One URL per PR
A predictable subdomain on a domain you own, with its own certificate, for as long as the pull request is open.
Snappy Review
A live environment for every pull request.
Open a PR and Snappy builds it the way it builds production, puts it on a URL on your own server, and comments the link back on the pull request. Merge or close it and the environment tears itself down.
Redesign the checkout summary
snappy-bot commented✓ review app ready→ pr-418.review.myapp.dev→ database seeded from staging snapshot→ rebuilt on every push to this branch
The lifecycle
Nobody has to remember to clean up.
- 01
PR opened
Snappy picks up the branch and builds the image from the same Dockerfile production uses.
- 02
Environment comes up
Its own container, its own database seeded from a snapshot, its own subdomain with a certificate.
- 03
Link posted back
The URL lands as a comment on the PR and updates on every push, so reviewers click instead of pulling the branch.
- 04
Merged, then gone
Containers, volumes and DNS entries are removed. Idle environments sleep before that to keep the server quiet.
Features
The details that decide whether a team keeps using it.
Seeded databases
Each environment gets its own database from a snapshot or a seed script, so reviewers can click around without wrecking anyone else's data.
The same build as production
One Dockerfile, one build path. What passes review is the artifact that ships.
Password-protected by default
Preview URLs sit behind basic auth so half-finished features do not end up indexed.
Sleeps when idle
Untouched environments stop their containers and wake on the next request, so twenty open PRs do not need twenty times the RAM.
Automatic teardown
Merge, close or abandon the PR and everything it created is removed — containers, volumes, DNS records, certificates.
Review apps ride on Snappy Deploy.
Same daemon, same servers, same build. If Deploy is set up, turning review apps on is one setting per application.
FAQ
Self-hosted review apps, answered.
What is a review app?
A running copy of your application built from a pull request, on its own URL, so reviewers can click through the change instead of pulling the branch and building it locally.
Can I host review apps on my own server?
Yes. Snappy Review builds each PR on your hardware and serves it from a subdomain of a domain you own.
Does each environment get its own database?
Yes — seeded from a snapshot or a seed script, so reviewers can create and delete data without affecting anyone else.
Is the preview build the same as production?
Yes. One Dockerfile, one build path, so what passes review is the artifact that ships.
Are preview URLs public?
They sit behind basic auth by default, so half-finished features do not get indexed or shared by accident.
What happens when the PR is merged?
Everything the environment created is removed — containers, volumes, DNS records and certificates. Nobody has to remember to clean up.
Will twenty open PRs exhaust my server?
Idle environments stop their containers and wake on the next request, so open pull requests cost disk rather than constant RAM.
Do I need Snappy Deploy as well?
Yes — Review rides on the same daemon and build pipeline. If Deploy is set up, turning review apps on is one setting per application.
Give your next PR a URL.
Review apps are in beta alongside Deploy. Leave an address and we will send an invite with the setup guide.