38789-vm/README.md

Pro Se Litigant - Deployment Guide

This project is configured for deployment using Docker and GitHub Actions.

Prerequisites

1. VPS with Docker and Docker Compose installed.
2. GitHub Repository hosting this code.
3. Domain Name (optional, but recommended for production).

Setup on VPS

1. Clone the repository (or copy docker-compose.prod.yml, infrastructure/, and deploy.sh to your server).

   git clone <your-repo-url>
   cd pro-se-litigant
   

2. Create a .env file based on .env.example.

   cp .env.example .env
   nano .env
   

   Critical variables to set:

   • DOCKER_IMAGE_OWNER: Your GitHub username (lowercase).
   • POSTGRES_USER: Database username.
   • POSTGRES_PASSWORD: Database password.
   • JWT_SECRET: A secure random string.
   • CORS_ORIGIN: Your frontend URL (e.g., http://your-domain.com).
   • NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL: Your API URL (e.g., http://your-domain.com/api).

3. Login to GitHub Container Registry (GHCR) You need a Personal Access Token (classic) with read:packages scope.

   echo <YOUR_PAT> | docker login ghcr.io -u <YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME> --password-stdin
   

4. Initial Deployment Run the deployment script:

   chmod +x deploy.sh
   ./deploy.sh
   

CI/CD (GitHub Actions)

The repository includes workflows to automatically build and push Docker images to GHCR on every push to main.

• .github/workflows/deploy-web.yml: Builds pro-se-litigant-web
• .github/workflows/deploy-api.yml: Builds pro-se-litigant-api

Automatic Deployment (Optional)

To enable automatic deployment to your VPS after build:

1. Add the following secrets to your GitHub Repository (Settings -> Secrets and variables -> Actions):

   • VPS_HOST: IP address of your VPS.
   • VPS_USERNAME: SSH username (e.g., root or ubuntu).
   • VPS_SSH_KEY: Your private SSH key.

2. Create a new workflow .github/workflows/deploy-vps.yml that uses appleboy/ssh-action to run ./deploy.sh on your server.