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Overview

GaiterGuard is deployed using Docker Compose with three services: PostgreSQL database, backend API, and frontend dashboard. This guide covers production deployment steps.

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Prerequisites

  • Docker and Docker Compose installed
  • At least 2GB RAM available
  • An LLM API key (OpenAI-compatible endpoint)

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Quick Start

1

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/your-username/gaiter-guard.git
cd gaiter-guard
2

Copy environment template

cp backend/.env.example backend/.env
3

Configure environment variables

Edit backend/.env with production values. See Configuration for all options.Required variables:
DATABASE_URL=postgres://pglocal:pglocal-pass@db:5432/gaiterguard
JWT_SECRET=<generate-long-random-string>
ENCRYPTION_SECRET=<minimum-32-characters>
LLM_API_KEY=<your-openai-api-key>
Never use default secrets in production. Generate cryptographically secure random strings for JWT_SECRET and ENCRYPTION_SECRET.
4

Start services

docker compose up --build -d
This starts:
  • PostgreSQL on port 5432
  • Backend API on port 3000
  • Frontend dashboard on port 4173
5

Verify deployment

Check service health:
docker compose ps
docker compose logs backend
Test the health endpoint:
curl http://localhost:3000/health

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Docker Compose Configuration

The docker-compose.yaml defines three services: 
services:
  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    restart: always
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: pglocal
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: pglocal-pass
      POSTGRES_DB: gaiterguard
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U pglocal -d gaiterguard"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
    volumes:
      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data

  backend:
    build:
      context: ./backend
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://pglocal:pglocal-pass@db:5432/gaiterguard
      - PORT=3000
      - JWT_SECRET=dev-secret-change-in-production
      - JWT_ACCESS_EXPIRY=15m
      - JWT_REFRESH_EXPIRY=7d
      - ENCRYPTION_SECRET=dev-encryption-secret-32-chars-minimum-length-required
      - ENCRYPTION_SALT=gaiter-guard-salt-v1
      - LLM_BASE_URL=https://api.openai.com/v1
      - LLM_API_KEY=sk-placeholder-replace-with-real-key
      - LLM_MODEL=gpt-4o-mini
      - LLM_TIMEOUT_MS=10000
      - RISK_THRESHOLD=0.5
      - APPROVAL_EXECUTE_TTL_HOURS=1
      - NODE_ENV=production
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy

  frontend:
    build:
      context: ./frontend
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
      args:
        VITE_API_URL: http://localhost:3000
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "4173:4173"
    environment:
      - VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:3000
    depends_on:
      - backend

volumes:
  pgdata:

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Production Checklist

  • Generate strong random secrets (minimum 32 characters)
  • Use environment files with restricted permissions (chmod 600 .env)
  • Change default PostgreSQL credentials
  • Enable TLS/HTTPS with a reverse proxy (nginx/Caddy)
  • Set NODE_ENV=production
  • Never commit .env files to version control
  • Use persistent volumes for PostgreSQL data
  • Configure automated backups
  • Monitor connection pool usage
  • Set appropriate max_connections for your workload
  • Run services behind a reverse proxy
  • Configure firewall rules (only expose 80/443)
  • Use internal Docker network for inter-service communication
  • Set up domain with proper DNS records
  • Configure log aggregation (e.g., ELK stack)
  • Set up uptime monitoring
  • Monitor Docker resource usage: 
    docker stats
  • Check logs regularly: 
    docker compose logs -f backend

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Updating Services

To update to a new version: 
# Pull latest changes
git pull origin main

# Rebuild and restart
docker compose down
docker compose up --build -d

# Run database migrations if needed
docker compose exec backend bun run db:migrate

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Backup & Restore

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Database Backup

# Create backup
docker compose exec db pg_dump -U pglocal gaiterguard > backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

# Automated daily backups (add to crontab)
0 2 * * * cd /path/to/gaiter-guard && docker compose exec db pg_dump -U pglocal gaiterguard | gzip > backups/backup_$(date +\%Y\%m\%d).sql.gz

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Restore Database

# Stop backend to prevent writes
docker compose stop backend

# Restore from backup
cat backup_20260303.sql | docker compose exec -T db psql -U pglocal gaiterguard

# Restart services
docker compose start backend

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Troubleshooting

Check environment variables:
docker compose logs backend | grep -i error
Common issues:
  • Missing required environment variables
  • Invalid DATABASE_URL format
  • ENCRYPTION_SECRET less than 32 characters
  • Database not ready (check healthcheck)
Verify database is running:
docker compose ps db
docker compose exec db pg_isready -U pglocal
Check connection from backend:
docker compose exec backend bun run db:check
If ports are already in use, modify docker-compose.yaml:
ports:
  - "3001:3000"  # Use 3001 instead of 3000

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Next Steps

Configuration

Configure environment variables and runtime options

Agent Integration

Integrate AI agents with the gateway

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