Setup
Instructions for setting up the GitHub Application, including installation of the Terminus Repository Plugin and creating a new site.
This page provides instructions for setting up a new site using the GitHub Application. You can create new sites through the Pantheon dashboard or via Terminus with the Repository Plugin. You can also create sites using existing GitHub repositories and connect them to Pantheon sites. This guide explains how to set up the GitHub Application for each of these scenarios.
Once accepted into the private Beta, there are two main ways of creating a new site with the GitHub Application: through the Pantheon dashboard or through Terminus.
Creating a new site with a new GitHub repository
Creating a new site with an existing GitHub repository
Pantheon's GitHub integration allows you to maintain your site's source code in a GitHub repository while deploying to Pantheon. When you push code to your GitHub repository, Pantheon automatically syncs and deploys the changes.
For this integration to work, your repository must include certain Pantheon-specific configuration files alongside your CMS code. The exact requirements differ between WordPress and Drupal.
WordPress vs. Drupal
The two CMS platforms take different approaches to Pantheon integration:
| WordPress | Drupal | |
|---|---|---|
| Core files | Committed to the repository | Not committed — built by Integrated Composer on deploy |
| Pantheon platform settings | Manually included as wp-config-pantheon.php | Auto-generated by the pantheon-systems/drupal-integrations Composer package |
| Web root | Repository root (/) | Subdirectory (/web/) |
| Dependency management | Manual (plugins/themes committed to repo) | Composer (composer.json + composer.lock committed; dependencies built on deploy) |
| Build step | None | composer install runs on deploy |
Select the guide for your CMS to get started:
Common issues
If you find yourself at a screen that asks you to configure the app, it typically means you’ve already installed the GitHub Application and connected it to another Pantheon organization. You will need to connect the application to this organization using terminus vcs:connection:link. See the documentation in Usage.
More Resources
- Terminus Repository Plugin - GitHub repository and documentation for the Terminus Repository Plugin
- Terminus Commands - Documentation for the
terminus site:createcommand - Next.js Documentation - Official Next.js documentation