Gigalixir Architecture/Concepts

Gigalixir isn't a generic container platform with Elixir support bolted on. Every architectural decision reflects how Elixir and Phoenix applications actually work. We use buildpacks to compile your code into optimized slugs. We run replicas on Kubernetes with proper health checks and rolling deploys. We configure networking so distributed Erlang works. We provision TLS certificates automatically with Let's Encrypt. Understanding these pieces helps you debug issues and optimize your deployments.

Git Push to Running App: When you git push gigalixir, we receive your code and run it through buildpacks in an isolated container. The buildpacks compile your Elixir code, build your Phoenix assets, and create a release. The output is a slug that we store and deploy to your replicas. Failed builds never affect running apps.

Replicas and Releases: A replica is a container running your application. A release is the combination of a slug (your compiled code) and config (your environment variables). When you deploy, we create new replicas with the new release, verify they pass health checks, then terminate old replicas. Rollback deploys the previous release.

Automatic TLS with Let's Encrypt: We use cert-manager to provision TLS certificates for your custom domains automatically. Add a domain, point your DNS, and certificates appear within minutes. Renewals happen automatically before expiration. No manual certificate management.

Kubernetes Under the Hood: Your app runs on Google Kubernetes Engine or AWS EKS depending on your region choice. We manage the cluster, ingress controllers, and networking. You get the reliability of Kubernetes without writing YAML or managing infrastructure.