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How to Manage Services in App Platform

Validated on 24 Feb 2024 • Last edited on 5 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.

The usual app creation process creates a service by default. Use the steps below only if you’re adding a new resource that needs an internet-accessible endpoint. If the resource only needs internal access, create an internal service instead. If it doesn’t need network access, create a worker.

Add a Service to an App Using Automation

You can add a service to an app using the CLI’s app update command or the API’s app update endpoint. To add a service, update the app spec with the service’s specifications and submit the spec using the following command or endpoint.

How to Add a Service to an App 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 Add a Service to an App 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)

Add a Service to an App Using the Control Panel

Go to the Apps page of the DigitalOcean Control Panel and select your app. Click Add components, then choose Create resources from source code to add a web service.

An App Platform app with the Add components menu selected, and the Create resources from source code option highlighted.

On the Add resources screen:

Select your deployment source, either a Git repository or a container image. If you have not previously created an app on App Platform, the repository service may prompt you to provide DigitalOcean with read permissions to your account.
If using a Git repository, choose a branch to deploy from. By default, App Platform builds from the repository's root. If your code lives in a subdirectory (for example, in a monorepo), set the source directory to match.
Clear the Autodeploy checkbox if you want to stop automatic redeploys when the repository changes.
Click Next.

The Create an app screen with the Git repository tab selected, and GitHub selected as the Git provider.

App Platform retrieves your code, analyzes your repository, and automatically selects the appropriate runtime (such as Node or Ruby). If you need to override this behavior, upload a Dockerfile to your branch and restart the creation process.

Configure Resource Settings

The Resource settings table displays the configuration settings, some of which the detection system auto-fills.

The Resource settings table showing a web service selected as the Resource type and configuration settings for a web service.

You can configure the following settings:

Name: A unique name for the component.
Resource type: The type of component to deploy (web service, static site, worker, or job).
Branch: The branch to deploy from. You can enable automatic redeploys when changes are made to this branch.
Instance size: The amount of memory (RAM), CPUs, and bandwidth allocated to the component. You can choose shared or dedicated CPUs. Shared CPUs share their processing power with other DigitalOcean users. Dedicated CPUs are dedicated solely to your app. We recommend dedicated CPUs for more resource-intensive applications that require consistent high performance and autoscaling.
Containers: The component's scaling settings. The instance size you select determines the scaling options available. For more details, see How to Scale Apps in App Platform.
Build command: A custom build command to run before the app is deployed. This is useful for compiling assets, installing dependencies, or running tests before deployment.
Run command: A custom run command for the application to run after deployment. If no run command is specified, the default run command for your app's language is used, such as npm start for a Node.js app. For Dockerfile-based builds, entering a run command overrides the Dockerfile's entrypoint.
Public HTTP port: For web services only. The port that the app receives HTTP requests on. The default port is 8080.
Internal ports: For web services only. The port that the app receives internal requests on.
HTTP request routes: For web services and static sites only. The URL path where the app can be accessed, such as your-app-v3cl4.ondigitalocean.app/api. If not specified, the app is accessible from the provided hostname's root.

Note

The service must bind to and expose the HTTP port on the network interface 0.0.0.0, rather than on the localhost (localhost) or loopback interface (127.0.0.1).

Full HTTP request path preservation for services is not available in the Control Panel. Instead, set the preserve_path_prefix annotation in the App Spec to true.
Environment variables: Key-value pairs available to your app at runtime that let you keep configuration separate from application code. Use them to provide secrets, API keys, and other external settings, such as connection details for an external database.

App Platform uses cloud-native buildpacks to build components and applies the buildpack's default build and run commands. See the cloud-native buildpack reference for details about supported buildpacks.

Set App-Level Environment Variables

App-level environment variables are available to all components in your app. Use them for shared configuration, secrets, API keys, or other values your app needs at build time or runtime.

To set app-level environment variables:

Click Edit in the App-level environment variables section.
Click Add environment variable, type a key and value, then select a scope.
Select Encrypt to obscure the value in build, deployment, and application logs.

For dynamic, app-specific variables that your app can reference, see Use Bindable Variables.

Review and Deploy

Review the configuration and pricing details in the Summary section, then click Add resources.

App Platform creates the component with the selected settings and deploys it automatically. You can view or update the component's configuration on the Settings page.

Edit a Service

Go to the Apps page, select your app, then click the Settings tab. Select the web service you want to edit.

Click Edit beside a setting you want to change, then click Save.

Destroy a Service

Go to the Apps page, select your app, then click the Settings tab. Select the web service you want to destroy.

At the bottom of the page, click Destroy Component. Enter the web service's name to confirm, then click Destroy.

Create an Internal Service

Internal services are accessible to other components in the app’s private network. They do not have ports or endpoints exposed to the public internet.

You can create an internal service by closing the ports on an existing service or by updating the app spec with the internal_ports field.

Create an Internal Service Using the Control Panel

To create an internal service, go to the Apps page, click your app, then click the Settings tab. On the Settings tab, select the service you want to make internal, scroll down to the Ports section, and then click Edit.

In the Ports section, clear the Public HTTP Port field to close the public port. Click Add internal ports for private networking, then enter the port you want to open in the Internal Port field. To add more internal ports, click Add internal port and repeat this step.

When finished, click Save to redeploy the app with the new internal ports.

A screenshot of the Ports section of an app's settings. The internal port field is set to 81.

Create an Internal Service Using the App Spec

To create an internal service using the app spec, remove any existing http_port fields from the target service object and then add the internal_ports field to the service:

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
  run_command: bin/sample-golang

The example service above is an internal service because it has no HTTP port or route, so it is inaccessible from the public internet, but exposes port 8080 internally, so workers and other services can reach it.

Add a Function

To add Functions, adjust your app spec as follows:

name: go-random
region: nyc
functions:
- name: go-api
  github:
    repo: digitalocean/sample-functions-golang-random
    branch: master
    deploy_on_push: true

This process requires you to authorize to GitHub and specify the region you want to create the Function in. You can also delete the region field to automatically create the Function in the datacenter closest to you.