Title: Custom Deployment with continuous deployment
Author: WordPress VIP Documentation
Published: August 21, 2024
Last modified: September 29, 2025

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 1. [Code deployment](https://docs.wpvip.com/code-deployment/)
 2. [Custom Deployment](https://docs.wpvip.com/code-deployment/custom-deployment/)
 3. Custom Deployment with continuous deployment

#  Custom Deployment with continuous deployment

[Custom Deployment](https://docs.wpvip.com/code-deployment/custom-deployment/) enables
application code to be developed in a version control system outside of an application’s
wpcomvip GitHub repository. Repositories outside of [the wpcomvip GitHub organization](https://github.com/wpcomvip)
cannot utilize the [GitHub Actions service supplied by WordPress VIP](https://docs.wpvip.com/code-deployment/github-repository/#0-github-actions),
but they are also not limited to GitHub Actions and any type of continuous integration
and/or a continuous deployment (CI/CD) method can be utilized instead.

**Prerequisites**

 * The target environment for the code deployment has the Custom Deployment feature
   enabled.
 * A [Custom Deployment token](https://docs.wpvip.com/code-deployment/custom-deployment/tokens/)
   has been generated and its value is immediately accessible.

## Requirements

To automate the Custom Deployment process, CI/CD methods can be configured to do
some or all of the following steps:

 * Prepare the code in a built state.
 * Archive the built code.
 * Run [the `vip app deploy` VIP-CLI command](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-cli/commands/app/deploy/)
   to deploy the archived file.

When the `vip app deploy` VIP-CLI command is triggered, it must be populated with
the correct values for the target environment (i.e. `@<app-name>.<env>`) and use
a valid Custom Deployment token.

The configurations required for a CD pipeline to perform these actions will vary
depending on the CD method in use. The documentation or support resources for the
CD method should be consulted for more information and guidance.

## GitHub Actions

Code developed in a GitHub repository that has [GitHub Actions](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/learn-github-actions/understanding-github-actions)
available can fully automate the Custom Deployment process. Review GitHub’s instructions
for [using secrets in GitHub Actions](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/how-tos/write-workflows/choose-what-workflows-do/use-secrets).

[An example of a fully-automated Custom Deployment process in a GitHub repository using GitHub Actions](https://github.com/Automattic/vip-actions/tree/trunk/custom-deployment)
is available for reference.

Last updated: September 29, 2025