files matched by your .gitignore are skipped too; add a .dockhiveignore (same format) for anything else you don't want to ship. Ignore files support the common gitignore syntax: *, **, ?, [abc], !negation, a trailing / for folders and a leading / to anchor at the project root; only the files in the project root are read.

AI agents (MCP)

hivepod mcp is an MCP server, so Claude, Cursor, Windsurf and other AI coding tools can deploy and manage your DockHive resources for you. It uses your hivepod login session; sign in once in a terminal first.

hivepod login
hivepod mcp --print-config     # prints the snippets below with your hivepod path filled in

Claude Code

claude mcp add dockhive -- hivepod mcp
# every project: claude mcp add --scope user dockhive -- hivepod mcp

Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf: add this to claude_desktop_config.json (Settings → Developer → Edit Config), ~/.cursor/mcp.json, or ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json. Desktop apps don't see your shell's PATH, so use the full path to hivepod (~/.hivepods/bin/hivepod with the installer; on Windows %USERPROFILE%\.hivepods\cli\Scripts\hivepod.exe; hivepod mcp --print-config shows yours):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dockhive": {
      "command": "/Users/you/.hivepods/bin/hivepod",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Then ask, for example: "Deploy this project to DockHive", "Why did the last deploy fail?", "Add a Postgres database and wire it into the app".

Safety notes:

• Secrets stay local. .env files, private keys and certificates are never uploaded, even if an ignore file says otherwise. Configuration goes in through env / set_env, where values are stored encrypted and never shown back.
• Deletes need confirmation. delete_app and delete_pod only describe what would be deleted until they are called with confirm: true; agents are told to ask you first. Deleting a pod also deletes all of its backups, and delete_pod says how many first.
• Your session, your permissions. The server acts as the account you signed in with hivepod login. hivepod logout cuts it off.
• The server speaks MCP over stdio and writes only protocol messages to stdout; set HIVEPODS_MCP_LOG=INFO to see its log on stderr.

Operating systems

Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Alpine, Arch, Rocky and more run as fast, lightweight environments. Windows and FreeBSD run as full machines — reach those through the built-in web console (or RDP for Windows) instead of a shell.

hivepod os              # everything you can launch

Sizes

Pick a preset, or set your own:

Settings

hivepod config set default_size small   # your default when you don't pick one
hivepod config list

Help

hivepod --help
hivepod <command> --help