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Deployment Checklist

This checklist covers every step needed to take an Ever Works template site from development to production on Vercel. Work through each section sequentially -- items are ordered by dependency.

Prerequisites​

  • A Vercel account with a linked Git repository
  • A PostgreSQL database (Vercel Postgres, Neon, Supabase, or similar)
  • Domain name configured (optional but recommended)

1. Environment Variables​

Set all required environment variables in your Vercel project settings (Settings > Environment Variables).

Core (Required)​

  • NODE_ENV -- set to production
  • AUTH_SECRET -- generate with openssl rand -base64 32
  • COOKIE_SECRET -- generate with openssl rand -base64 32
  • COOKIE_DOMAIN -- your production domain (e.g., example.com)
  • COOKIE_SECURE -- set to true for HTTPS
  • DATABASE_URL -- PostgreSQL connection string
  • APP_URL / SITE_URL -- full production URL (e.g., https://example.com)

Content Repository​

  • DATA_REPOSITORY -- Git URL for the content CMS repository
  • GITHUB_TOKEN -- Personal access token for private repositories (if applicable)

Authentication Providers (configure at least one)​

  • AUTH_GOOGLE_ID + AUTH_GOOGLE_SECRET -- Google OAuth
  • AUTH_GITHUB_ID + AUTH_GITHUB_SECRET -- GitHub OAuth
  • AUTH_LINKEDIN_ID + AUTH_LINKEDIN_SECRET -- LinkedIn OAuth

Payment Provider (choose one)​

  • Stripe: STRIPE_SECRET_KEY, STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET, NEXT_PUBLIC_STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY
  • LemonSqueezy: LEMONSQUEEZY_API_KEY, LEMONSQUEEZY_WEBHOOK_SECRET, LEMONSQUEEZY_STORE_ID
  • Polar: POLAR_ACCESS_TOKEN, POLAR_WEBHOOK_SECRET, POLAR_ORGANIZATION_ID

Email Provider (choose one)​

  • Resend: RESEND_API_KEY
  • Novu: NOVU_API_KEY
  • EMAIL_FROM -- sender address (e.g., noreply@example.com)
  • EMAIL_SUPPORT -- support email address

Analytics & Monitoring​

  • NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY -- PostHog project API key
  • NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_HOST -- PostHog instance URL
  • NEXT_PUBLIC_SENTRY_DSN -- Sentry DSN
  • SENTRY_ORG + SENTRY_PROJECT -- Sentry organization and project names
  • SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN -- Sentry auth token for source map uploads

Security​

  • CRON_SECRET -- secret for authenticating cron job endpoints
  • NEXT_PUBLIC_RECAPTCHA_SITE_KEY + RECAPTCHA_SECRET_KEY -- reCAPTCHA (if enabled)

2. Database Setup​

  • Create a PostgreSQL database (Vercel Postgres, Neon, Supabase, etc.)
  • Set DATABASE_URL in Vercel environment variables
  • Verify the connection string includes ?sslmode=require for remote databases
  • Migrations run automatically during build (via scripts/build-migrate.ts)
  • As a fallback, instrumentation.ts runs migrations on server startup
  • After first deployment, verify tables were created using Drizzle Studio or a SQL client

Database Connection Pooling​

  • For Neon: use the pooled connection string (port 5432) for the app and direct string for migrations
  • For Supabase: use the connection pooler URL for serverless
  • Set DB_POOL_SIZE if needed (default: 20 in production, 10 in development)

3. Build Configuration​

  • Verify vercel.json contains the correct cron schedules
  • Verify next.config.ts has output: "standalone" enabled
  • Run pnpm build locally to catch build errors before deploying
  • Run pnpm lint to check for linting issues
  • Run pnpm tsc --noEmit to verify TypeScript types

4. Authentication Setup​

  • Configure OAuth callback URLs in each provider's dashboard:
    • Google: https://your-domain.com/api/auth/callback/google
    • GitHub: https://your-domain.com/api/auth/callback/github
    • LinkedIn: https://your-domain.com/api/auth/callback/linkedin
  • Test login flow on the preview deployment before going live
  • Verify AUTH_SECRET is set (NextAuth will fail without it)

5. Payment Provider Setup​

Stripe​

  • Switch from test keys to live keys
  • Configure the webhook endpoint: https://your-domain.com/api/stripe/webhook
  • Select the events to listen for: customer.subscription.created, customer.subscription.updated, customer.subscription.deleted, invoice.payment_succeeded, invoice.payment_failed, payment_intent.succeeded, payment_intent.payment_failed
  • Copy the webhook signing secret to STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET

LemonSqueezy​

  • Configure the webhook URL: https://your-domain.com/api/lemonsqueezy/webhook
  • Set the webhook signing secret in LEMONSQUEEZY_WEBHOOK_SECRET

Polar​

  • Configure the webhook URL: https://your-domain.com/api/polar/webhook
  • Set the webhook signing secret in POLAR_WEBHOOK_SECRET

6. Cron Jobs​

  • Verify vercel.json contains all needed cron entries:
{
  "crons": [
    { "path": "/api/cron/sync", "schedule": "0 3 * * *" },
    { "path": "/api/cron/subscription-reminders", "schedule": "0 9 * * *" },
    { "path": "/api/cron/subscription-expiration", "schedule": "0 0 * * *" }
  ]
}
  • Set CRON_SECRET in Vercel environment variables
  • After deployment, verify cron jobs appear in the Vercel dashboard under "Cron Jobs"

7. Domain & DNS​

  • Add your custom domain in Vercel project settings
  • Configure DNS records (CNAME or A record as directed by Vercel)
  • Enable automatic HTTPS (Vercel handles SSL certificates automatically)
  • Update APP_URL, SITE_URL, and COOKIE_DOMAIN to match the production domain
  • Update OAuth callback URLs to use the production domain

8. Image Optimization​

  • Verify next.config.ts has remote image patterns configured for all domains your content uses
  • The template auto-generates patterns via generateImageRemotePatterns()
  • Add any additional domains to IMAGE_REMOTE_PATTERNS in environment variables if needed

9. Content Sync​

  • Verify DATA_REPOSITORY points to the correct content repository
  • Run an initial content sync: trigger /api/cron/sync or deploy and wait for the cron job
  • Check that content appears correctly on the site after sync

10. Monitoring & Alerts​

  • Verify Sentry is capturing errors (check the Sentry dashboard after deployment)
  • Verify PostHog is tracking events (check the PostHog dashboard)
  • Set up Sentry alerts for:
    • Error rate spikes
    • Performance degradation
    • New unhandled exceptions
  • Monitor the Vercel deployment logs for the first few hours

11. Security Hardening​

  • Verify poweredByHeader: false is set in next.config.ts (already configured)
  • Verify generateEtags: false is set (already configured)
  • Ensure all secrets are in Vercel environment variables, not committed to Git
  • Review .gitignore to confirm .env.local and other secret files are excluded
  • Enable Vercel deployment protection for preview branches if working with a team
  • Verify reCAPTCHA is enabled on public forms (if applicable)

12. Performance Verification​

  • Run Lighthouse on the production URL (target: 90+ on all categories)
  • Verify images are being optimized (check network tab for /_next/image requests)
  • Verify static assets have long cache headers
  • Test page load time from multiple regions
  • Check that the standalone output mode is working (smaller deployment size)

13. Post-Deployment Smoke Test​

Run through these critical flows manually:

  • Homepage loads correctly with content
  • User can sign up and sign in
  • Admin can access the admin dashboard
  • Items can be browsed, searched, and filtered
  • Payment flow completes (use test mode if not yet live)
  • Emails are delivered (test with a real email address)
  • Mobile layout renders correctly
  • Dark mode works
  • Internationalization works (switch languages)

Quick Reference: Deploy Commands​

# Full pre-deployment check
pnpm lint && pnpm tsc --noEmit && pnpm build

# Database operations
pnpm db:generate    # Generate migration after schema changes
pnpm db:migrate     # Apply migrations
pnpm db:seed        # Seed initial data
pnpm db:studio      # Open Drizzle Studio for inspection

# Content sync
pnpm run clone      # Clone content repository

Common Pitfalls​

PitfallSolution
Build fails on Vercel but works locallyCheck that all NEXT_PUBLIC_* variables are set in Vercel (client-side variables need this prefix)
Database connection timeoutVerify DATABASE_URL includes ?sslmode=require and uses a pooled connection for serverless
OAuth login failsUpdate callback URLs to match the production domain exactly
Cron jobs not runningVerify CRON_SECRET is set and vercel.json is in the repository root
Emails not sendingVerify the email provider API key and EMAIL_FROM are configured
Images not loadingAdd the image domains to the remote patterns in next.config.ts