Render and Wokku are close cousins — web services from a Git repo, managed
Postgres/Redis, background workers, and cron. The move is mostly re-creating the
service and pointing it at a Wokku database.
Concept map
| Render | Wokku |
|---|---|
| Web Service | App / web process |
| Background Worker | worker process (guide) |
| Cron Job | Scheduled Tasks |
render.yaml (blueprint) |
Procfile + config vars |
| Render Postgres | Postgres add-on (guide) |
| Render Key Value (Redis) | Redis add-on |
| Environment Groups | Config vars (config) |
| Start Command | web: line in Procfile |
1. Translate render.yaml → Procfile
Take your service’s start command and put it in a Procfile; add worker
and release lines for any background workers or pre-deploy commands:
procfile
web: <your render start command, binding to $PORT>
worker: <your worker command>
release: <your migrate command>
Render injects PORT; so does Wokku — keep binding to $PORT.
2. Re-create the app + env
bash
wokku apps:create my-app --server my-server
Copy each variable from your Render Environment / Environment Group into
config vars (wokku config:set my-app KEY=VALUE).
3. Move the database
bash
# Render gives you an external connection string in the dashboard
pg_dump "$RENDER_EXTERNAL_DATABASE_URL" --no-owner --no-acl -Fc -f dump.bin
wokku addons:create postgres my-app
wokku config my-app | grep DATABASE_URL
pg_restore --no-owner --no-acl -d "$WOKKU_DATABASE_URL" dump.bin
Add a Redis add-on if you used Render Key Value, and re-point REDIS_URL.
4. Deploy + domain
bash
git remote add wokku git@git.wokku.cloud:my-app
git push wokku main
Verify on my-app.wokku.app, then move your domain — see
Custom Domains.
Gotchas
- Disk — Render persistent disks have no direct equivalent; use object storage or a dedicated DB.
- Health checks — Wokku checks the web process; see Health Checks.
- Cron timezone — Wokku scheduled tasks run in UTC.