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TechCal is optimized for deployment on Vercel. This guide covers production deployment, environment setup, and post-deployment verification.

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Quick Deploy

Deploy to Vercel with one click: Deploy with Vercel
Replace the repository URL with your actual GitHub repository.

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Manual Deployment

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Prerequisites

1

Vercel Account

Create a free account at vercel.com.
2

Install Vercel CLI

npm install -g vercel
3

Link Project

Connect your local project to Vercel:
vercel link

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Deploy to Production

vercel --prod
This:
  1. Builds the Next.js application
  2. Uploads to Vercel’s edge network
  3. Assigns a production URL
  4. Runs post-deployment checks

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Environment Configuration

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Required Environment Variables

Set these in Vercel dashboard (Settings → Environment Variables): 
# Supabase
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL=https://production.supabase.co
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY=your_production_anon_key
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY=your_production_service_role_key

# Cron Jobs
CRON_SECRET=generate_with_openssl_rand_hex_32

# Monitoring
NEXT_PUBLIC_SENTRY_DSN=https://[email protected]/project
SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN=your_sentry_auth_token
SENTRY_ENABLED=true

# Analytics
NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY=phc_your_production_key

# Site URL
NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL=https://techcal.com
Never reuse production credentials in staging. Use separate Supabase projects, Sentry projects, and secrets for each environment.

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Optional Environment Variables

Configure feature flags and integrations: 
# Feature Flags
DISCOVERY_SCORING=server
DISCOVERY_RERANK=advanced
NEXT_PUBLIC_ENABLE_BEHAVIORAL_BOOST=true
NEXT_PUBLIC_ENABLE_DIVERSITY_ENHANCEMENT=true

# Rate Limiting (Vercel KV)
KV_REST_API_URL=auto_populated_by_vercel
KV_REST_API_TOKEN=auto_populated_by_vercel

# Ingestion
INGESTION_VERIFY_SPEAKERS=true

# Google Calendar Integration
GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret
TOKEN_ENCRYPTION_KEY=your_32_byte_hex_key

# Paddle Payments
NEXT_PUBLIC_PADDLE_ENVIRONMENT=production
NEXT_PUBLIC_PADDLE_CLIENT_TOKEN=your_paddle_token
See the Environment Variables page for complete documentation.

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Environment Scope

Set variables for specific environments:
  • Production - Production deployments only
  • Preview - Pull request previews
  • Development - Local development (.env.local)
Vercel automatically populates VERCEL_URL with the deployment URL. Use this for dynamic redirects.

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Vercel KV Setup

TechCal uses Vercel KV for rate limiting and caching:
1

Create KV Database

In Vercel dashboard:
  1. Navigate to Storage → Create Database
  2. Select KV (Redis)
  3. Name it (e.g., techcal-kv)
  4. Select region (same as your deployment)
2

Link to Project

Connect the KV database to your project:
  1. Go to your project settings
  2. Navigate to Storage
  3. Link the KV database
This automatically adds KV_REST_API_URL and KV_REST_API_TOKEN to your environment.

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Cron Jobs

TechCal uses Vercel Cron for scheduled tasks. Configuration in vercel.json:
vercel.json
{
  "crons": [
    {
      "path": "/api/cron/ingestion",
      "schedule": "0 2 * * *"
    },
    {
      "path": "/api/cron/enrichment",
      "schedule": "0 3 * * *"
    }
  ]
}

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Cron Schedule

  • Ingestion - Runs daily at 2:00 AM UTC
  • Enrichment - Runs daily at 3:00 AM UTC

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Cron Authentication

Cron endpoints require the CRON_SECRET header:
src/app/api/cron/ingestion/route.ts
if (request.headers.get('authorization') !== `Bearer ${process.env.CRON_SECRET}`) {
  return new Response('Unauthorized', { status: 401 });
}
Vercel automatically includes this header when invoking cron jobs.

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Manual Cron Trigger

Test cron jobs manually: 
curl -X POST https://your-domain.com/api/cron/ingestion \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_CRON_SECRET"
Manual triggers require admin authentication. See the ingestion documentation for details.

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Feature Flags

Toggle features without redeploying:

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Scoring Strategy

# Advanced scoring (recommended)
DISCOVERY_SCORING=server

# Legacy scoring
DISCOVERY_SCORING=legacy

# Shadow mode (A/B test both strategies)
DISCOVERY_SCORING=shadow

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Reranking Strategy

# Behavioral reranking (recommended)
DISCOVERY_RERANK=advanced

# No reranking
DISCOVERY_RERANK=off

# Shadow mode (compare both)
DISCOVERY_RERANK=shadow

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Client-Side Flags

# Enable/disable features
NEXT_PUBLIC_ENABLE_BEHAVIORAL_BOOST=true|false
NEXT_PUBLIC_ENABLE_DIVERSITY_ENHANCEMENT=true|false
NEXT_PUBLIC_SHOW_BUDGET_HINT=true|false
Feature flags with NEXT_PUBLIC_ prefix require a rebuild to take effect. Server-only flags (like DISCOVERY_SCORING) apply immediately.

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Build Configuration

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Next.js Build

Vercel automatically detects Next.js and uses:
  • Framework: Next.js
  • Build Command: npm run build
  • Output Directory: .next
  • Install Command: npm install
  • Node Version: Detected from package.json engines (20.9+)

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Build Environment Variables

Some variables are needed at build time: 
# Required at build time
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY

# Optional but recommended
SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN  # For uploading source maps

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Build Optimizations

TechCal includes optimizations:
  • Bundle analyzer - Run npm run build:analyze locally
  • Image optimization - Automatic via Next.js Image component
  • Font optimization - Automatic font subsetting
  • Code splitting - Route-based and lazy loading

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Post-Deployment Verification

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Automated Verification

Run the verification suite after deployment: 
npm run verify:all
This validates:
  1. Production config - Environment variables and API endpoints
  2. Budget filtering - Event filtering logic
  3. Analytics - Telemetry integration
Always run verify:all before merging to main. This catches configuration drift and algorithm regressions.

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Manual Verification Checklist

1

Core Flows

Test critical user journeys:
  • ✅ Sign up / Sign in
  • ✅ Complete onboarding
  • ✅ View discovery feed
  • ✅ Navigate to calendar
  • ✅ View dashboard analytics
2

API Endpoints

Verify key endpoints:
  • ✅ /api/events/filtered
  • ✅ /api/events/recommendations
  • ✅ /api/dashboard/analytics
3

Cron Jobs

Check Vercel dashboard:
  • ✅ Cron jobs are scheduled
  • ✅ View recent execution logs
  • ✅ No errors in cron output
4

Monitoring

Verify Sentry integration:
  • ✅ Errors appear in Sentry dashboard
  • ✅ Breadcrumbs are captured
  • ✅ Source maps are uploaded
5

Performance

Check Core Web Vitals:
  • ✅ LCP < 2.5s
  • ✅ FID < 100ms
  • ✅ CLS < 0.1
Use Vercel Analytics or Lighthouse.

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E2E Tests Against Production

Run E2E tests against staging/production: 
npm run test:e2e:staging
Configure in playwright.staging.config.ts: 
export default defineConfig({
  use: {
    baseURL: 'https://staging.techcal.com',
  },
});

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Rollback Strategy

If deployment fails:

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Instant Rollback

Vercel keeps previous deployments. Rollback instantly:
  1. Go to Vercel dashboard → Deployments
  2. Find the last working deployment
  3. Click “Promote to Production”

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Revert Git Commit

Revert code and redeploy: 
git revert HEAD
git push origin main
Vercel automatically deploys the reverted commit.

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CI/CD Integration

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GitHub Integration

Vercel automatically deploys:
  • Production - Commits to main branch
  • Preview - Pull requests

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Preview Deployments

Every PR gets a unique preview URL: 
https://techcal-git-feature-branch-yourteam.vercel.app
Use preview URLs for:
  • Design review
  • QA testing
  • Stakeholder demos

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Deployment Protection

Enable protection rules in Vercel:
  • Production branch - main only
  • Build checks - Tests must pass
  • Preview comments - Auto-comment on PRs

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Performance Monitoring

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Vercel Analytics

Enable in Vercel dashboard:
  1. Go to Analytics tab
  2. Enable Real Experience Score
  3. View Core Web Vitals, page performance, and user metrics

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Sentry Performance

TechCal sends performance data to Sentry:
sentry.server.config.ts
Sentry.init({
  tracesSampleRate: 0.1, // Sample 10% of transactions
});
Monitor:
  • API response times
  • Page load performance
  • Database query duration

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Troubleshooting

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Build Failures

Check Vercel build logs:
  1. Navigate to Deployments → Failed deployment
  2. View build logs
  3. Common issues:
    • Missing environment variables
    • TypeScript errors
    • Dependency conflicts

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Runtime Errors

Check Vercel function logs:
  1. Navigate to Deployments → Active deployment
  2. Click “Functions” tab
  3. View real-time logs

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Environment Variable Issues

Verify variables are set: 
vercel env ls
Pull production variables locally: 
vercel env pull .env.local

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Next Steps

Monitoring

Set up comprehensive monitoring and telemetry

Environment Variables

Complete environment variable reference

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