Production Build

This guide walks you through the complete process of building ServITech Backend API for production deployment.

Prerequisites

Before starting the production build:

Ensure you have completed the environment configuration with production values.

Production server access with PHP 8.2+
Composer installed globally
Node.js and NPM installed
Production database configured and accessible
SSL certificate obtained (for HTTPS)

Step-by-Step Build Process

1. Clone Repository

Clone the ServITech Backend repository to your production server:

# Navigate to web root
cd /var/www

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/MOSHE9647/ServITech-Backend.git servitechapi
cd servitechapi

# Checkout production branch
git checkout main

2. Install Dependencies

Install PHP and Node.js dependencies:

# Install Composer dependencies (production only)
composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader

# Install NPM dependencies
npm install

The --no-dev flag excludes development dependencies, reducing the application footprint and improving security.

3. Configure Environment

Create and configure the production environment file:

# Copy environment template
cp .env.example .env

# Edit with production values
nano .env

Critical production settings:

APP_NAME=ServITech
APP_VERSION=1.0.0
APP_ENV=production
APP_DEBUG=false
APP_URL=https://api.your-domain.com

# Database configuration
DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=servitechdb
DB_USERNAME=your_db_user
DB_PASSWORD=your_secure_password

Never commit .env to version control. Ensure .env is in .gitignore.

4. Generate Application Keys

Generate required security keys:

# Generate Laravel application key
php artisan key:generate

# Generate JWT authentication secret
php artisan jwt:secret

These commands automatically update your .env file with generated keys. Keep these keys secure and backed up.

5. Set Up Database

Prepare the production database:

# Run database migrations
php artisan migrate --force

# Optional: Seed initial data (if applicable)
php artisan db:seed --class=ProductionSeeder

The --force flag is required to run migrations in production environment.

Always backup your database before running migrations in production.

6. Build Frontend Assets

Compile and optimize frontend assets:

# Build production assets
npm run build

This command:

Minifies JavaScript and CSS
Optimizes images
Generates versioned asset files
Outputs to public/build directory

7. Optimize Application Performance

Run Laravel optimization commands:

# Cache configuration files
php artisan config:cache

# Cache routes for faster routing
php artisan route:cache

# Cache Blade views
php artisan view:cache

# Optimize event discovery
php artisan event:cache

Cache Invalidation: Run these commands after every deployment or configuration change.

8. Set File Permissions

Configure proper file permissions:

# Set owner (replace 'www-data' with your web server user)
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/servitechapi

# Set directory permissions
sudo find /var/www/servitechapi -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;

# Set file permissions
sudo find /var/www/servitechapi -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

# Storage and cache need write permissions
sudo chmod -R 775 /var/www/servitechapi/storage
sudo chmod -R 775 /var/www/servitechapi/bootstrap/cache

9. Configure Queue Workers

Set up background job processing: Create systemd service at /etc/systemd/system/servitechapi-worker.service:

[Unit]
Description=ServITech Queue Worker
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=www-data
Group=www-data
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
ExecStart=/usr/bin/php /var/www/servitechapi/artisan queue:work database --tries=3 --timeout=90 --sleep=3
StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start the worker:

# Reload systemd
sudo systemctl daemon-reload

# Enable service to start on boot
sudo systemctl enable servitechapi-worker

# Start the service
sudo systemctl start servitechapi-worker

# Check status
sudo systemctl status servitechapi-worker

10. Configure Task Scheduling

Laravel’s task scheduler requires a single cron entry:

# Edit crontab
sudo crontab -e -u www-data

# Add this line:
* * * * * cd /var/www/servitechapi && php artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

Verification Steps

After completing the build, verify the deployment:

1. Test Application Access

curl https://api.your-domain.com/health

Expected response:

{
  "status": "healthy",
  "timestamp": "2026-03-08T10:30:00.000000Z",
  "version": "1.0.0"
}

2. Check API Documentation

Access the Scramble-generated API documentation:

https://api.your-domain.com/docs/api

3. Test Authentication

Verify JWT authentication is working:

curl -X POST https://api.your-domain.com/api/auth/login \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"email":"[email protected]","password":"password"}'

4. Verify Queue Processing

# Check queue worker status
sudo systemctl status servitechapi-worker

# View queue worker logs
sudo journalctl -u servitechapi-worker -f

5. Check Application Logs

# View recent logs
tail -f /var/www/servitechapi/storage/logs/laravel.log

Production Environment Script

Create a deployment script for repeatable builds:

#!/bin/bash
# deploy.sh - ServITech Production Deployment Script

set -e

APP_DIR="/var/www/servitechapi"

echo "Starting deployment..."

# Navigate to application directory
cd $APP_DIR

# Enable maintenance mode
php artisan down --message="Deploying updates..." --retry=60

# Pull latest changes
echo "Pulling latest code..."
git pull origin main

# Install dependencies
echo "Installing dependencies..."
composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader --no-interaction
npm ci

# Build assets
echo "Building assets..."
npm run build

# Run migrations
echo "Running database migrations..."
php artisan migrate --force

# Clear and rebuild caches
echo "Optimizing application..."
php artisan config:clear
php artisan config:cache
php artisan route:cache
php artisan view:cache
php artisan event:cache

# Restart queue workers
echo "Restarting queue workers..."
sudo systemctl restart servitechapi-worker

# Disable maintenance mode
php artisan up

echo "Deployment completed successfully!"

Make the script executable:

chmod +x deploy.sh

Performance Optimization

OPcache Configuration

Enable OPcache for PHP performance:

; /etc/php/8.2/fpm/conf.d/10-opcache.ini
opcache.enable=1
opcache.memory_consumption=256
opcache.interned_strings_buffer=16
opcache.max_accelerated_files=10000
opcache.revalidate_freq=2
opcache.fast_shutdown=1

Database Connection Pooling

For high-traffic applications, consider using ProxySQL or PgBouncer for connection pooling.

Redis Caching

Upgrade from database cache to Redis for better performance:

# Install Redis
sudo apt install redis-server

# Update .env
CACHE_STORE=redis
REDIS_HOST=127.0.0.1
REDIS_PASSWORD=null
REDIS_PORT=6379

Troubleshooting

Issue: 500 Internal Server Error

Solution:

# Check application logs
tail -f storage/logs/laravel.log

# Check web server logs
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

# Verify file permissions
sudo chmod -R 775 storage bootstrap/cache

Issue: Database Connection Failed

Solution:

# Test database connection
php artisan tinker
>>> DB::connection()->getPdo();

# Verify credentials in .env
# Check database server status
sudo systemctl status mysql

Issue: Assets Not Loading

Solution:

# Rebuild assets
npm run build

# Clear application cache
php artisan cache:clear

# Verify public directory permissions
ls -la public/

Issue: Queue Jobs Not Processing

Solution:

# Restart queue worker
sudo systemctl restart servitechapi-worker

# Check worker logs
sudo journalctl -u servitechapi-worker -n 50

# Verify queue configuration
php artisan queue:work --once

Rollback Procedure

If deployment fails, quickly rollback:

# Enable maintenance mode
php artisan down

# Rollback to previous commit
git reset --hard HEAD~1

# Reinstall dependencies
composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader
npm ci && npm run build

# Rollback database (if needed)
php artisan migrate:rollback --force

# Clear caches
php artisan config:clear
php artisan route:clear
php artisan view:clear

# Disable maintenance mode
php artisan up

Security Hardening

Additional Security Measures

Implement these security practices for production environments.

Disable Directory Listing:
```
autoindex off;
```

Hide PHP Version:

; /etc/php/8.2/fpm/php.ini
expose_php = Off

Configure Security Headers:

add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;
add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;
add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block" always;
add_header Referrer-Policy "strict-origin-when-cross-origin" always;

Rate Limiting: Laravel includes built-in rate limiting. Configure in app/Http/Kernel.php.
CORS Configuration: Configure allowed origins in config/cors.php.

Continuous Integration/Deployment

Consider implementing CI/CD pipelines using:

GitHub Actions: Automated testing and deployment
GitLab CI/CD: Integrated CI/CD solution
Jenkins: Self-hosted automation server
Laravel Envoyer: Zero-downtime deployment service

Next Steps

Environment Variables

Complete reference for all configuration options

Deployment Overview

Learn about deployment strategies and best practices

Development

Deployment

Best Practices

​Production Build

​Prerequisites

​Step-by-Step Build Process

​1. Clone Repository

​2. Install Dependencies

​3. Configure Environment

​4. Generate Application Keys

​5. Set Up Database

​6. Build Frontend Assets

​7. Optimize Application Performance

​8. Set File Permissions

​9. Configure Queue Workers

​10. Configure Task Scheduling

​Verification Steps

​1. Test Application Access

​2. Check API Documentation

​3. Test Authentication

​4. Verify Queue Processing

​5. Check Application Logs

​Production Environment Script

​Performance Optimization

​OPcache Configuration

​Database Connection Pooling

​Redis Caching

​Troubleshooting

​Issue: 500 Internal Server Error

​Issue: Database Connection Failed

​Issue: Assets Not Loading

​Issue: Queue Jobs Not Processing

​Rollback Procedure

​Security Hardening

​Additional Security Measures

​Continuous Integration/Deployment

​Next Steps

Environment Variables

Deployment Overview

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Production Build

Prerequisites

Step-by-Step Build Process

1. Clone Repository

2. Install Dependencies

3. Configure Environment

4. Generate Application Keys

5. Set Up Database

6. Build Frontend Assets

7. Optimize Application Performance

8. Set File Permissions

9. Configure Queue Workers

10. Configure Task Scheduling

Verification Steps

1. Test Application Access

2. Check API Documentation

3. Test Authentication

4. Verify Queue Processing

5. Check Application Logs

Production Environment Script

Performance Optimization

OPcache Configuration

Database Connection Pooling

Redis Caching

Troubleshooting

Issue: 500 Internal Server Error

Issue: Database Connection Failed

Issue: Assets Not Loading

Issue: Queue Jobs Not Processing

Rollback Procedure

Security Hardening

Additional Security Measures

Continuous Integration/Deployment

Next Steps