Deploy Julian

Deploy Julian to an exe.xyz VM. Two paths: provision a new VM or update an existing one. The instance registry at deploy/instances.json tracks which VMs have been provisioned.

Target VM

Determine the target VM name:

1. •If $ARGUMENTS is provided, use it as the VM name (e.g., /julian:deploy screen-test)
2. •If no arguments, derive from current git branch: julian-<branch> (e.g., branch screen → julian-screen)
3. •Strip any characters not valid in hostnames (keep alphanumeric and hyphens)

PRODUCTION SAFETY: If the resolved VM name is exactly julian (the production instance), STOP and warn the user before proceeding. Only proceed after explicit confirmation.

Routing: Provision or Update?

Read deploy/instances.json. If the target VM name exists in the registry, run the Update path. Otherwise, run the Provision path.

If deploy/instances.json doesn't exist, create it as {}.

Path A: Provision (New VM)

Full first-time setup. Run all steps in order.

Pre-flight

1. •Get current git branch: git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD
2. •Pull Julian's changes locally: git pull (stop on merge conflicts)
3. •Check for uncommitted changes: git status --porcelain (warn but don't block)
4. •Push to GitHub: git push
5. •Print target: VM name and URL (https://<vmname>.exe.xyz/)

Clerk Pre-flight

Read the local .env file and check for VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY:

• •If present (matches pk_(test|live)_*): Extract the value for later. Proceed.
• •If missing or invalid: STOP and guide the user:
  • •Option A: Run /vibes:connect to set up Clerk + Connect end-to-end
  • •Option B: Manually add VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_... to .env
  • •Remind them to create the with-email JWT template in Clerk Dashboard:
    1. •Go to Clerk Dashboard → Configure → JWT Templates
    2. •Create a new template named with-email
    3. •Set custom claims JSON (the || '' fallbacks are required — Fireproof Studio rejects null names):
       json

       {
         "params": {
           "email": "{{user.primary_email_address}}",
           "email_verified": "{{user.email_verified}}",
           "external_id": "{{user.external_id}}",
           "first": "{{user.first_name || ''}}",
           "last": "{{user.last_name || ''}}",
           "name": "{{user.full_name || ''}}",
           "image_url": "{{user.image_url}}",
           "public_meta": "{{user.public_metadata}}"
         },
         "role": "authenticated",
         "userId": "{{user.id}}"
       }
       

Step P1: Create VM

IMPORTANT: All SSH commands targeting the VM must include -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new.

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new -o ConnectTimeout=5 <vmname>.exe.xyz echo ok

If unreachable, create it:

ssh exe.dev new --name=<vmname>
ssh exe.dev share set-public <vmname>

Wait for boot (up to 90 seconds):

for i in $(seq 1 9); do
  ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new -o ConnectTimeout=5 <vmname>.exe.xyz echo ok && break
  echo "Attempt $i failed, retrying in 10s..."
  sleep 10
done

Step P2: Install system dependencies

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new <vmname>.exe.xyz "curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash && sudo apt-get update -qq && sudo apt-get install -y npm inotify-tools"

Step P3: Set up directory structure

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new <vmname>.exe.xyz "sudo mkdir -p /opt/julian && sudo chown exedev:exedev /opt/julian && mkdir -p /home/exedev/mailbox"

Step P4: Generate deploy key and clone repo

Generate an SSH key for push access:

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new <vmname>.exe.xyz "ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/julian-deploy -N '' -C '<vmname>-deploy'"

Configure SSH to use it for GitHub:

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new <vmname>.exe.xyz "mkdir -p ~/.ssh && cat >> ~/.ssh/config << 'SSHEOF'
Host github.com
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/julian-deploy
  StrictHostKeyChecking accept-new
SSHEOF"

Add the deploy key to GitHub with write access:

DEPLOY_KEY=$(ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new <vmname>.exe.xyz "cat ~/.ssh/julian-deploy.pub")
gh repo deploy-key add - --repo popmechanic/Julian --title "<vmname>-deploy" --allow-write <<< "$DEPLOY_KEY"

If the key title already exists, skip — it's fine.

Clone the repo and configure git identity:

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new <vmname>.exe.xyz "git clone git@github.com:popmechanic/Julian.git /opt/julian"
ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new <vmname>.exe.xyz "cd /opt/julian && git config user.name 'Julian' && git config user.email 'julian@exe.xyz'"

Step P5: Install dependencies

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new <vmname>.exe.xyz "cd /opt/julian && /home/exedev/.bun/bin/bun install"

Step P6: Create .env

Use the VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY from pre-flight (do NOT hardcode):

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new <vmname>.exe.xyz "cat > /opt/julian/.env << 'ENVEOF'
VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=<value from local .env>
ALLOWED_ORIGIN=https://<vmname>.exe.xyz
ENVEOF"

Step P6b: Configure Claude Code settings

Enable Agent Teams (disabled by default) so Julian can spawn and manage agent teammates:

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new <vmname>.exe.xyz "mkdir -p /home/exedev/.claude && cat > /home/exedev/.claude/settings.json << 'SETTINGSEOF'
{
  "env": {
    "CLAUDE_CODE_EXPERIMENTAL_AGENT_TEAMS": "1"
  }
}
SETTINGSEOF"

Step P7: Install and start systemd services

scp deploy/julian.service <vmname>.exe.xyz:/tmp/
scp deploy/julian-screen.service <vmname>.exe.xyz:/tmp/
ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new <vmname>.exe.xyz "sudo cp /tmp/julian.service /etc/systemd/system/ && \
  sudo cp /tmp/julian-screen.service /etc/systemd/system/ && \
  sudo systemctl daemon-reload && \
  sudo systemctl enable --now julian julian-screen"

Step P8: Register instance

Add the VM to deploy/instances.json:

{
  "<vmname>": {
    "url": "https://<vmname>.exe.xyz",
    "provisioned": "<ISO 8601 timestamp>",
    "branch": "<git branch used for first deploy>"
  }
}

Read the existing file, merge the new entry, write it back. Commit and push the updated registry so other machines know about it:

git add deploy/instances.json
git commit -m "Register <vmname> instance"
git push

Step P9: Verify

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new <vmname>.exe.xyz "systemctl is-active julian julian-screen"
curl -sf https://<vmname>.exe.xyz/ | head -5
curl -sf https://<vmname>.exe.xyz/api/health

Report: URL, service status, and remind user that Anthropic credentials need one-time setup on new instances.

Path B: Update (Existing VM)

Fast path — just sync code and restart. This is the common case.

Pre-flight

1. •Pull Julian's changes locally: git pull (stop on merge conflicts)
2. •Check for uncommitted changes: git status --porcelain (warn but don't block)
3. •Push to GitHub: git push
4. •Print target: VM name and URL

Change analysis

Before deploying, assess the scope of changes. Get the server's current commit and diff it against what you're about to deploy:

SERVER_HEAD=$(ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new <vmname>.exe.xyz "cd /opt/julian && git rev-parse HEAD")
git diff --stat $SERVER_HEAD HEAD
git diff --name-only $SERVER_HEAD HEAD

Classify the deploy based on what changed:

Content only (soul/, memory/, catalog.xml, docs/):

• •Safe. Tell the user: "Content-only update — safe to deploy directly."
• •Proceed without prompting.

Small code change (1-3 files changed in server/ or frontend, under ~100 lines total):

• •Low risk. Tell the user: "Small code update — deploying to <vmname>."
• •Proceed without prompting.

Large code change (4+ files changed, or 200+ lines, or structural changes to server.ts):

• •Higher risk. Tell the user the scope, e.g.: "This is a larger change — 8 files, ~350 lines, including server.ts changes."
• •If the target is production (julian), suggest: "Want to deploy to a fresh test VM first? I can provision one with /julian:deploy test."
• •If the target is already a non-production VM, proceed — that's what test VMs are for.

Dependency change (package.json modified):

• •Note it: "package.json changed — will run bun install."
• •If combined with large code changes on production, reinforce the test VM suggestion.

No changes (server is already on the same commit):

• •Tell the user: "Server is already up to date (commit <hash>). Nothing to deploy."
• •Skip the deploy entirely.

Step U1: Pull latest code

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new <vmname>.exe.xyz "cd /opt/julian && git pull"

If git pull fails because Julian has uncommitted changes:

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new <vmname>.exe.xyz "cd /opt/julian && git stash && git pull && git stash pop"

If there are merge conflicts after stash pop, report them to the user.

Step U2: Install dependencies (if needed)

Check if package.json changed in the pull:

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new <vmname>.exe.xyz "cd /opt/julian && git diff HEAD~1 --name-only 2>/dev/null | grep -q package.json && echo changed || echo unchanged"

If changed (or if in doubt), run:

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new <vmname>.exe.xyz "cd /opt/julian && /home/exedev/.bun/bin/bun install"

Step U3: Restart services

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new <vmname>.exe.xyz "sudo systemctl restart julian julian-screen"

Step U4: Verify

curl -sf https://<vmname>.exe.xyz/api/health

Confirm the version field in the health response matches the current git hash. Report the URL and version.

Error Recovery

• •DNS not resolving after 90 seconds: Run ssh exe.dev list to verify VM exists. If it does, wait longer or check exe.dev status.
• •Service won't start: Usually missing Bun. Check ssh <vmname>.exe.xyz "/home/exedev/.bun/bin/bun --version".
• •Connection refused on port 8000: Check logs: ssh <vmname>.exe.xyz "journalctl -u julian -n 20 --no-pager". Common causes: missing Bun, missing jose dependency.
• •git pull/push auth error: Deploy key issue. Check ssh <vmname>.exe.xyz "ssh -T git@github.com". Re-run Step P4 if needed.
• •git pull merge conflict: Julian has uncommitted changes. Stash first (see Step U1).
• •Instance in registry but VM gone: Remove the entry from deploy/instances.json and re-run — it will take the Provision path.
• •401 on /tokens/with-email: Missing Clerk JWT template. Create with-email in Clerk Dashboard → Configure → JWT Templates with the claims JSON from the Clerk Pre-flight section.
• •VM creation fails: Check exe.dev status, retry once.