Deploy an App Built with Claude Code

You've built something in Claude Code and now you want to put it online. This guide walks you through the full process: pushing your project to GitHub and deploying it on Hostman App Platform.

Along the way, you'll also set up MCP—a protocol that lets Claude Code interact with your GitHub account directly from the chat window. With it, you can create repositories and push code without touching git manually.

No prior experience with GitHub or deployment required. Just follow the steps in order.

Before You Begin

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You will need the following:

• A project built with Claude Code that's ready to deploy.
• A GitHub account. You'll create one in Step 1 if you don't have one yet.
• A Hostman account. Sign up at hostman.com if needed.

Step 1. Create a GitHub Account

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GitHub is where your project's code will live. You'll need an account there so Hostman can access and deploy your app.

Already have one? Skip to Step 2.

1. Go to github.com and click Sign up.
2. Register with your Google account, Apple ID, or an email address.

Once you're registered and logged in, you will see your dashboard.

Step 2. Check and Install the Claude Code CLI

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To set up MCP, you need the command-line version of Claude Code. This is separate from the Claude desktop app or Cowork—even if those are installed, the CLI may not be.

Open your terminal (or PowerShell on Windows) and run: 

claude --version

If you see a version number, you're good to go. If the command isn't found, install it:

macOS

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

Windows

irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

On Windows, the installer may show a message like:

Native installation exists but C:\Users\Administrator\.local\bin is not in your PATH. Add it by opening: System Properties → Environment Variables → Edit User PATH → New → Add the path above. Then restart your terminal.

If that happens, add the directory to your PATH:

setx PATH "$($env:PATH);C:\Users\$env:USERNAME\.local\bin"

Then close the terminal, reopen it, and run claude --version again. If you see a version number, you're all set.

Step 3. Create a Personal Access Token

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Issuing a Personal Access Token will let Claude Code interact with GitHub on your behalf. The token allows Claude Code to create repositories and push code from the chat window.

1. Open GitHub and click your profile icon in the top-right corner.
2. Select Settings.
3. In the left sidebar, scroll to the bottom and click Developer settings. Then go to Personal access tokens → Tokens (classic).
4. Click Generate new token → Generate new token (classic). If GitHub asks for your password, enter it and continue.

5. Give the token a name in the Note field—something like claude-code-access so you know what it's for later.
6. Set an expiration date in the Expiration field. If you don't want to go through this process again, pick No expiration.
7. Under Select scopes, tick the permissions Claude Code will need:
   • repo: lets it create, edit, and push to repositories
   • admin:org: only add this if you're working with organisation repositories
8. Click Generate token.

Step 3. Set Up the GitHub MCP Server

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This step connects GitHub to Claude Code via MCP, so you can create repositories and push code directly from the chat.

We'll use the local GitHub MCP server—no GitHub Copilot, Docker, or Node.js required. Just a binary you download once.

macOS

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Open your terminal and create a folder for the server:

dir="$HOME/.local/github-mcp-server"
mkdir -p "$dir"

Download and unpack the binary. The command below automatically picks the right version for your architecture (Apple Silicon or Intel):

case "$(uname -m)" in
 arm64) archive="github-mcp-server_Darwin_arm64.tar.gz" ;;
 x86_64) archive="github-mcp-server_Darwin_x86_64.tar.gz" ;;
 *) echo "Unsupported architecture: $(uname -m)" && exit 1 ;;
esac
​
url="https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server/releases/latest/download/$archive"
tarball="$dir/gh-mcp.tar.gz"
​
curl -L "$url" -o "$tarball"
tar -xzf "$tarball" -C "$dir"
rm "$tarball"
chmod +x "$dir/github-mcp-server"

Confirm the server runs correctly:

"$dir/github-mcp-server" --version

You should see a version number.

Now register the server with Claude Code. Replace YOUR_TOKEN with the token from the previous step:

claude mcp add github -s user \
  -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=YOUR_TOKEN \
  -- /Users/YOUR_USERNAME/.local/github-mcp-server/github-mcp-server stdio

Windows

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Open PowerShell and create a folder for the server:

$dir = "$env:USERPROFILE\.local\github-mcp-server"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $dir | Out-Null

Download and unpack the binary:

$url = "https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server/releases/latest/download/github-mcp-server_Windows_x86_64.zip"
$zip = Join-Path $dir "gh-mcp.zip"

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $url -OutFile $zip -UseBasicParsing
Expand-Archive -Path $zip -DestinationPath $dir -Force
Remove-Item $zip

Confirm the server runs correctly:

"$dir\github-mcp-server.exe" --version

Now register the server with Claude Code. Replace YOUR_TOKEN with your token:

claude mcp add github -s user `
  --env GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=YOUR_TOKEN `
  -- "$dir\github-mcp-server.exe" stdio

Verify the Connection

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Run the following to confirm the server is connected:

claude mcp get github

Look for Status: ✓ Connected in the output.

Then restart Claude Code in your project folder and test MCP in the chat by asking: What GitHub MCP tools do you have access to? List all of them.

If Claude Code returns a list of tools, the integration is working correctly. If something seems off, ask Claude Code to check the MCP configuration and explain what's wrong.

Step 5. Push Your Project to GitHub

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With MCP set up, you can create a repository and push your code without leaving Claude Code.

1. Open your project chat and ask Claude Code to create a repository: Create a new public repository on GitHub called hostman-test-app. 
2. Claude Code will ask for permission before taking action—confirm it. The repository will then appear in your GitHub account.
3. Next, push your project to the repository: Push the project from the current directory to this repository using GitHub MCP.

If your project files aren't in the root directory, specify the folder in your message.

4. Confirm the action when prompted, then open the repository on GitHub to verify your files are there.

Step 6. Deploy on Hostman App Platform

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Now it’s time to deploy your app.

1. Open the Hostman dashboard → App Platform → Create.
2. Choose your app type: Frontend, Backend, or Docker, then select the framework your app uses.

3. Connect your repository:
   • On the Repository step, click the GitHub icon.
   • Sign in and authorize access.
   • Select your repository from the list.
4. Keep Build by last executed commit enabled. This way, Hostman will automatically redeploy the app whenever you push new changes.
5. Choose a deployment region.
6. Configure your app settings. What's needed here depends on your project type. Ask Claude Code if you're unsure. For reference, see the Hostman docs: Frontend · Backend · Dockerfile · Docker Compose.
7. Click Order and wait for the deployment to finish.

You're Live!

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Once deployment completes, go to Dashboard and find your app's public URL in the Domain field. To use a custom domain, head to Settings.

Once everything is wired up, shipping updates is straightforward:

1. Make changes to your project in Claude Code.
2. Ask Claude Code: Commit the changes and push to GitHub using MCP.
3. Hostman detects the new commit and redeploys automatically.

Your entire workflow runs through the chat. No manual git commands, no extra steps.