How to deploy a Symfony application on a VPS (step by step)

This guide explains how to deploy a Symfony 6.4 application to a VPS on Ubuntu/Debian or Rocky/Alma/RHEL. It covers NGINX/Apache with PHP‑FPM, TLS via Let’s Encrypt, configuration and secrets, database migrations, deployment workflows (git pull, zero‑downtime releases, Docker), infrastructure recommendations, performance, monitoring/logging, and CI/CD. Target OS: “all common candidates” (Ubuntu/Debian, Rocky/Alma/RHEL).

Prerequisites

VPS with SSH and a non‑root sudo user; domain pointing to the VPS public IP (A/AAAA).
Git installed locally and on the server; repository access via SSH key or token.
Symfony 6.4 project with Composer and Doctrine Migrations.

Tip: Right-size CPU/RAM/disk/IOPS/swap according to “your app requirements”. Start small, monitor, then scale.

Server preparation

Deploy user & SSH hardening

Updates, firewall, tooling

Install PHP, Composer, NGINX/Apache

Prepare the application

NGINX configuration (recommended)

HTTPS (Let’s Encrypt)

Infrastructure recommendations

Provider comparison Provider Available options Key features Pros Cons DigitalOcean

Droplets (VPS)
Managed DB/Redis
Spaces/CDN
1‑Click images
Snapshots/Backups
Monitoring/Alerts
Simple UX
Clear docs
Good network
Fewer HF options
Average pricing
Linodes (VPS)
Managed DB/K8s
Object Storage
Native IPv6
StackScripts
Helpful support
Good price/perf
Reliable network
Simple billing
Fewer regions
Fewer add‑ons
Cloud Compute
High Frequency
Bare Metal
Many regions
Custom ISO
Snapshots
Strong CPU perf
Diverse plans
Fast deploys
Variable support
Backups optional

Sizing (based on “your app requirements”)

Criterion Recommended value Justification Small 1–2 vCPU, 1–2 GB RAM, 25–40 GB SSD, 1–2 GB swap Lean starting point; monitor load and scale gradually. Medium 2–4 vCPU, 4–8 GB RAM Enable OPcache, HTTP cache and possibly a CDN to absorb traffic. High 4–8 vCPU, 8–16 GB RAM Managed DB, Redis and dedicated workers for scalability.

Deployment workflows

On‑server git pull (simple).
Zero‑downtime releases (symlink current → release).
Docker/docker‑compose (images built in CI).

CI/CD (GitHub Actions — example)

Performance

Enable OPcache (validate_timestamps=0); reload FPM on each release.
HTTP cache and CDN; minify/bundle; gzip/brotli in NGINX.
Doctrine: avoid N+1, add indexes, profile queries; Redis for cache/sessions when needed.

Monitoring & logging

APM (Datadog/New Relic) or Prometheus/Grafana; uptime/latency and 5xx alerts.
Centralized logs (journald, Loki, ELK); Sentry for app errors.

Troubleshooting

502 with NGINX: check fastcgi_pass vs PHP version; inspect NGINX/FPM logs; ensure FPM is running.
var/ permissions: fix ownership and ACLs.
Composer OOM: run with -d memory_limit=-1.

Resources

Symfony 6.4 — Deployment
Web server configuration
Certbot / Let’s Encrypt