Managed apps_
An application Fresh installs and runs for you on its own isolated machine, served over HTTPS, watched, and restarted if it stops responding. You get the app's own admin; there is no server to log into.
Launch an app
Only account owners can launch, configure or delete apps. The catalogue lists what Fresh runs today; each app has a guide at fresh.dev/apps with what it is for and how it is set up.
Recorded from the console and regenerated when the console changes. Sample data.
- Open Apps and choose Launch an app. Browse by category, or search by name or by what you need: "blog", "git", "status page".
- Each card shows the starting price (the monthly cap of the smallest size that runs the app) and says when an app needs App Medium or larger. Popular apps lead their category. Click the app you want; Change app on the next step takes you back.
- Give it a name: anything up to 60 characters, shown in your console. Fresh gives the app a free address based on the name with a random ending, for example My blog becomes my-blog-k7q2xh.apps.fresh.dev, with HTTPS. Addresses are never reissued.
- Choose a size. Sizes too small for the chosen app are greyed out. The summary shows the price and how long your remaining credit would last.
- Launch app. If no card is on file you save one with Stripe first; nothing is charged at that point.
- The setup page shows Payment method → Install app → Ready to use and moves on by itself. Installing usually takes a few minutes. If it fails, Fresh removes the app and you are not billed.
Get the admin password
On the app's page, under Admin sign-in, choose Reveal admin password. Fresh shows the Sign in at link, the username and the password.
Sizes and prices
| Size | Resources | Monthly maximum | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| App Small | 1 vCPU · 1 GiB memory · 15 GiB data | £5 | £0.0074 |
| App Medium | 2 vCPUs · 2 GiB memory · 30 GiB data | £10 | £0.0149 |
| App Large | 2 vCPUs · 4 GiB memory · 60 GiB data | £20 | £0.0298 |
| App XL | 4 vCPUs · 8 GiB memory · 120 GiB data | £40 | £0.0595 |
Prices include VAT. Apps are billed exactly like machines, on the same invoice: per second from launch until deletion, 60-second minimum, never more than the size's monthly maximum in a calendar month. See Billing.
Included: the free .apps.fresh.dev address with HTTPS, your own domains with automatic certificates, health checks with automatic restarts, and security updates for the system underneath. Not yet included: app backups and restore, and automatic app version updates. Keep your own backups with the app's own tools (a WordPress backup plugin, for example).
Use your own domain
Under Domains on the app's page, enter a hostname you control, such as www.example.com, and choose Add domain. Fresh shows the DNS records to create. Use one of:
- CNAME for a subdomain such as www: point it at the target shown (your app's .apps.fresh.dev address).
- A record for an apex domain such as example.com: point it at the address shown, and add the TXT record shown (_fresh-challenge.example.com) to prove ownership.
Fresh checks DNS automatically; Check now checks immediately. If Fresh hosts the domain's DNS, you can add these records on the DNS page.
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Waiting for DNS | The right records have not been seen yet. |
| Connected | Verified. The domain is routed to your app and an HTTPS certificate is issued automatically. |
| DNS changed | The records no longer point at the app. It keeps working for 72 hours, then is detached unless you fix DNS. |
You can add up to 10 domains per app. Remove detaches one. Primary domain: your app answers on one primary address and every other address redirects to it. Once a domain is Connected, choose Make primary; the app's site address is updated and its .apps.fresh.dev address redirects there. Changes take a moment to apply.
Outbound email
Apps cannot send mail directly. To send email (sign-up confirmations, notifications), owners add their email provider's SMTP details in the app's Email section: server, port 587 or 465, username, password and the send-from address. Fresh applies them within a few seconds. Leave the password blank to keep the saved one, or Remove email settings to stop sending mail.
Day to day
- Open site (top right) opens the primary address.
- The overview shows the status (Installing, Running, Not responding, Failed, Deleting), address, version, size and creation date.
- Fresh probes the site continuously. Repeated failures trigger an automatic restart, then a reboot if needed. Restart app under Actions restarts the app yourself; your data is kept.
- If the account is suspended for non-payment, the site shows an "unavailable" page until the invoice is paid.
Delete an app
Under Delete app, type the app's name and confirm. This removes the app and all of its data, stops billing immediately, and removes its DNS records. Its .apps.fresh.dev address is never reused; a new app with the same name gets a new address.