docs: update README with Docker examples and Cloudflare HTTPS note

- Replace podman with docker in all example commands
- Add note that podman works as drop-in replacement
- Document HTTPS architecture (Cloudflare proxy → Gordon HTTP)
- Clarify Cloudflare is required for HTTPS (no Let's Encrypt yet)
- Update setup guide header to mention Docker compatibility

commit: 87f65150cfa8ab5bef5a34ee6c838bbb8bd1f25e
author: brice · 9mo ago · 2026-01-12 20:46 UTC
committer: brice · 9mo ago · 2026-01-12 20:48 UTC
parent: d7f7c17
signature: unsigned

1 file · +27 -22

M README.md +27 -22


@@ -33,17 +33,19 @@ Gordon is a lightweight deployment system that turns any VPS into a container ho
33	33		## How It Works
34	34
35	35		```bash
36		-	# 1. Build & test locally
37		-	podman build -t myapp .
38		-	podman run -p 8080:8080 myapp # Works? Great!
	36	+	# 1. Build & test locally (Docker or Podman)
	37	+	docker build -t myapp .
	38	+	docker run -p 8080:8080 myapp # Works? Great!
39	39
40	40		# 2. Push to deploy
41		-	podman tag myapp registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
42		-	podman push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
	41	+	docker tag myapp registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
	42	+	docker push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
43	43
44	44		# 3. That's it. Gordon handles the rest.
45	45		```
46	46
	47	+	> Note: All examples use `docker` commands, but `podman` works as a drop-in replacement. Just substitute `docker` with `podman` in any command.
	48	+
47	49		Your machine is the build server. If it runs locally, it runs in production.
48	50
49	51		## Quick Start (5 minutes)

@@ -51,7 +53,9 @@ podman push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
51	53		### Prerequisites
52	54		- Ubuntu/Debian VPS with root access
53	55		- Domain pointing to your VPS
54		-	- Cloudflare account (free tier works)
	56	+	- Cloudflare account (free tier works) - Required for HTTPS
	57	+
	58	+	> HTTPS Architecture: Cloudflare terminates HTTPS and proxies to Gordon over HTTP internally. Gordon doesn't handle TLS certificates directly (no Let's Encrypt support yet).
55	59
56	60		### Installation
57	61

@@ -79,13 +83,13 @@ Your dev machine likely has 8-16 cores and 16-32GB RAM. Your VPS has 1-2 cores a
79	83		### Push-to-Deploy Workflow
80	84		```bash
81	85		# Initial deployment
82		-	podman build -t myapp .
83		-	podman push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
	86	+	docker build -t myapp .
	87	+	docker push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
84	88		# Visit https://app.mydomain.com
85	89
86	90		# Update deployment
87		-	podman build -t myapp .
88		-	podman push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
	91	+	docker build -t myapp .
	92	+	docker push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
89	93		# Zero-downtime update applied automatically
90	94		```
91	95

@@ -151,8 +155,9 @@ password = "your-secure-password"
151	155
152	156		See [examples/](examples/) for advanced configurations including network groups and more.
153	157
154		-	## Detailed Setup Guide (Using podman in rootless mode)
155		-	Note: Refer to Quick Start for the binary installation.
	158	+	## Detailed Setup Guide (Podman Rootless Mode)
	159	+
	160	+	> Note: This guide uses Podman in rootless mode for enhanced security. Docker users can follow similar steps - Gordon works with any OCI-compatible runtime. Refer to Quick Start for the binary installation.
156	161
157	162		### 1. VPS Preparation
158	163		```bash

@@ -235,14 +240,14 @@ systemctl --user status gordon
235	240		### Simple Deployment
236	241		```bash
237	242		# Build locally
238		-	podman build -t myapp .
	243	+	docker build -t myapp .
239	244
240	245		# Test locally
241		-	podman run -p 8080:8080 myapp
	246	+	docker run -p 8080:8080 myapp
242	247
243	248		# Push to registry
244		-	podman tag myapp registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
245		-	podman push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
	249	+	docker tag myapp registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
	250	+	docker push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
246	251
247	252		# Profit!
248	253		```

@@ -250,8 +255,8 @@ podman push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
250	255		### Versioned Deployment
251	256		```bash
252	257		# Deploy specific version
253		-	podman tag myapp:v1.2.0 registry.mydomain.com/myapp:v1.2.0
254		-	podman push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:v1.2.0
	258	+	docker tag myapp:v1.2.0 registry.mydomain.com/myapp:v1.2.0
	259	+	docker push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:v1.2.0
255	260
256	261		# Update route in gordon.toml
257	262		# "app.mydomain.com" = "myapp:v1.2.0"

@@ -261,10 +266,10 @@ podman push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:v1.2.0
261	266		```bash
262	267		# Deploy with metadata
263	268		export VERSION=v1.2.0
264		-	podman manifest create myapp:latest
265		-	podman manifest add myapp:latest registry.mydomain.com/myapp:$VERSION
266		-	podman manifest annotate myapp:latest --annotation version=$VERSION registry.mydomain.com/myapp:$VERSION
267		-	podman manifest push myapp:latest registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
	269	+	docker manifest create myapp:latest
	270	+	docker manifest add myapp:latest registry.mydomain.com/myapp:$VERSION
	271	+	docker manifest annotate myapp:latest --annotation version=$VERSION registry.mydomain.com/myapp:$VERSION
	272	+	docker manifest push myapp:latest registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
268	273		```
269	274
270	275		## Community


@@ -33,17 +33,19 @@ Gordon is a lightweight deployment system that turns any VPS into a container ho
33		## How It Works	33		## How It Works
34			34
35		```bash	35		```bash
36	-	# 1. Build & test locally	36	+	# 1. Build & test locally (Docker or Podman)
37	-	podman build -t myapp .	37	+	docker build -t myapp .
38	-	podman run -p 8080:8080 myapp # Works? Great!	38	+	docker run -p 8080:8080 myapp # Works? Great!
39			39
40		# 2. Push to deploy	40		# 2. Push to deploy
41	-	podman tag myapp registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest	41	+	docker tag myapp registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
42	-	podman push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest	42	+	docker push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
43			43
44		# 3. That's it. Gordon handles the rest.	44		# 3. That's it. Gordon handles the rest.
45		```	45		```
46			46
			47	+	> Note: All examples use `docker` commands, but `podman` works as a drop-in replacement. Just substitute `docker` with `podman` in any command.
			48	+
47		Your machine is the build server. If it runs locally, it runs in production.	49		Your machine is the build server. If it runs locally, it runs in production.
48			50
49		## Quick Start (5 minutes)	51		## Quick Start (5 minutes)

@@ -51,7 +53,9 @@ podman push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
51		### Prerequisites	53		### Prerequisites
52		- Ubuntu/Debian VPS with root access	54		- Ubuntu/Debian VPS with root access
53		- Domain pointing to your VPS	55		- Domain pointing to your VPS
54	-	- Cloudflare account (free tier works)	56	+	- Cloudflare account (free tier works) - Required for HTTPS
			57	+
			58	+	> HTTPS Architecture: Cloudflare terminates HTTPS and proxies to Gordon over HTTP internally. Gordon doesn't handle TLS certificates directly (no Let's Encrypt support yet).
55			59
56		### Installation	60		### Installation
57			61

@@ -79,13 +83,13 @@ Your dev machine likely has 8-16 cores and 16-32GB RAM. Your VPS has 1-2 cores a
79		### Push-to-Deploy Workflow	83		### Push-to-Deploy Workflow
80		```bash	84		```bash
81		# Initial deployment	85		# Initial deployment
82	-	podman build -t myapp .	86	+	docker build -t myapp .
83	-	podman push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest	87	+	docker push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
84		# Visit https://app.mydomain.com	88		# Visit https://app.mydomain.com
85			89
86		# Update deployment	90		# Update deployment
87	-	podman build -t myapp .	91	+	docker build -t myapp .
88	-	podman push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest	92	+	docker push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
89		# Zero-downtime update applied automatically	93		# Zero-downtime update applied automatically
90		```	94		```
91			95

@@ -151,8 +155,9 @@ password = "your-secure-password"
151			155
152		See [examples/](examples/) for advanced configurations including network groups and more.	156		See [examples/](examples/) for advanced configurations including network groups and more.
153			157
154	-	## Detailed Setup Guide (Using podman in rootless mode)	158	+	## Detailed Setup Guide (Podman Rootless Mode)
155	-	Note: Refer to Quick Start for the binary installation.	159	+
			160	+	> Note: This guide uses Podman in rootless mode for enhanced security. Docker users can follow similar steps - Gordon works with any OCI-compatible runtime. Refer to Quick Start for the binary installation.
156			161
157		### 1. VPS Preparation	162		### 1. VPS Preparation
158		```bash	163		```bash

@@ -235,14 +240,14 @@ systemctl --user status gordon
235		### Simple Deployment	240		### Simple Deployment
236		```bash	241		```bash
237		# Build locally	242		# Build locally
238	-	podman build -t myapp .	243	+	docker build -t myapp .
239			244
240		# Test locally	245		# Test locally
241	-	podman run -p 8080:8080 myapp	246	+	docker run -p 8080:8080 myapp
242			247
243		# Push to registry	248		# Push to registry
244	-	podman tag myapp registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest	249	+	docker tag myapp registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
245	-	podman push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest	250	+	docker push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
246			251
247		# Profit!	252		# Profit!
248		```	253		```

@@ -250,8 +255,8 @@ podman push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
250		### Versioned Deployment	255		### Versioned Deployment
251		```bash	256		```bash
252		# Deploy specific version	257		# Deploy specific version
253	-	podman tag myapp:v1.2.0 registry.mydomain.com/myapp:v1.2.0	258	+	docker tag myapp:v1.2.0 registry.mydomain.com/myapp:v1.2.0
254	-	podman push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:v1.2.0	259	+	docker push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:v1.2.0
255			260
256		# Update route in gordon.toml	261		# Update route in gordon.toml
257		# "app.mydomain.com" = "myapp:v1.2.0"	262		# "app.mydomain.com" = "myapp:v1.2.0"

@@ -261,10 +266,10 @@ podman push registry.mydomain.com/myapp:v1.2.0
261		```bash	266		```bash
262		# Deploy with metadata	267		# Deploy with metadata
263		export VERSION=v1.2.0	268		export VERSION=v1.2.0
264	-	podman manifest create myapp:latest	269	+	docker manifest create myapp:latest
265	-	podman manifest add myapp:latest registry.mydomain.com/myapp:$VERSION	270	+	docker manifest add myapp:latest registry.mydomain.com/myapp:$VERSION
266	-	podman manifest annotate myapp:latest --annotation version=$VERSION registry.mydomain.com/myapp:$VERSION	271	+	docker manifest annotate myapp:latest --annotation version=$VERSION registry.mydomain.com/myapp:$VERSION
267	-	podman manifest push myapp:latest registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest	272	+	docker manifest push myapp:latest registry.mydomain.com/myapp:latest
268		```	273		```
269			274
270		## Community	275		## Community