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How to Manage Build and Run Commands

Validated on 17 Jan 2024 • Last edited on 25 Mar 2026

App Platform is a fully managed Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) that deploys applications from Git repositories or container images. It automatically builds, deploys, and scales components while handling all underlying infrastructure.

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App Platform supports running commands during build and run times for web and worker components. You can add these commands during app creation time or after you have deployed the app.

Build Commands

App Platform executes build commands after running the buildpack build but before creating the app’s container image. Build commands are usually used to install additional dependencies or to configure the app before running it, such as setting up TLS certificates.

If you do not specify any build commands, App Platform uses the default build command for your app’s language.

Run Commands

App Platform executes run commands after the app’s container has been deployed. They are usually used to configure and start the app. For example, the npm run start command starts the Node.js server. You can also use run commands to run any additional commands in the container, such as running tests and or connecting to a database.

If you do not specify any run commands, App Platform uses the default run command for your app’s language.

Manage Build and Run Commands Using Automation

You can manage build and run commands using the CLI’s app update command or the API’s app update endpoint. Add or update the build_command and run_command fields in your app spec for the applicable service or worker component, then submit the spec using the following command or endpoint. The app spec must completely define all of your app’s configurations. We recommend downloading your current app spec from the control panel, API, or CLI, and modifying it to include the build and run command settings.

How to Manage Build and Run Commands Using the DigitalOcean CLI

Install doctl, the official DigitalOcean CLI.
Create a personal access token and save it for use with doctl.
Use the token to grant doctl access to your DigitalOcean account.
```
doctl auth init
```
Finally, run doctl apps update. Basic usage looks like this, but you can read the usage docs for more details:
```
doctl apps update <app id> [flags]
```
The following example updates an app with the ID f81d4fae-7dec-11d0-a765-00a0c91e6bf6 using an app spec located in a directory called /src/your-app.yaml. Additionally, the command returns the updated app’s ID, ingress information, and creation date:
```
doctl apps update f81d4fae-7dec-11d0-a765-00a0c91e6bf6 --spec src/your-app.yaml --format ID,DefaultIngress,Created
```

How to Manage Build and Run Commands Using the DigitalOcean API

Create a personal access token and save it for use with the API.
Send a PUT request to https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/apps/{id}.

cURL

Using cURL:

curl -X PUT \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN" \
"https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/apps/{id}" \
-d '{"alerts":[{"rule":"DEPLOYMENT_FAILED"},{"rule":"DOMAIN_FAILED"}],"domains":[{"domain":"example.com","type":"PRIMARY","zone":"example.com"}],"envs":[{"key":"API_KEY","scope":"RUN_AND_BUILD_TIME","type":"SECRET","value":"EV[1:zqiRIeaaYK/NqctZDYzy6t0pTrtRDez8:wqGpZRrsKN5nPhWQrS479cfBiXT0WQ==]"}],"features":["buildpack-stack=ubuntu-22"],"ingress":{},"name":"example-app","region":"nyc","services":[{"autoscaling":{"max_instance_count":4,"metrics":{"cpu":{"percent":70}},"min_instance_count":2},"git":{"branch":"main","repo_clone_url":"https://github.com/digitalocean/sample-nodejs.git"},"internal_ports":[8080],"log_destinations":[{"name":"your_log_consumer_name","open_search":{"endpoint":"logs.example.com:12345","basic_auth":{"user":"doadmin","password":"1234567890abcdef"},"index_name":"example-index","cluster_name":"example-cluster"}}],"name":"sample-nodejs","run_command":"yarn start","source_dir":"/"}]}'

Python

Using PyDo, the official DigitalOcean API client for Python:

import os
from pydo import Client

client = Client(token=os.environ.get("DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN"))
req = {
"spec": {
    "name": "web-app-01",
    "region": "nyc",
    "domains": [
        {
            "domain": "app.example.com",
            "type": "DEFAULT",
            "wildcard": True,
            "zone": "example.com",
            "minimum_tls_version": "1.3",
        }
    ],
    "services": [],
    "static_sites": [
        {
            "cors": {
                "allow_origins": [
                    {"exact": "https://www.example.com"},
                    {"regex": "^.*example.com"},
                ],
                "allow_methods": [
                    "GET",
                    "OPTIONS",
                    "POST",
                    "PUT",
                    "PATCH",
                    "DELETE",
                ],
                "allow_headers": ["Content-Type", "X-Custom-Header"],
                "expose_headers": ["Content-Encoding", "X-Custom-Header"],
                "max_age": "5h30m",
                "allow_credentials": False,
            },
            "routes": [{"path": "/api", "preserve_path_prefix": True}],
        }
    ],
    "jobs": [
        {
            "name": "api",
            "gitlab": {
                "branch": "main",
                "deploy_on_push": True,
                "repo": "digitalocean/sample-golang",
            },
            "image": {
                "registry": "registry.hub.docker.com",
                "registry_type": "DOCR",
                "repository": "origin/master",
                "tag": "latest",
            },
            "dockerfile_path": "path/to/Dockerfile",
            "build_command": "npm run build",
            "run_command": "bin/api",
            "source_dir": "path/to/dir",
            "envs": [
                {
                    "key": "BASE_URL",
                    "scope": "BUILD_TIME",
                    "type": "GENERAL",
                    "value": "http://example.com",
                }
            ],
            "environment_slug": "node-js",
            "log_destinations": {
                "name": "my_log_destination",
                "papertrail": {
                    "endpoint": "https://mypapertrailendpoint.com"
                },
                "datadog": {
                    "endpoint": "https://mydatadogendpoint.com",
                    "api_key": "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789",
                },
                "logtail": {
                    "token": "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789"
                },
               "open_search": {
                    "endpoint": "https://myopensearchendpoint.com:9300"
                    "index_name": "logs"
                    "basic_auth": {
                        "user": "doadmin",
                        "password": "password"
                    }
                },
            },
            "instance_count": 2,
            "instance_size_slug": "apps-s-1vcpu-0.5gb",
            "kind": "PRE_DEPLOY",
        }
    ],
    "workers": [
        {
            "name": "api",
            "gitlab": {
                "branch": "main",
                "deploy_on_push": True,
                "repo": "digitalocean/sample-golang",
            },
            "image": {
                "registry": "registry.hub.docker.com",
                "registry_type": "DOCR",
                "repository": "origin/master",
                "tag": "latest",
            },
            "dockerfile_path": "path/to/Dockerfile",
            "build_command": "npm run build",
            "run_command": "bin/api",
            "source_dir": "path/to/dir",
            "envs": [
                {
                    "key": "BASE_URL",
                    "scope": "BUILD_TIME",
                    "type": "GENERAL",
                    "value": "http://example.com",
                }
            ],
            "environment_slug": "node-js",
            "log_destinations": {
                "name": "my_log_destination",
                "papertrail": {
                    "endpoint": "https://mypapertrailendpoint.com"
                },
                "datadog": {
                    "endpoint": "https://mydatadogendpoint.com",
                    "api_key": "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789",
                },
                "logtail": {
                    "token": "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789"
                },
               "open_search": {
                    "endpoint": "https://myopensearchendpoint.com:9300"
                    "index_name": "logs"
                    "basic_auth": {
                        "user": "doadmin",
                        "password": "password"
                    }
                },
            },
            "instance_count": 2,
            "instance_size_slug": "apps-s-1vcpu-0.5gb",
        }
    ],
    "functions": [
        {
            "cors": {
                "allow_origins": [
                    {"exact": "https://www.example.com"},
                    {"regex": "^.*example.com"},
                ],
                "allow_methods": [
                    "GET",
                    "OPTIONS",
                    "POST",
                    "PUT",
                    "PATCH",
                    "DELETE",
                ],
                "allow_headers": ["Content-Type", "X-Custom-Header"],
                "expose_headers": ["Content-Encoding", "X-Custom-Header"],
                "max_age": "5h30m",
                "allow_credentials": False,
            },
            "routes": [{"path": "/api", "preserve_path_prefix": True}],
            "name": "api",
            "source_dir": "path/to/dir",
            "alerts": [
                {
                    "rule": "CPU_UTILIZATION",
                    "disabled": False,
                    "operator": "GREATER_THAN",
                    "value": 2.32,
                    "window": "FIVE_MINUTES",
                }
            ],
            "envs": [
                {
                    "key": "BASE_URL",
                    "scope": "BUILD_TIME",
                    "type": "GENERAL",
                    "value": "http://example.com",
                }
            ],
            "gitlab": {
                "branch": "main",
                "deploy_on_push": True,
                "repo": "digitalocean/sample-golang",
            },
            "log_destinations": {
                "name": "my_log_destination",
                "papertrail": {
                    "endpoint": "https://mypapertrailendpoint.com"
                },
                "datadog": {
                    "endpoint": "https://mydatadogendpoint.com",
                    "api_key": "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789",
                },
                "logtail": {
                    "token": "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789"
                },
               "open_search": {
                    "endpoint": "https://myopensearchendpoint.com:9300"
                    "index_name": "logs"
                    "basic_auth": {
                        "user": "doadmin",
                        "password": "password"
                    }
                },
            },
        }
    ],
    "databases": [
        {
            "cluster_name": "cluster_name",
            "db_name": "my_db",
            "db_user": "superuser",
            "engine": "PG",
            "name": "prod-db",
            "production": True,
            "version": "12",
        }
    ],
    “vpc”: {
        “id”: “c22d8f48-4bc4-49f5-8ca0-58e7164427ac”,
    }
}
update_resp = client.apps.update(id="bb245ba", body=req)

Manage Build and Run Commands Using the Control Panel

To add build and run commands during app creation, see the Configure Resource Settings section of the app creation workflow.

To add, edit, or delete build and run commands on a deployed app, go to the Apps page, select your app, and click the Settings tab. Select a component, then scroll to the Commands section and click Edit.

Enter commands in the Build Command and Run Command fields, then click Save. This triggers a redeployment of your app using the updated commands.

Manage Build and Run Commands Using the App Spec

You can also add, edit, or delete build and run commands for your app from the app’s spec. To do this, download your app’s spec and add the build_command or run_command fields to the to the applicable service or work object in the spec, and then upload the spec.

For example, the following spec file defines a build and run command for a service in Go app:

your-app.yaml

services:
- environment_slug: go
  github:
    branch: master
    deploy_on_push: true
    repo: digitalocean/sample-golang
  instance_count: 1
  instance_size_slug: apps-s-1vcpu-1gb
  internal_ports:
  - 8080
  name: internal-service
  build_command: go build
  run_command: bin/sample-golang

Environment Variables

You can define environment variables to use in your commands. For example, you can define a DATABASE_URL environment variable that contains the database connection string and then reference it in your commands as $DATABASE_URL.

Being that App Platform doesn’t support injecting values as files on disk at build time, you can also use environment variables and run commands to create necessary configuration files on the disk at run time.

For example, MongoDB requires a Certificate Authority (CA) certificate for clients to connect to a cluster, and most MongoDB clients require the certificate to be a file on disk. You can work around the injection limitation by creating an environment variable, such as MONGO_CA_CERT=${db.CA_CERT}, during the app’s creation process or by updating its settings. Then, you can add a command to the app that creates the certificate file upon runtime, such as echo $MONGO_CA_CERT > ca_cert.cert && <original run command>. App Platform requires the original run time command to start the app upon runtime.

See How to Use Environment Variables in App Platform for more information on how to set up environment variables for your build and run time commands.