> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.pullbase.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# What is Pullbase?
> GitOps for Linux servers — manage packages, services, and configuration files using Git as your source of truth.
**Pullbase** lets you manage Linux servers the same way developers manage code: through Git. Define what packages should be installed, which services should be running, and what configuration files should contain — then let Pullbase keep your servers in sync automatically.
## The problem Pullbase solves
Managing servers manually doesn't scale:
* SSH into each server to make changes? **Slow and error-prone.**
* Write shell scripts to push changes? **Hard to track what changed and when.**
* Use Ansible/Chef/Puppet? **Complex setup, push-based model, firewall headaches.**
Pullbase takes a different approach: **pull-based GitOps**.
You push to Git. Agents pull. Servers stay in sync.
## Who is Pullbase for?
Pullbase is built for teams managing **Linux servers** — VMs, bare-metal, or cloud instances:
Managing fleets of web servers, database hosts, or application servers
Who want GitOps benefits without Kubernetes complexity
Standardizing configuration across environments (dev, staging, prod)
Who need infrastructure automation without dedicated tooling expertise
## What Pullbase manages
Define your desired state in a simple `config.yaml`:
```yaml config.yaml theme={null}
packages:
- name: nginx
state: present
- name: curl
state: latest
services:
- name: nginx
state: running
enabled: true
files:
- path: /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
content: |
worker_processes auto;
events { worker_connections 1024; }
http {
server {
listen 80;
location / { return 200 'OK'; }
}
}
mode: "0644"
reloadService: nginx
```
The agent ensures:
* **Packages** are installed, upgraded, or removed (apt, yum, dnf, apk)
* **Services** are running, stopped, enabled, or disabled (systemd, supervisor, OpenRC)
* **Files** have the correct content and permissions
When something drifts from the desired state, Pullbase detects it and can automatically fix it.
## How it works
Create a `config.yaml` in a Git repository. This is your source of truth.
Install the Pullbase agent on each server. The agent authenticates with the central server.
Every 60 seconds, agents check for changes. When the Git repo updates, agents pull the new config and apply it.
See which servers are in sync, which have drifted, and review the history of changes.
## Key features
| Feature | Description |
| ------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Pull-based model** | Agents initiate connections outward — no inbound firewall rules needed |
| **Drift detection** | Agents detect when actual state differs from desired state |
| **Auto-reconciliation** | Optionally fix drift automatically, or review first |
| **Dry-run mode** | Preview what would change before enabling enforcement |
| **Environment grouping** | Organize servers into environments (prod, staging, dev) |
| **Rollback support** | Revert to a previous Git commit with one click |
| **Webhook integration** | Get notified on Slack, PagerDuty, or any webhook endpoint |
| **GitHub App support** | Secure access to private repositories |
## What Pullbase is NOT
To set clear expectations:
* **Not for Kubernetes.** If you're running containers on K8s, use ArgoCD, Flux, or similar tools designed for that ecosystem.
* **Not a CI/CD pipeline.** Pullbase manages runtime state, not build artifacts or deployments.
* **Not a container orchestrator.** It manages what's *on* your servers, not container scheduling.
* **Not a monitoring tool.** It reports status, but doesn't replace Prometheus, Grafana, or your APM.
## Pullbase vs. other tools
| | Pullbase | Ansible | Chef/Puppet |
| ------------------ | ------------------------ | ------------------- | ------------------ |
| **Model** | Pull (agent-initiated) | Push (control node) | Pull (agent) |
| **Firewall** | Agents connect out | Needs inbound SSH | Agents connect out |
| **Language** | YAML | YAML + Jinja | Ruby DSL |
| **State tracking** | Built-in drift detection | External or manual | Built-in |
| **Complexity** | Simple — one binary | Medium | High |
| **Learning curve** | Hours | Days | Weeks |
Pullbase is intentionally simpler. If you need complex orchestration, conditionals, or multi-step workflows, Ansible may be a better fit. If you want straightforward "this is what my server should look like" enforcement, Pullbase gets you there faster.
## Architecture overview
* **Server**: Central coordination, API, dashboard, Git monitoring
* **Agents**: Run on each managed server, pull config, apply state, report status
* **Database**: SQLite (default) or PostgreSQL — stores environments, servers, status history, audit logs
* **Git repository**: Your source of truth for desired state
## Next steps
Get Pullbase running and manage your first server in 5 minutes
Understand environments, servers, agents, and how they work together
Learn how the server, agents, and Git repository stay in sync
Full reference for config.yaml — packages, services, files, and more
**New to Pullbase?** Start with the [Quickstart](/quickstart) — you'll have a working setup in under 5 minutes.