Deploy Yii Framework Application to InfinityFree Using GitHub Actions and FTP

This guide walks you through deploying a Yii2 Framework app to InfinityFree using GitHub Actions and FTP. You'll prepare the project locally, configure GitHub secrets, and deploy automatically through push or manual trigger.

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Prerequisites

• Yii2 Basic Template (or Advanced) installed locally

• PHP, Composer, Git

• A GitHub account and repository

• An InfinityFree account

• FTP login credentials

• Optional: a MySQL database if your app uses one

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1. Install Yii2 Locally

Install the Yii2 basic app:

composer create-project yiisoft/yii2-app-basic yii2-app
cd yii2-app
php yii serve

Visit http://localhost:8080 to verify the app runs.

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2. Configure the .env File or db.php

If no database is needed:

• You can comment or remove the 'db' component in config/web.php

• Or make config/db.php return an empty array:

return [];

If using a MySQL database:

1. In InfinityFree, go to MySQL Databases

2. Create a new database

3. Take note of:

   • Host (e.g. sqlXXX.epizy.com)

   • DB name, username, password

4. Update config/db.php:

return [
    'class' => 'yii\db\Connection',
    'dsn' => 'mysql:host=sqlXXX.epizy.com;dbname=epiz_12345678_dbname',
    'username' => 'epiz_12345678',
    'password' => 'your_db_password',
    'charset' => 'utf8',
];

5. Export your local DB and import it using phpMyAdmin > Import in InfinityFree.

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3. Add a Root .htaccess Redirect

Since Yii2 places its frontend in the web/ directory, add this .htaccess in the project root (not inside web/):

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteRule ^(.*)$ web/$1 [L]
</IfModule>

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4. Comment All .gitignore Rules

By default, vendor/, runtime/, .env, and other essential folders are ignored. Since InfinityFree doesn’t support Composer or CLI, you must upload everything.

Instructions:

1. Locate all .gitignore files in your project

2. Comment out all rules by adding # before each line:

# /vendor
# /runtime
# /.env
# /web/assets

3. Save the files

This ensures the entire Yii2 project is included in the deployment.

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5. Add Your Domain on InfinityFree

InfinityFree allows 3 main accounts and unlimited custom domains. Here's how the structure works:

• The default domain (created when opening the account) uses the main /htdocs/ directory

• Any addon domain gets its own directory named after the domain — with its own htdocs/ inside
  (e.g., /yourdomain.com/htdocs/)

Example:

• Default domain → /htdocs/

• Addon domain (example.com) → /example.com/htdocs/

Recommendation:

Before setting up deployment, add the domain in InfinityFree to ensure the path exists.

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6. Add GitHub Secrets (Before Pushing)

In your GitHub repo:

1. Go to Settings > Secrets and Variables > Actions

2. Add these two repository secrets:

FTP_USERNAME = epiz_12345678
FTP_PASSWORD = your_ftp_password

These will be used by the workflow for authentication.

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7. Create the GitHub Actions Workflow

Before pushing the code, create a workflow file at:

mkdir -p .github/workflows
nano .github/workflows/infinityfree-deploy.yml

Paste this:

name: Deploy to InfinityFree

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  deploy:
    name: Deploy Yii2 App
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout Repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Upload via FTP
        uses: SamKirkland/FTP-Deploy-Action@v4.3.5
        with:
          server: ftpupload.net
          username: ${{ secrets.FTP_USERNAME }}
          password: ${{ secrets.FTP_PASSWORD }}
          server-dir: /yourdomain.com/htdocs/  # Use /htdocs/ for default domain
          timeout: 86400000
          log-level: standard

⚠️ Replace /yourdomain.com/htdocs/ with /htdocs/ if deploying to the main/default domain.

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8. Initialize Git and Commit the Project

Set up Git and prepare your first commit:

git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial Yii2 project with InfinityFree deployment"

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9. Push to GitHub

Add your remote and push:

git remote add origin https://github.com/your-username/your-repo.git
git branch -M main
git push -u origin main

If everything is set, the deployment will start automatically based on the push event.

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10. Trigger the Deployment (Optional)

If you configured workflow_dispatch, you can also deploy manually:

1. Go to the Actions tab in your GitHub repo

2. Select the deployment workflow

3. Click Run workflow

This is useful for re-deploying without making a new commit.

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Deployment Notes

• Max file size is ~1MB — avoid uploading large libraries or assets

• Make sure vendor/, runtime/, web/assets/, and configs are included

• Upload may take a few minutes to hours depending on project size

• If no database is used, make sure session is configured to use file:

'session' => [
    'class' => 'yii\web\Session',
],

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Summary