Production Deployment

Production Checklist

Before deploying to production, ensure you’ve completed these critical steps:

Security Configuration

Change JWT Secret

CRITICAL: Generate a strong, random JWT secret:

node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'))"

Update .env:

JWT_SECRET="your-generated-secret-here"

Never use the default JWT secret in production! This would allow attackers to forge authentication tokens.

Enable HTTPS/TLS

All production deployments must use HTTPS:Option 1: Reverse Proxy (nginx)

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name yourdomain.com;
    
    ssl_certificate /path/to/cert.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /path/to/key.pem;
    
    # Client
    location / {
        root /path/to/client/dist;
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html;
    }
    
    # API
    location /api {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3001;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
    
    # WebSocket
    location /socket.io {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3001;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
    }
}

Option 2: Let’s Encrypt (Certbot)

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com

Secure Database

Use strong database passwords (32+ random characters)
Enable SSL/TLS for database connections
Restrict database access to application servers only
Use connection pooling (Supabase pooler or PgBouncer)
Enable automatic backups

Supabase SSL Connection:

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:pass@host:6543/db?sslmode=require"

Environment Variables

Never commit .env files to version control
Use platform-specific secrets management:
- Vercel: Environment Variables in dashboard
- Railway: Environment Variables in project settings
- Docker: Use docker-compose.override.yml (gitignored)
Rotate secrets regularly
Use different secrets for different environments

Database Optimization

Run Migrations

Apply all database migrations before starting the server:

npm run db:migrate

Verify schema is up to date:

cd server
npx prisma migrate status

Enable Connection Pooling

For Supabase, use the Transaction pooler:

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://postgres.xxx:pass@aws-0-region.pooler.supabase.com:6543/postgres"

For self-hosted, configure PgBouncer (see Database Setup).

Set Up Backups

Automated backups (cron):

# Add to crontab: daily backup at 2 AM
0 2 * * * /usr/bin/docker exec neuron-meet-db pg_dump -U neuronmeet neuronmeet | gzip > /backups/neuronmeet-$(date +\%Y\%m\%d).sql.gz

Supabase: Backups are automatic on paid plans.

WebRTC Configuration

Configure TURN Server

For production, configure a TURN server to ensure connectivity in restrictive networks:

TURN_SERVER_URL=turn:turn.yourdomain.com:3478
TURN_USERNAME=your-turn-username
TURN_PASSWORD=your-turn-password

Recommended TURN providers:

Twilio Network Traversal Service - $0.0004/GB
Xirsys - Free tier available
Self-hosted coturn

Without TURN, approximately 8-10% of users behind symmetric NATs or restrictive firewalls won’t be able to connect.

Self-Host coturn (Optional)

Install coturn on your server:

sudo apt install coturn

Configure /etc/turnserver.conf:

listening-port=3478
tls-listening-port=5349
listening-ip=YOUR_SERVER_IP
external-ip=YOUR_SERVER_IP
realm=yourdomain.com
server-name=yourdomain.com

lt-cred-mech
user=username:password

no-tcp-relay
no-multicast-peers

cert=/path/to/cert.pem
pkey=/path/to/key.pem

Enable and start:

sudo systemctl enable coturn
sudo systemctl start coturn

Performance Optimization

Enable Production Mode

Set environment to production:

NODE_ENV=production

This enables:

Optimized builds
Reduced logging
Better error handling
Performance optimizations

Build Optimization

Build both client and server:

npm run build

This runs:

Client: Vite production build with minification and tree-shaking
Server: NestJS compilation with TypeScript optimization

Configure CDN (Optional)

For global distribution, serve static assets from a CDN:Vercel: Automatic edge cachingCloudFlare:

Add your domain to CloudFlare
Enable “Cache Everything” page rule
Configure SSL/TLS to “Full (strict)”

Monitoring & Logging

Health Checks

The server includes a health check endpoint:

GET /api/health

Configure uptime monitoring:

UptimeRobot (free)
Pingdom
Built-in: Railway health checks (configured in railway.json)

Application Logs

View logs by platform:Docker:

docker-compose logs -f server

Railway: View in Railway dashboard > Deployments > LogsPM2 (VPS):

pm2 logs neuron-meet

Error Tracking

Consider integrating error tracking:

Sentry - Application error tracking
LogRocket - Session replay
Datadog - Full-stack monitoring

Platform-Specific Deployment

Docker Production Deployment

Update docker-compose.yml

Ensure production settings in docker-compose.yml:

environment:
  NODE_ENV: production
  JWT_SECRET: ${JWT_SECRET} # From .env file

Build and start services

docker-compose up -d --build

Verify services

docker-compose ps

All services should show “Up” status.

Vercel Deployment

Vercel is configured via vercel.json:

Install Vercel CLI

npm install -g vercel

Set environment variables

In Vercel dashboard, add:

VITE_API_URL - Your backend API URL
VITE_WS_URL - Your backend WebSocket URL

Deploy

vercel --prod

Vercel configuration includes security headers:

X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
X-Frame-Options: DENY
X-XSS-Protection: 1; mode=block

Railway Deployment

Railway is configured via railway.json:

Connect repository

Create Railway account
New Project > Deploy from GitHub
Select your repository

Add PostgreSQL

Click “New Service” > Database > PostgreSQL
Railway automatically provides DATABASE_URL

Configure environment

Add all environment variables in Railway dashboard.

Deploy

Railway automatically deploys on push to main branch.Configuration from railway.json:

Build: npm run build:production
Start: npm run start:production
Health check: /api/health (timeout: 100s)
Restart policy: ON_FAILURE (max 10 retries)

Manual VPS Deployment

For custom infrastructure:

Set up server

Requirements:

Ubuntu 20.04+ or similar
Node.js 18+
PostgreSQL 15+
nginx (reverse proxy)
PM2 (process manager)

Install dependencies

# Node.js
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

# PM2
sudo npm install -g pm2

# nginx
sudo apt install -y nginx

# PostgreSQL
sudo apt install -y postgresql postgresql-contrib

Clone and build

git clone <repository-url>
cd neuron-meet
npm run install:all
npm run build

Configure PM2

Create ecosystem.config.js:

module.exports = {
  apps: [{
    name: 'neuron-meet',
    cwd: './server',
    script: 'dist/main.js',
    instances: 'max',
    exec_mode: 'cluster',
    env: {
      NODE_ENV: 'production',
      PORT: 3001
    }
  }]
};

Start with PM2:

pm2 start ecosystem.config.js
pm2 save
pm2 startup

Configure nginx

See the nginx configuration in Step 1 > Security Configuration > Enable HTTPS/TLSEnable and restart:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/neuron-meet /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Scaling Considerations

Horizontal Scaling

For high traffic, scale across multiple servers:

Load Balancing

Use nginx or a cloud load balancer:

upstream backend {
    least_conn;
    server backend1.example.com:3001;
    server backend2.example.com:3001;
    server backend3.example.com:3001;
}

server {
    location /api {
        proxy_pass http://backend;
    }
}

WebSocket Sticky Sessions

For WebSocket connections, enable sticky sessions:

upstream backend {
    ip_hash; # Sticky sessions based on IP
    server backend1.example.com:3001;
    server backend2.example.com:3001;
}

Or use Redis adapter for Socket.IO to share connections across servers.

Database Scaling

Enable read replicas for read-heavy workloads
Use connection pooling (PgBouncer or Supabase pooler)
Consider database sharding for very large scale
Monitor query performance with Prisma logging

Vertical Scaling

Optimize resource usage:

CPU: Use PM2 cluster mode to utilize all cores
Memory: Monitor with pm2 monit and adjust limits
Database: Increase connection pool size for high concurrency

Security Hardening

These security measures are critical for production deployments.

Rate Limiting

Protect against abuse with rate limiting:

# In nginx config
limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=api:10m rate=10r/s;

location /api {
    limit_req zone=api burst=20 nodelay;
    proxy_pass http://localhost:3001;
}

CORS Configuration

In production, restrict CORS to your frontend domain:

// server/src/main.ts
app.enableCors({
  origin: process.env.FRONTEND_URL,
  credentials: true
});

Security Headers

Already configured in vercel.json. For nginx:

add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;
add_header X-Frame-Options "DENY" always;
add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block" always;
add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains" always;

Firewall Rules

Only expose necessary ports:

sudo ufw allow 22/tcp   # SSH
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp   # HTTP
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp  # HTTPS
sudo ufw enable

PostgreSQL and Node.js ports should only be accessible internally.

Post-Deployment Testing

Verify HTTPS

Test SSL/TLS configuration:

curl -I https://yourdomain.com

Check SSL grade at SSL Labs

Test API endpoints

# Health check
curl https://yourdomain.com/api/health

# Should return: {"status":"ok"}

Test WebRTC connectivity

Create a test room
Join from different networks (WiFi, mobile)
Verify video/audio works
Test screen sharing
Verify TURN server is used in restrictive networks

Load testing

Use tools like Apache Bench or Artillery:

ab -n 1000 -c 10 https://yourdomain.com/api/health

Maintenance

Updates and Patches

git pull origin main
npm run install:all
npm run build

Monitoring Checklist

Server uptime and response times

Database connection pool usage

Disk space and database size

SSL certificate expiration

Error rates and exceptions

Active concurrent users

Troubleshooting

WebSocket connections failing

Verify nginx WebSocket proxy configuration
Check CORS settings allow WebSocket upgrade
Ensure sticky sessions are enabled for load balancing
Check firewall allows WebSocket traffic

Database connection errors

Verify connection string and credentials
Check connection pool limits
Ensure database is accessible from app server
Review Prisma connection logs

Video/audio not working

Verify TURN server is configured and accessible
Check browser console for WebRTC errors
Test with different networks (WiFi, mobile, VPN)
Verify HTTPS is enabled (required for WebRTC)

Support

For deployment issues:

Check application logs
Review Environment Variables
Verify Database Setup
Consult platform documentation (Vercel, Railway, etc.)

Need Help?

If you encounter issues not covered in this guide, please open an issue on the GitHub repository with:

Deployment platform
Error logs
Configuration (with secrets redacted)

Get Started

Core Features

Deployment

Architecture

Production Deployment

Production Checklist

Platform-Specific Deployment

Docker Production Deployment

Vercel Deployment

Railway Deployment

Manual VPS Deployment

Scaling Considerations

Horizontal Scaling

Vertical Scaling

Security Hardening

Post-Deployment Testing

Maintenance

Updates and Patches

Monitoring Checklist

Troubleshooting

Support

Need Help?

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Core Features

Deployment

Architecture

​Production Checklist

​Platform-Specific Deployment

​Docker Production Deployment

​Vercel Deployment

​Railway Deployment

​Manual VPS Deployment

​Scaling Considerations

​Horizontal Scaling

​Vertical Scaling

​Security Hardening

​Post-Deployment Testing

​Maintenance

​Updates and Patches

​Monitoring Checklist

​Troubleshooting

​Support

Need Help?

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Production Checklist

Platform-Specific Deployment

Docker Production Deployment

Vercel Deployment

Railway Deployment

Manual VPS Deployment

Scaling Considerations

Horizontal Scaling

Vertical Scaling

Security Hardening

Post-Deployment Testing

Maintenance

Updates and Patches

Monitoring Checklist

Troubleshooting

Support