Deployment

Deployment Overview

CAFH Platform is a static frontend with a Node.js backend. You can deploy them together or separately.

Deployment Options

Vercel (Recommended)
Netlify
Railway
Docker

Deploy both frontend and backend to Vercel:

Install Vercel CLI

npm install -g vercel

Build the frontend

npm run build

Deploy

vercel --prod

Configure environment variables

In Vercel dashboard, add:

SMTP_HOST
SMTP_PORT
SMTP_USER
SMTP_PASS
SMTP_SECURE
MAX_EMAILS_PER_HOUR

Deploy static frontend to Netlify:

Build the frontend

npm run build

Deploy

npx netlify-cli deploy --prod --dir=dist

Configure redirects

Create dist/_redirects:

/* /index.html 200

This ensures hash routing works correctly.

Netlify doesn’t support the Node.js backend. Deploy server.ts separately (e.g., Railway, Render).

Deploy the full stack to Railway:

Create railway.json

railway.json

{
  "build": {
    "builder": "NIXPACKS"
  },
  "deploy": {
    "startCommand": "npm run dev",
    "restartPolicyType": "ON_FAILURE"
  }
}

Push to GitHub

git push origin main

Connect to Railway

Go to railway.app
Create new project from GitHub repo
Add environment variables
Deploy

Containerize the application:

Dockerfile

FROM node:20-alpine

WORKDIR /app

COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --only=production

COPY . .
RUN npm run build

EXPOSE 3000

CMD ["node", "server.ts"]

Build and run:

docker build -t cafh-platform .
docker run -p 3000:3000 --env-file .env cafh-platform

Environment Variables

Set these in your deployment platform:

.env.production

# SMTP Configuration
SMTP_HOST=mail.yourdomain.com
SMTP_PORT=465
SMTP_USER=[email protected]
SMTP_PASS=your_password
SMTP_SECURE=true

# Email Throttling
MAX_EMAILS_PER_HOUR=80

# Optional
NODE_ENV=production

Static Hosting (Frontend Only)

If you only deploy the frontend:

Build

npm run build

Upload dist/ folder

Upload to:

GitHub Pages
Netlify
Vercel
Cloudflare Pages
AWS S3 + CloudFront

Configure routing

For hash routing, no special configuration needed.For browser routing, add a redirect rule:

/* /index.html 200

Without the backend, email features won’t work. Consider deploying server.ts separately.

Custom Domain

Vercel

Go to Project Settings > Domains
Add your domain (e.g., cafh.org)
Update DNS records as shown
Wait for SSL certificate provisioning

Netlify

Go to Site Settings > Domain Management
Add custom domain

Configure DNS:

A Record: @ -> 75.2.60.5
CNAME: www -> your-site.netlify.app

Post-Deployment

Test all features

Login as admin and member
Create a test campaign
Upload media
Create a blog post
Test Zoom integration (if configured)

Verify email sending

Send a test campaign to yourself and verify delivery

Monitor logs

Check deployment logs for errors:

Vercel: Dashboard > Deployments > Logs
Railway: Project > Deployments > Logs

Set up analytics (optional)

Add Google Analytics or Plausible to track usage

Production Checklist

Security

HTTPS enabled (automatic with Vercel/Netlify)
SMTP credentials in environment variables (not in code)
CORS configured correctly
Rate limiting enabled for email

Performance

Production build minified
Gzip/Brotli compression enabled
CDN for static assets
Lazy loading for large components

Monitoring

Error tracking (Sentry, Rollbar)
Uptime monitoring (UptimeRobot)
Email delivery monitoring
Storage usage tracking

Next Steps

Email Server

Configure production email

Environment Setup

Manage environment variables

Build Process

Optimize builds

Build Process

Email Server

⌘I

Setup

Architecture

Customization

Deployment

Deployment Overview

Deployment Options

Environment Variables

Static Hosting (Frontend Only)

Custom Domain

Vercel

Netlify

Post-Deployment

Production Checklist

Next Steps

Email Server

Environment Setup

Build Process

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Setup

Architecture

Deployment

Customization

​Deployment Overview

​Deployment Options

​Environment Variables

​Static Hosting (Frontend Only)

​Custom Domain

​Vercel

​Netlify

​Post-Deployment

​Production Checklist

​Next Steps

Email Server

Environment Setup

Build Process

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Deployment Overview

Deployment Options

Environment Variables

Static Hosting (Frontend Only)

Custom Domain

Vercel

Netlify

Post-Deployment

Production Checklist

Next Steps