Skip to main content
Pxxl integrates directly with your GitHub repository to automate deployments on every commit push and spin up isolated, live preview environments for every pull request. Once connected, your team can verify changes in a real runtime environment before any code reaches your production branch — no manual deploys required.

​
Branch-Aware Commit Routing

When you push a commit to GitHub, Pxxl’s webhook handler intercepts the payload and routes it through a four-step pipeline before triggering a build. This ensures only the right project is deployed for the right branch, and that no rogue pushes cause unexpected production changes.
1

Signature Verification

Pxxl validates the X-Hub-Signature-256 header in the incoming payload against the webhook secret registered in your GitHub repository. Any payload that fails verification is rejected immediately.
2

Target Extraction

Pxxl reads the repository name and the target branch ref from the push event payload to determine where the commit landed.
3

Project Matching

The control plane looks up all Pxxl projects associated with that repository and branch combination. Commits to branches that don’t match any project are silently ignored.
4

Selective Deployment

If Auto Deploy is enabled for the matched project, Pxxl enqueues a new build task. Commits to other branches leave all other projects untouched, preventing accidental cross-branch deployments.

​
Pull Request Previews

Pull request previews are temporary, isolated environments that Pxxl provisions automatically whenever a developer opens a pull request against your configured base branch. Each preview gets its own live URL, so reviewers and stakeholders can interact with the real, running application — not a screenshot or a staging slot shared across multiple PRs. Pxxl listens for the following pull request hook activities:
EventWhat happens
openedPxxl provisions a new isolated environment and maps a temporary preview URL.
synchronizeTriggered when new commits are pushed to the PR source branch. The preview is rebuilt and redeployed automatically.
reopenedPxxl restarts the preview environment or creates a fresh one if the previous instance was cleaned up.
closedPxxl shuts down the environment, deletes the associated routes, and releases all environment resources.

​
Preview Lifecycles

Preview environments are intentionally short-lived to conserve resources. Every preview follows this lifecycle: 
PR Created ──► Preview Environment Deployed ──► Live URL Mapped
                                                    │
                 ┌──────────────────────────────────┴──────────────────┐
                 ▼                                                     ▼
        PR Closed / Merged                                      72 Hours Elapsed
                 │                                                     │
                 ▼                                                     ▼
     Environment Stopped & Deleted                             Cleanup Worker Runs
There are two paths to environment termination:
  • Manual closure: When you merge or close the pull request on GitHub, the Pxxl webhook agent receives the closed event and terminates the environment immediately.
  • Automatic expiry: If a pull request stays open for 72 hours, a background cleanup worker stops the environment and marks its preview state as expired. You can re-open the PR to trigger a fresh preview build.

​
Preview Metadata Payload

You can query the active deployment metadata for any preview environment using the platform API. The response gives you the full context of the running preview, including its source branch, commit SHA, and expiry timestamp. 
{
  "preview": {
    "enabled": true,
    "kind": "pull_request",
    "branch": "feature/refactor-auth",
    "sha": "d3b07384d113edec49eaa6238ad5ff00",
    "pullRequestNumber": 142,
    "expiresAt": "2026-05-29T12:00:00Z"
  }
}

​
Setting Up Previews

Follow these steps to enable pull request previews for a project in your dashboard:
1

Open project settings

Navigate to your project settings page in the Pxxl dashboard.
2

Go to Deploy Settings

Select the Deploy Settings tab.
3

Enable Pull Request Previews

Toggle on the Pull Request Previews switch.
4

Specify the base branch

Enter the target base branch that previews should watch — typically main or master.
5

Save your settings

Click Save to apply your configuration.
6

Open a test pull request

On GitHub, open a pull request against your base branch. This triggers the initial preview build and confirms that the webhook integration is working correctly.