gooneral_wheelchair/DEPLOYMENT.md

Gooneral Wheelchair - Production Deployment Guide

Prerequisites

1. Server with Node.js (v18+ recommended)
2. Caddy web server installed
3. Domain name pointing to your server
4. SSH access to your server

Deployment Steps

1. Prepare the Production Environment

On your server, create a directory for your application:

# Create application directory
sudo mkdir -p /opt/gooneral-wheelchair
sudo chown $USER:$USER /opt/gooneral-wheelchair
cd /opt/gooneral-wheelchair

2. Upload Files

Upload these files to your server:

/opt/gooneral-wheelchair/
├── dist/                    # Built frontend files
├── backend/                 # Backend application
│   ├── server.js
│   ├── start-production.js
│   ├── package.json
│   ├── .env.production      # Configure this!
│   ├── auth.js
│   ├── themes.js
│   └── node_modules/        # Install dependencies
├── public/
│   └── posts/               # Your blog posts
├── Caddyfile               # Caddy configuration
└── DEPLOYMENT.md           # This file

3. Configure Environment Variables

Edit /opt/gooneral-wheelchair/backend/.env.production:

# REQUIRED: Change these values!
NODE_ENV=production
PORT=3001
SESSION_SECRET=your-super-secret-session-key-generate-a-strong-one
FRONTEND_URL=https://yourdomain.com

# Optional: Customize paths if needed
POSTS_DIR=../public/posts
THEMES_FILE=./themes.json
SESSIONS_DIR=./sessions

# Security settings
COOKIE_SECURE=true
COOKIE_SAME_SITE=strict

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Generate a strong session secret:

node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(64).toString('hex'))"

4. Install Backend Dependencies

cd /opt/gooneral-wheelchair/backend
npm install --production

5. Create Required Directories

mkdir -p sessions
mkdir -p ../public/posts

6. Set Up System User (Recommended)

# Create a system user for the application
sudo useradd --system --shell /bin/false --home /opt/gooneral-wheelchair gooneral

# Change ownership
sudo chown -R gooneral:gooneral /opt/gooneral-wheelchair

# Make start script executable
sudo chmod +x /opt/gooneral-wheelchair/backend/start-production.js

7. Create Systemd Service

Create /etc/systemd/system/gooneral-wheelchair.service:

[Unit]
Description=Gooneral Wheelchair CMS Backend
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=gooneral
WorkingDirectory=/opt/gooneral-wheelchair/backend
Environment=NODE_ENV=production
ExecStart=/usr/bin/node start-production.js
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
StandardOutput=syslog
StandardError=syslog
SyslogIdentifier=gooneral-wheelchair

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start the service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable gooneral-wheelchair
sudo systemctl start gooneral-wheelchair
sudo systemctl status gooneral-wheelchair

8. Configure Caddy

1. Update the Caddyfile with your domain:

   # Replace 'yourdomain.com' with your actual domain
   yourdomain.com {
      # ... rest of configuration
   }
   

2. Copy Caddyfile to Caddy's configuration directory:

   sudo cp /opt/gooneral-wheelchair/Caddyfile /etc/caddy/Caddyfile
   

3. Test and reload Caddy:

   sudo caddy validate --config /etc/caddy/Caddyfile
   sudo systemctl reload caddy
   

9. Create Initial Admin User

SSH into your server and create an admin user:

cd /opt/gooneral-wheelchair/backend
node -e "
const bcrypt = require('bcryptjs');
const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');

const username = 'admin';
const password = 'your-secure-password'; // Change this!
const hashedPassword = bcrypt.hashSync(password, 10);

const usersFile = path.join(__dirname, 'users.json');
const users = [
  {
    id: 1,
    username: username,
    password: hashedPassword,
    role: 'admin'
  }
];

fs.writeFileSync(usersFile, JSON.stringify(users, null, 2));
console.log('Admin user created:', username);
"

Post-Deployment

1. Test Your Deployment

1. Frontend: Visit https://yourdomain.com
2. Backend API: Visit https://yourdomain.com/api/health
3. Admin Login: Visit https://yourdomain.com/login

2. Monitor Logs

# Backend logs
sudo journalctl -u gooneral-wheelchair -f

# Caddy logs
sudo journalctl -u caddy -f

# Application logs (if configured)
sudo tail -f /var/log/caddy/gooneral-wheelchair.log

3. Security Checklist

• ✅ Strong session secret configured
• ✅ HTTPS enabled (automatic with Caddy)
• ✅ Secure cookies enabled in production
• ✅ Security headers configured
• ✅ Admin user created with strong password
• ✅ Service running as non-root user
• ✅ Firewall configured (only ports 80, 443, SSH open)

Updating Your Blog

1. Add New Posts

Upload markdown files to /opt/gooneral-wheelchair/public/posts/

2. Update Application

1. Build new version locally
2. Upload new dist/ directory
3. Update backend files if needed

4. Restart services:

   sudo systemctl restart gooneral-wheelchair
   sudo systemctl reload caddy
   

Troubleshooting

Backend Won't Start

sudo systemctl status gooneral-wheelchair
sudo journalctl -u gooneral-wheelchair -n 50

Frontend Not Loading

• Check Caddy configuration
• Verify dist/ directory contains built files
• Check Caddy logs

API Not Working

• Verify backend is running on port 3001
• Check CORS configuration matches your domain
• Verify reverse proxy in Caddyfile

Session Issues

• Check session secret is set
• Verify cookie settings for HTTPS
• Clear browser cookies and try again

Backup

Regular backups should include:

• /opt/gooneral-wheelchair/public/posts/ (your blog posts)
• /opt/gooneral-wheelchair/backend/users.json (user accounts)
• /opt/gooneral-wheelchair/backend/themes.json (theme settings)
• /opt/gooneral-wheelchair/backend/sessions/ (active sessions - optional)