Servd — Managed Hosting for Craft CMS

Reference for Servd (servd.host), a Craft-specialised managed hosting platform. Covers git push-to-deploy and the servd.yaml build config, the local → staging → production workflow, the servd/craft-asset-storage plugin, Servd's static caching (and running Blitz alongside it), databases over SSH, backups, the queue runner, the ephemeral filesystem, and how Servd differs from Craft Cloud.

This skill is scoped to Servd specifically — what's different on Servd vs running Craft yourself on Forge or bare metal, and vs Pixel & Tonic's Craft Cloud. For generic Craft deployment, see the craftcms skill's deployment.md. For Craft Cloud, see the craft-cloud skill.

Companion Skills — Load When Needed

• `craftcms` — When the Servd topic intersects plugin or module PHP (ephemeral-filesystem guards, queue-job design, asset filesystem code).
• `craft-site` — When Servd intersects front-end templating ({% dynamicInclude %} islands in cached pages, transform usage, CSRF in cached forms).
• `ddev` — For local development; Servd has no first-party local environment, so DDEV is the standard local stack.
• `craft-php-guidelines` — When editing plugin PHP to add ephemeral-filesystem checks.

Documentation

Authoritative sources used to write this skill (Servd's own docs):

• Docs landing: https://servd.host/docs
• The Servd workflow: https://servd.host/docs/the-servd-workflow
• Node build step (servd.yaml): https://servd.host/docs/node-build-step
• Asset volumes & filesystems: https://servd.host/docs/servd-asset-volumes-and-filesystems
• Installing the plugin: https://servd.host/docs/installing-the-servd-plugin
• Static caching: https://servd.host/docs/static-caching
• Caching with Blitz: https://servd.host/docs/caching-with-blitz
• Handling runtime-created files: https://servd.host/docs/handling-runtime-created-files
• Dedicated queue runner: https://servd.host/docs/dedicated-queue-runner
• Backup & restore: https://servd.host/docs/backup-restore
• Plugin console commands: https://servd.host/docs/servd-plugin-console-commands
• Plugin source: https://github.com/servdhost/craft-asset-storage

Per-claim URLs appear in each reference file. Last verified against the docs on 2026-05-30. Some operational details (cron, exact plan tiers) are not in the public docs and are flagged as Verify where they appear.

What's Different on Servd vs Self-Hosted

Each row is a place self-hosted habits will mislead you.

Servd vs Craft Cloud (quick contrast)

Both are managed Craft hosting with git deploy, ephemeral filesystems, S3 assets, off-server transforms, and dashboard env vars. Key differences for a developer:

Common Pitfalls (Cross-Cutting)

• Writing to disk and expecting persistence. The filesystem is ephemeral and load-balanced — writes vanish and aren't shared across instances. Use Craft's data cache (auto-mapped to Redis) or a remote asset volume. See references/limitations.md.
• Making schema/Project Config changes anywhere but local. Servd sets allowAdminChanges: false on staging and production and syncs uni-directionally (local → staging → production). Make changes in local, commit, deploy. See references/deploy-and-environments.md.
• Treating Blitz as a replacement for Servd's caching. On Servd you run Blitz alongside the static cache in reverse-proxy mode (Yii Cache Storage + HTTP Generator + Servd Static Cache Purger) — Blitz's own server-rewrite mode is broken by Servd's load balancing. See references/caching.md.
• Committing a `.env` for runtime config. Runtime env vars live in the Servd dashboard per environment, not a committed .env. SERVD_PROJECT_SLUG / SERVD_SECURITY_KEY come from the dashboard's Assets page.
• Using a local asset volume. User assets must use the servd/craft-asset-storage filesystem so they land on the Servd Asset Platform and survive deploys. See references/asset-storage.md.
• Putting `composer install` / `npm run build` in a CI action. Servd runs both during its build step. Configure the Node build via servd.yaml or the dashboard instead. See references/deploy-and-environments.md.
• Assuming arbitrary cron. Servd doesn't document user-configurable cron. Move recurring work into queue jobs and the Dedicated Queue Runner. Verify per plan. See references/database-and-queue.md.
• Choosing the wrong database habits. Servd supports MariaDB and MySQL 8; reach the DB over the SSH tunnel, not a direct public port. See references/database-and-queue.md.

Reference Files

Read the relevant reference file(s) for your task. Multiple files often apply.

Task examples:

• "Deploy a Craft site to Servd" → deploy-and-environments.md
• "Configure the Node build step / servd.yaml" → deploy-and-environments.md
• "Set up environments and sync between them" → deploy-and-environments.md + local-dev.md
• "Install Servd asset storage" → asset-storage.md
• "Why are my uploaded assets disappearing?" → asset-storage.md + limitations.md
• "Set up image transforms on Servd" → asset-storage.md
• "Enable static caching" → caching.md
• "Run Blitz on Servd" → caching.md (Blitz reverse-proxy mode)
• "Add a dynamic island to a cached page" → caching.md ({% dynamicInclude %})
• "Connect to the Servd database" → database-and-queue.md
• "Set up the queue / run recurring jobs" → database-and-queue.md
• "Back up / restore / sync the database" → database-and-queue.md + local-dev.md
• "Set up local development for a Servd project" → local-dev.md
• "Pull production assets/database to local" → local-dev.md
• "Why does my plugin's file write fail on Servd?" → limitations.md
• "What plugins work on Servd?" → limitations.md
• "Should I use Servd or Craft Cloud?" → limitations.md (Servd vs Cloud) + this file's table

Load only the reference files your task needs.