| title | Context |
|---|---|
| description | How sitectl models sites, environments, and the saved connection information for each one. |
import { Compose } from "/snippets/compose-tooltip.mdx"; import { SSH } from "/snippets/ssh-tooltip.mdx"; import { YAML } from "/snippets/yaml-tooltip.mdx";
A context is sitectl's saved record of how to reach a specific environment for a specific site.
sitectl organizes around three concepts:
- A site is the project itself — for example,
museum. - An environment is where that site runs:
local,staging,prod, and so on. - A context is the saved connection record for a site/environment pair.
A single site typically has multiple contexts:
museum-local → Docker running on your own machine
museum-staging → Docker on a remote server, reached over SSH
museum-prod → Docker on a production server, reached over SSH
Contexts are stored in a file at ~/.sitectl/config.yaml and include everything sitectl needs to connect and operate: the project location, environment files, and for remote environments, the connection details.
Local contexts connect directly to Docker on your own machine. This is the standard setup for development.
Remote contexts send Docker commands through an encrypted tunnel to a server. From your perspective the commands work identically — sitectl handles the connection transparently. You use the same sitectl compose ps whether the site is running locally or on a production server.
sitectl can infer the active context from your current working directory. If your terminal is inside a project directory that matches a context's project directory, sitectl uses that context automatically.
The resolution order is:
- An explicit
--contextflag on the command - A context whose project directory matches the current working directory
- The
current-contextset in~/.sitectl/config.yaml
The sitectl config subcommands manage your contexts.
You can also create contexts interactively through the TUI when you connect to or create a site for the first time.
Any sitectl command accepts --context to target a specific environment without changing your current context:
sitectl compose logs --context museum-prod
sitectl drupal drush cron --context museum-staging
sitectl validate --context museum-prod| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `name` | Unique context identifier |
| `site` | Site name this context belongs to |
| `plugin` | The sitectl plugin that owns this context (e.g. `drupal`, `isle`) |
| `project-dir` | Absolute path to the <Compose /> project directory on the host |
| `docker-socket` | Path to the Docker socket (the file Docker listens on for commands) |
| `project-name` | Human-readable project name |
| `compose-project-name` | Value injected as `COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME` |
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `compose-file` | One or more <Compose /> file paths, injected as `-f` flags |
| `env-file` | One or more environment file paths, injected as `--env-file` flags |
| `compose-network` | Docker network name used to resolve service addresses |
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `ssh-hostname` | The server address to connect to |
| `ssh-user` | Your username on that server |
| `ssh-port` | SSH port (default: 22) |
| `ssh-key-path` | Path to your SSH private key file |