Migrate from Fly.io to ZenifraCopy Anchor Link

This guide shows how to translate each part of a Fly.io app to the Zenifra console. On Fly.io, almost everything lives in fly.toml and the fly CLI, so the guide follows that file section by section. For the general plan, with data copy and DNS switch, see Migrate to Zenifra.

Keep the Fly.io app running while you deploy and validate the application on Zenifra. Only destroy the Machines after switching DNS.

How the concepts mapCopy Anchor Link

One important difference: on Fly.io, auto_stop_machines can stop Machines without traffic. On Zenifra, the application stays up. With Hourly billing, you pay for the time it runs; see Which HTTP plan to choose.

1. Read fly.tomlCopy Anchor Link

Open fly.toml at the repository root and write down each section:

app = "my-app"
primary_region = "gru"

[build]
  dockerfile = "Dockerfile"

[env]
  NODE_ENV = "production"

[deploy]
  release_command = "npx prisma migrate deploy"

[processes]
  web = "node server.js"
  worker = "node worker.js"

[http_service]
  internal_port = 8080
  processes = ["web"]
  min_machines_running = 1

  [[http_service.checks]]
    path = "/health"
    interval = "15s"

[[mounts]]
  source = "data"
  destination = "/data"

Also check with the CLI what is not in the file:

fly scale show -a my-app      # number and size of Machines
fly secrets list -a my-app    # secret names
fly certs list -a my-app      # domains with certificates
fly volumes list -a my-app    # volumes

2. Choose the project sourceCopy Anchor Link

Fly.io builds almost every app from a Dockerfile, often generated by fly launch. On Zenifra you have two paths:

Option A: Git repository with a runtimeCopy Anchor Link

If the app is Node.js, Python, Bun, Go, or Java, you can set the Dockerfile aside and deploy from the repository. Zenifra generates the build environment on its own and ignores the Dockerfile.

In the console, click + Create project, choose HTTP Application and the plan. Under Advanced Settings, choose Git repository as the Project Source, the Git provider GitHub (or Forgejo), the repository, and the branch. Then fill in:

See each language's commands in Runtimes.

Option B: Docker imageCopy Anchor Link

To keep the same Dockerfile, or for languages such as PHP, Ruby, Elixir, and .NET, deploy as a Docker Image: build the image, push it to a registry, such as GitHub Container Registry or Docker Hub, and enter the image in the project.

docker build --platform linux/amd64 -t ghcr.io/my-org/my-app:1.0.0 .
docker push ghcr.io/my-org/my-app:1.0.0

The image must include linux/amd64. Under Project Source, choose Docker Image, enter the image and, for a private registry, the credentials. See Deploy via OCI image and Private registry. The GitHub Action builds and deploys on every push.

3. Recover variables and secretsCopy Anchor Link

The variables in the [env] section are in fly.toml: copy them directly.

Secrets cannot be read with the CLI: fly secrets list only shows each one's name and a digest. Get the values from their source, such as the team's password manager, your CI, or the .env used with fly secrets import. If you have no other copy, the secrets are in the environment variables of a running Machine, which you can check through fly ssh console, taking care not to leave the values in your terminal history.

When reviewing the variables:

• DATABASE_URL and REDIS_URL point to Fly.io databases. Replace them with the database URLs on Zenifra.
• Tigris credentials (AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, AWS_ENDPOINT_URL_S3, and BUCKET_NAME) change if you move the files to Armazém.
• Fly.io variables, such as FLY_APP_NAME, FLY_REGION, FLY_MACHINE_ID, and PRIMARY_REGION, do not exist on Zenifra. If the code uses one, create a variable with the equivalent value.
• If the code reads PORT, create PORT with the same value as the Port field.

4. Adjust what differs between the platformsCopy Anchor Link

Release commandCopy Anchor Link

On Fly.io, release_command runs once per deploy, on a temporary Machine, before the app is updated. On Zenifra, put the command at the beginning of the Start Command, such as npx prisma migrate deploy && node server.js. It then runs every time an instance starts, so it must be idempotent. For long migrations or multiple instances, run the migration manually before deploying.

ProcessesCopy Anchor Link

Each [processes] group becomes a project on Zenifra, with the same repository or image and the group's command in the Start Command. Groups that receive no traffic, such as workers, use Exposure Private - no public route.

Private networkingCopy Anchor Link

On Fly.io, apps talk to each other through my-app.internal or my-app.flycast. On Zenifra, replace those addresses with the target project's URL, *.clients.zenifra.com or its domain, and protect internal routes with authentication. Zenifra databases and managed services already have their own connection URLs.

Scheduled tasksCopy Anchor Link

Machines created with fly machine run --schedule (hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly) and processes with cron inside the container become scheduled jobs. On Zenifra, the Cron expression sets the exact time, in UTC, such as 0 6 * * * for every day at 06:00 UTC.

Static filesCopy Anchor Link

The [[statics]] section made Fly.io serve a folder from the image directly. On Zenifra, serve those files from the application itself, for example with express.static in Node.js or WhiteNoise in Django.

5. Migrate databases, volumes, and filesCopy Anchor Link

PostgresCopy Anchor Link

Create the managed PostgreSQL on Zenifra before the application. To copy the data, open a tunnel to the Fly.io database and run pg_dump on your machine.

Managed Postgres: in one terminal, open the proxy. By default, it listens on localhost:16380:

fly mpg proxy CLUSTER_ID

Fly Postgres (Postgres app): open the proxy on a free port:

fly proxy 15432:5432 -a my-app-db

In another terminal, use the user, password, and database from DATABASE_URL, replacing the host and port with the proxy's:

pg_dump --format=custom --no-owner --no-acl \
  "postgresql://user:password@localhost:15432/database" > dump.pgdump

pg_restore --no-owner --no-acl --jobs=4 \
  --dbname="postgresql://user:password@host:port/database?sslmode=verify-full&sslrootcert=system" \
  dump.pgdump

With Managed Postgres, use port 16380 instead of 15432. See Migrate the database to validate the copy.

RedisCopy Anchor Link

Create a managed cache or a Key-Value database and replace REDIS_URL. Cache and session data are usually rebuilt by the application. If Redis holds queues, let the Fly.io workers drain them before the switch.

VolumesCopy Anchor Link

On Fly.io, each volume belongs to one Machine and is not replicated. To copy the files to your machine:

fly ssh sftp get -R -a my-app /data ./volume-data

If the app has more than one Machine with a volume, repeat for each one with -s to pick the Machine, because each volume has different data.

On Zenifra, enable persistent storage when you create the project, with the same path in Directory to Persist, and send the files through a temporary password-protected import route. This path cannot be changed later. Persistent storage data is replicated.

TigrisCopy Anchor Link

Zenifra's Armazém is S3-compatible, like Tigris. Download the bucket's files with the tool you already use and upload them to a bucket in Armazém with the AWS CLI or the S3 SDK. Then replace the endpoint, keys, and bucket name in the project variables. See Connect applications.

6. Validate and switch DNSCopy Anchor Link

1. Open the project's *.clients.zenifra.com URL and test login, main flows, e-mails, workers, and webhooks.
2. Check Build logs and the application logs for errors.
3. Follow the switch-day checklist: lower the DNS TTL, run the final data copy, add the domain on Zenifra, and update DNS.
4. Once DNS points to Zenifra, remove the domain's certificates on Fly.io with fly certs remove.
5. Keep the Fly.io app for a few days for rollback. Then destroy the app, volumes, and databases to stop billing.

Common issuesCopy Anchor Link

Need help?Copy Anchor Link

Write to [email protected] with your fly.toml, or reach us on WhatsApp at +55 (11) 5199-3013.