\CI/CD Process for Individual Apps in a Self-Hosted Retool

💬 Self Hosted Retool
1

Hello Retool Team,

We are currently evaluating Retool for a potential self-hosted deployment in our organization.

As part of our technical review, we would like to better understand how CI/CD can be implemented for individual Retool applications built on the platform, rather than for Retool itself.

Our company already has a standardized CI/CD pipeline, and we need to confirm whether Retool apps can fit into this process.

1) CI: GitLab Source Control for Retool Apps

Our CI requirement is that application source code must be fully managed through GitLab. This includes full support for pull/push/commit workflows, and the source should be human-readable so that changes can be reviewed and understood through version control.

Could you please clarify:

  • What is the exact format of the source code that is pushed to Git?
    (For example: JSON metadata files, configuration bundles, exported scripts, etc.)

  • Is the exported Git content easily readable and diff-friendly for developers?

  • Is Git-based source control available only under the Enterprise plan, or is there any way to trial GitLab-based version control without purchasing Enterprise licensing?

2) CD: Jenkins-Based Deployment from GitLab

For CD, our standard process is:

  • Source code stored in GitLab

  • Jenkins pulls the repository

  • Jenkins executes deployment automatically

Ideally, we would like Jenkins to build a Docker image per application, and deploy it into our Kubernetes or Docker runtime environment.

Could you confirm:

  • Is it possible to build deployable Docker images for individual Retool apps?

  • If Retool apps cannot be packaged as standalone Docker images, what is the recommended approach to deploy applications through Jenkins in a self-hosted setup?

  • Are there documented best practices or reference architectures for Jenkins-based CD pipelines?

We would appreciate any technical documentation or examples related to Git-based workflows and CI/CD automation for Retool self-hosted environments.

Thank you very much, and we look forward to your guidance.

Best regards,

Juhee Kang

3

Hi @Kang_Juhee,

Source control available only under the Enterprise plan. The trial we offer on our website doesn't include source control. I recommend discussing your case with our Sales team! Retool uses Toolscript to serialize apps. Toolscript is a JSX-style markup language built to serialize Retool apps protected using Source Control, and it is designed to be human reviewable. You can read more here: Toolscript | Retool Docs

Retool uses Docker images that configure the containers and their respective services. Each container runs one or more services to distribute functionality. You can find more information about the typical deployment configurations here: Self-hosted Retool tutorials | Retool Docs

We don't have docs for this use case specifically, but these are great questions to bring to a sales conversation to discuss plan options