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Openfront is a production-ready e-commerce platform built on Next.js 15 and KeystoneJS 6. This guide covers deployment architecture, requirements, and available deployment options.

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Deployment Architecture

Openfront follows a modern full-stack architecture:
  • Frontend: Next.js 15 with App Router and React Server Components
  • Backend: KeystoneJS 6 with GraphQL API
  • Database: PostgreSQL with Prisma ORM
  • File Storage: Local filesystem or S3-compatible storage
  • Sessions: Database-backed session storage

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Application Structure

openfront/
├── app/                    # Next.js App Router
│   ├── dashboard/         # Admin platform
│   ├── (storefront)/      # Customer-facing pages
│   └── api/              # API endpoints and webhooks
├── features/
│   ├── keystone/         # Backend models and GraphQL
│   ├── platform/         # Admin components
│   ├── storefront/       # Frontend components
│   └── integrations/     # Payment and shipping adapters
└── components/           # Shared UI components

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System Requirements

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Minimum Requirements

  • Node.js: 20.0.0 or higher
  • PostgreSQL: 12 or higher
  • Memory: 512MB RAM minimum (2GB+ recommended)
  • Storage: 1GB minimum (more for product images)
Openfront requires Node.js 20+ due to React 19 and Next.js 16 requirements.

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Database Requirements

Openfront requires a PostgreSQL database for:
  • Data models (78+ tables)
  • Session storage
  • File metadata (if using database storage)
SQLite and MySQL are not supported. Openfront uses PostgreSQL-specific features for advanced queries and data types.

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Required Environment Variables

Every Openfront deployment requires these environment variables:

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Database Connection

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://username:password@host:5432/database"
The database URL must be a valid PostgreSQL connection string.

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Session Secret

SESSION_SECRET="your-very-long-session-secret-key-minimum-32-characters"
The SESSION_SECRET must be at least 32 characters long and should be cryptographically random. Never commit this to version control.
Generate a secure session secret: 
node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'))"

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Optional Environment Variables

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Payment Providers

Stripe Integration: 
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY="sk_test_51..."
STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET="whsec_..."
PayPal Integration: 
PAYPAL_CLIENT_ID="your-paypal-client-id"
PAYPAL_CLIENT_SECRET="your-paypal-client-secret"

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Shipping Providers

Shippo Integration: 
SHIPPO_API_KEY="shippo_test_..."

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File Storage (S3-Compatible)

S3_BUCKET_NAME="your-bucket-name"
S3_REGION="us-east-1"
S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID="your-access-key"
S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="your-secret-key"

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Email Configuration

SMTP_HOST="smtp.gmail.com"
SMTP_PORT="587"
SMTP_USER="your-email@gmail.com"
SMTP_PASS="your-app-password"
FROM_EMAIL="noreply@yourstore.com"

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Build Process

Openfront’s build process includes:
  1. KeystoneJS Schema Build: Generates Prisma schema and GraphQL types
  2. Database Migration: Applies database migrations
  3. Next.js Build: Compiles frontend and API routes
# Development
npm run dev

# Production build
npm run build

# Production start
npm run start
The build process requires database connectivity to run migrations. Some platforms require special configuration to handle this during deployment.

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Deployment Options

Openfront can be deployed to various platforms:

Vercel

One-click deployment with automatic PostgreSQL provisioning

Railway

Template-based deployment with managed database

Self-Hosted

Docker or manual deployment on your infrastructure

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Post-Deployment Setup

After deploying Openfront:
1

Access Admin Panel

Navigate to /dashboard/init to create your first admin user
2

Run Store Onboarding

Complete the onboarding process to set up your store with sample data
3

Configure Payment Providers

Add your payment provider credentials in Settings > Payment Providers
4

Configure Shipping

Set up shipping options and provider integrations
5

Add Products

Start adding your products or import from existing catalog

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Security Considerations

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Environment Variables

  • Never commit environment variables to version control
  • Use platform-specific secret management
  • Rotate SESSION_SECRET regularly in production
  • Use different secrets for development and production

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Database Security

  • Use strong database passwords
  • Enable SSL connections for remote databases
  • Restrict database access to application servers only
  • Regular backup and disaster recovery planning

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Application Security

  • Keep dependencies updated
  • Enable webhook signature verification for payment providers
  • Configure CORS appropriately for your domain
  • Use HTTPS in production (required for payment processing)

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Performance Optimization

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Database Optimization

  • Enable connection pooling
  • Configure appropriate connection limits
  • Use read replicas for high-traffic deployments
  • Regular database maintenance and vacuuming

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Application Optimization

  • Enable Next.js production optimizations
  • Use CDN for static assets and images
  • Configure caching headers appropriately
  • Enable database query caching in KeystoneJS

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Scaling Considerations

  • Horizontal scaling: Multiple application instances behind load balancer
  • Vertical scaling: Increase memory and CPU for single instance
  • Database scaling: Use managed PostgreSQL with auto-scaling
  • File storage: Use S3-compatible storage for multi-instance deployments

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Monitoring and Maintenance

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Health Checks

Openfront provides health check endpoints:
  • /api/health - Application health status
  • /api/graphql - GraphQL API status

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Logging

  • Application logs are written to stdout/stderr
  • Configure log aggregation for production
  • Monitor error rates and response times
  • Set up alerting for critical errors

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Database Migrations

# Apply migrations
npm run migrate

# Generate new migration
npm run migrate:gen
Always backup your database before running migrations in production.

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Next Steps

Choose your deployment platform:

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