# Deployment

> Getting a new version of software from the team's computers to real users.

- Level: Basic
- Topics: Software, Cloud
- URL: https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/deployment/
- In Spanish: [Deploy](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/es/deployment/)

**Deployment**, or **deploy** in everyday tech talk, is the moment new code goes live. A developer finishes a change on their laptop; deploying it means building it, copying it to the servers (or the app store, or the cloud) and switching users over to the new version. Until then, the change exists only for the team.

A typical deploy has a few steps. The code is packaged into something that can run, like a container image. It often goes first to **staging**, a copy of the real system where the team can check it. Then it goes to **production**, the real thing, and someone watches error rates and dashboards to make sure nothing broke. If something did, they roll back to the previous version.

Years ago, deploys were rare, manual and scary: a long night with a checklist. Today many teams deploy several times a day, automatically, through a CI/CD pipeline, and use techniques like blue-green deployment or canary releases to move traffic over gradually. Small, frequent deploys are easier to check and easier to undo than big ones.

## An analogy

Changing the menu at a restaurant that never closes. You try the new dish in the back kitchen first, serve it to a few tables, and keep the old recipe handy in case diners send it back.

## Keep in mind

- Deploying means putting a new version of software in front of real users.
- Staging is the rehearsal; production is the real thing.
- Automated pipelines let teams deploy many times a day.
- Every deploy needs a way back: a rollback to the previous version.

## Go deeper

- [Software deployment on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_deployment)
- [Deploying a web app to production (MDN)](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn_web_development/Extensions/Server-side/Express_Nodejs/deployment)

## Related terms

- [Laptop](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/laptop/): A whole computer folded into one portable case that runs on a battery.
- [Server](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/server/): A computer whose job is to answer requests from other computers, all day, every day.
- [Mobile app](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/mobile-app/): A program made to run on a phone or tablet, usually installed from an app store.
- [Cloud computing](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/cloud-computing/): Renting computers over the internet instead of buying your own.
- [Container](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/container/): A sealed box with a program and everything it needs to run anywhere.
- [Dashboard](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/dashboard/): One screen of charts and numbers that shows how something is doing at a glance.
- [Rollback](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/rollback/): Going back to the last version that worked when a new one causes problems.
- [CI/CD](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/ci-cd/): Automation that builds, tests and ships every code change, so releases become routine.