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DelightBridge is designed to deploy seamlessly on Vercel with minimal configuration. This guide covers deployment, environment setup, and cron job configuration for automatic Gmail synchronization.

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Prerequisites

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Step 1: Import Project to Vercel

1

Connect GitHub repository

Go to vercel.com and click Add New Project.Select your DelightBridge repository from GitHub.
2

Configure project settings

Vercel auto-detects Next.js. Verify these settings:
  • Framework Preset: Next.js
  • Root Directory: ./ (leave default)
  • Build Command: pnpm build (auto-detected)
  • Output Directory: .next (auto-detected)
  • Install Command: pnpm install (auto-detected)
DelightBridge uses pnpm. Vercel automatically detects this from pnpm-lock.yaml.
3

Configure environment variables

Before deploying, add all required environment variables. Click Environment Variables section and add:
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-api03-...
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:[email protected]/delightbridge?sslmode=require
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=123456789-xxx.apps.googleusercontent.com
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=GOCSPX-xxx
AUTH_SECRET=your-production-secret-min-32-chars
ADMIN_EMAILS=[email protected]
CRON_SECRET=your-production-cron-secret
CRON_SYNC_MAX_ACCOUNTS=20
Use different AUTH_SECRET and CRON_SECRET values for production than development.
Select All Environments (Production, Preview, Development) or configure separately.
4

Deploy

Click Deploy. Vercel will:
  1. Clone your repository
  2. Install dependencies with pnpm
  3. Build the Next.js app
  4. Deploy to a production URL
First deployment takes 2-3 minutes.

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Step 2: Configure OAuth Redirect URIs

After deployment, update your Google Cloud Console OAuth settings with production URLs.

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Add production redirect URIs

Go to Google Cloud Console → APIs & Services → Credentials → Your OAuth 2.0 Client ID. Add these Authorized redirect URIs: 
https://your-project.vercel.app/api/auth/callback/google
https://your-project.vercel.app/api/services/oauth/callback
Replace your-project.vercel.app with your actual Vercel domain.
You need both redirect URIs:
  • /api/auth/callback/google - for user authentication (NextAuth)
  • /api/services/oauth/callback - for Gmail service connections
If using a custom domain, add those URLs too: 
https://bridge.delightroom.com/api/auth/callback/google
https://bridge.delightroom.com/api/services/oauth/callback

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Step 3: Push Database Schema

Vercel deployments need the database schema pushed separately.

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Option A: Push from local machine

With production DATABASE_URL in .env.local: 
pnpm db:push
Ensure you’re pushing to the production database, not development.

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Option B: Use Vercel CLI

Install Vercel CLI: 
npm i -g vercel
Link to your project: 
vercel link
Pull environment variables: 
vercel env pull .env.local
Push schema: 
pnpm db:push

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Step 4: Configure Cron Jobs

DelightBridge uses Vercel Cron to automatically sync Gmail messages every 5 minutes.

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Cron configuration file

The repository includes vercel.json with cron configuration: 
{
  "crons": [
    {
      "path": "/api/cron/sync-gmail",
      "schedule": "*/5 * * * *"
    }
  ]
}
  • path: API route to call (/api/cron/sync-gmail)
  • schedule: Cron expression (every 5 minutes)
Vercel Cron is only available on Pro and Enterprise plans. On the free Hobby plan, crons won’t run automatically.

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Cron schedule format

The schedule */5 * * * * means: 
┌───────────── minute (0-59)
│ ┌───────────── hour (0-23)
│ │ ┌───────────── day of month (1-31)
│ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1-12)
│ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of week (0-6, Sunday=0)
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *
Examples:
  • */5 * * * * - Every 5 minutes
  • */15 * * * * - Every 15 minutes
  • 0 * * * * - Every hour at minute 0
  • 0 0 * * * - Daily at midnight

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Verify cron is running

After deployment:
  1. Go to Vercel dashboard → Your project → Cron Jobs tab
  2. Verify /api/cron/sync-gmail is listed
  3. Check Last Run timestamp (may take 5 minutes for first run)
  4. Click on a run to see logs and status

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Manually trigger cron (testing)

You can test the cron endpoint manually: 
curl -X GET https://your-project.vercel.app/api/cron/sync-gmail \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer your-cron-secret"
Replace:
  • your-project.vercel.app with your Vercel domain
  • your-cron-secret with your CRON_SECRET value
Expected response: 
{
  "ok": true,
  "durationMs": 1234,
  "scannedConnectedAccounts": 3,
  "targetedAccounts": 3,
  "maxAccountsPerRun": 20,
  "succeeded": 3,
  "failed": 0,
  "skipped": 0,
  "results": [...]
}

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Cron Endpoint Details

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How cron sync works

Every 5 minutes, Vercel calls GET /api/cron/sync-gmail, which:
  1. Authenticates using CRON_SECRET from headers
  2. Fetches all connected Gmail accounts from database
  3. Selects up to CRON_SYNC_MAX_ACCOUNTS accounts (round-robin)
  4. Syncs each account incrementally using Gmail API History
  5. Updates last_history_id for next incremental sync
  6. Returns sync results (succeeded/failed/skipped counts)

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Round-robin scheduling

If you have more Gmail accounts than CRON_SYNC_MAX_ACCOUNTS, the cron job processes them in batches: Example: 50 accounts, CRON_SYNC_MAX_ACCOUNTS=20
  • Run 1 (0:00): Accounts 1-20
  • Run 2 (0:05): Accounts 21-40
  • Run 3 (0:10): Accounts 41-50
  • Run 4 (0:15): Accounts 1-20 (cycle repeats)
This ensures all accounts sync regularly without hitting timeouts.

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Security

The cron endpoint requires authentication via CRON_SECRET:
  • Vercel Cron automatically includes this in request headers
  • Manual requests must include:
    • Authorization: Bearer <CRON_SECRET>, OR
    • x-cron-secret: <CRON_SECRET>
Without valid secret, endpoint returns 401 Unauthorized.

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Environment Variables in Vercel

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View and edit variables

  1. Go to Vercel dashboard → Your project → Settings → Environment Variables
  2. Edit or add variables as needed
  3. Click Save
After changing environment variables, you must redeploy for changes to take effect.

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Redeploy after variable changes

Go to Deployments tab → Click ••• on latest deployment → Redeploy. Or trigger a new deployment by pushing to your GitHub repository.

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Environment-specific variables

You can set different values for:
  • Production - Live deployment
  • Preview - Pull request deployments
  • Development - Local development (via vercel env pull)

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Custom Domains

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Add custom domain

1

Go to Domains settings

Vercel dashboard → Your project → Settings → Domains
2

Add domain

Enter your domain (e.g., bridge.delightroom.com) and click Add.
3

Configure DNS

Vercel provides DNS instructions:
  • Subdomain (recommended): Add CNAME record pointing to cname.vercel-dns.com
  • Apex domain: Add A record pointing to Vercel’s IP
DNS changes may take up to 48 hours to propagate.
4

Update OAuth redirect URIs

Add custom domain URLs to Google Cloud Console:
https://bridge.delightroom.com/api/auth/callback/google
https://bridge.delightroom.com/api/services/oauth/callback

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Deployment Checklist

Before going live:
  • All environment variables set in Vercel
  • Production database schema pushed (pnpm db:push)
  • OAuth redirect URIs updated with production domain
  • Cron jobs configured and running (Pro plan required)
  • CRON_SECRET set and matches in environment variables
  • ADMIN_EMAILS contains production admin emails
  • Test login flow works
  • Test Gmail service connection flow
  • Verify cron sync runs successfully

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Monitoring and Logs

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View application logs

Vercel dashboard → Your project → Deployments → Click deployment → Runtime Logs Filter by:
  • Source: Edge, Serverless, etc.
  • Status: Errors, Warnings, All

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View cron logs

Vercel dashboard → Your project → Cron Jobs → Click a run Shows:
  • Execution time
  • Duration
  • Status code
  • Response body
  • Runtime logs

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Monitor Gmail API usage

Go to Google Cloud Console → APIs & Services → Dashboard Check quotas for:
  • Gmail API - Daily quota (usually 1 billion quota units/day)
  • Monitor requests/day to avoid hitting limits

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Troubleshooting

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Build fails with “pnpm not found”

Vercel should auto-detect pnpm from pnpm-lock.yaml. If not:
  1. Go to Settings → General
  2. Set Install Command to pnpm install
  3. Redeploy

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”Database connection failed” error

Verify:
  • DATABASE_URL is set correctly in Vercel environment variables
  • Connection string includes ?sslmode=require
  • Neon project is not paused (free tier auto-pauses after inactivity)

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Cron jobs not running

Verify:
  • You’re on Vercel Pro or Enterprise plan (Hobby plan doesn’t support cron)
  • vercel.json is committed to repository
  • Redeploy after adding vercel.json

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”Unauthorized cron request” in logs

Verify:
  • CRON_SECRET is set in Vercel environment variables
  • Value matches exactly (no extra spaces/newlines)

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OAuth redirect mismatch

Verify all redirect URIs are added to Google Cloud Console: 
https://your-project.vercel.app/api/auth/callback/google
https://your-project.vercel.app/api/services/oauth/callback
And custom domain if applicable: 
https://bridge.delightroom.com/api/auth/callback/google
https://bridge.delightroom.com/api/services/oauth/callback

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