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This guide will walk you through creating a complete deployment configuration with Kittyhawk, including a React frontend, Django backend, Redis instance, and a scheduled cron job.

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Create Your First Chart

1

Import Kittyhawk constructs

In your main.ts file, import the necessary constructs from Kittyhawk:
import { Construct } from 'constructs';
import { 
  PennLabsChart, 
  ReactApplication, 
  DjangoApplication, 
  RedisApplication, 
  CronJob 
} from '@pennlabs/kittyhawk';

const cronTime = require('cron-time-generator');
2

Create a PennLabsChart

Extend the PennLabsChart class to create your deployment configuration:
export class ExampleChart extends PennLabsChart {
  constructor(scope: Construct) {
    super(scope);

    // Configuration will go here
  }
}
3

Define your application images and configuration

Set up the basic configuration variables:
const backendImage = 'pennlabs/example-backend';
const frontendImage = 'pennlabs/examplefrontend';
const secret = 'secret';
const domain = 'domain';
4

Add a Redis instance

Deploy a Redis instance for caching or session storage:
new RedisApplication(this, 'redis', {});
5

Deploy your Django backend

Configure your Django application with ASGI support:
new DjangoApplication(this, 'django-asgi', {
  deployment: {
    image: backendImage,
    cmd: ['/usr/local/bin/asgi-run'],
    replicas: 2,
    secret: secret,
    env: [
      { name: 'REDIS_HOST', value: 'redis' },
    ],
  },
  djangoSettingsModule: 'example.settings.production',
  domains: [{ host: domain, paths: ['/api/ws'] }],
});
6

Deploy your React frontend

Configure your React application:
new ReactApplication(this, 'react', {
  deployment: {
    image: frontendImage,
    replicas: 2,
  },
  domain: { host: domain, paths: ['/'] },
  portEnv: '80',
});
7

Add a scheduled cron job

Create a cron job that runs daily at 8 AM:
new CronJob(this, 'example-cronjob', {
  schedule: cronTime.everyDayAt(8),
  image: backendImage,
  secret: secret,
  cmd: ['your', 'command'],
});

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Complete Example

Here’s the complete main.ts file combining all the steps above: 
import { Construct } from 'constructs';
import { PennLabsChart, ReactApplication, DjangoApplication, RedisApplication, CronJob } from '@pennlabs/kittyhawk';

const cronTime = require('cron-time-generator');

export class ExampleChart extends PennLabsChart {
  constructor(scope: Construct) {
    super(scope);

    const backendImage = 'pennlabs/example-backend';
    const frontendImage = 'pennlabs/examplefrontend';

    const secret = 'secret';
    const domain = 'domain';

    new RedisApplication(this, 'redis', {});

    new DjangoApplication(this, 'django-asgi', {
      deployment: {
        image: backendImage,
        cmd: ['/usr/local/bin/asgi-run'],
        replicas: 2,
        secret: secret,
        env: [
          { name: 'REDIS_HOST', value: 'redis' },
        ],
      },
      djangoSettingsModule: 'example.settings.production',
      domains: [{ host: domain, paths: ['/api/ws'] }],
    });

    new ReactApplication(this, 'react', {
      deployment: {
        image: frontendImage,
        replicas: 2,
      },
      domain: { host: domain, paths: ['/'] },
      portEnv: '80',
    });

    /** Cronjobs **/
    new CronJob(this, 'example-cronjob', {
      schedule: cronTime.everyDayAt(8),
      image: backendImage,
      secret: secret,
      cmd: ['your', 'command'],
    });
  }
}

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Generating YAML (Local Testing)

You should NOT generate YAML manually for production. YAML generation should be handled by your CI/CD pipeline via Kraken.
For local testing only, you can generate YAML:
  1. Navigate to your k8s directory: 
    cd k8s
  2. Set required environment variables: 
    export RELEASE_NAME="your-app-name"
export GIT_SHA="$(git rev-parse HEAD)"
  3. Generate the YAML: 
    yarn compile && yarn synth
  4. Find the generated YAML in the dist folder: 
    ls dist/
# Output: RELEASE_NAME.k8s.yaml

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CI/CD Integration

In production, the DeployJob in Kraken handles YAML generation automatically. For more information, see the Kraken documentation.

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Next Steps

API Reference

Explore the full Kittyhawk API documentation

Kraken Integration

Learn how to integrate with Penn Labs’ CI/CD pipeline

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