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This guide covers deploying Scira to production environments, including Vercel, Docker-based deployments, and custom infrastructure. The easiest way to deploy Scira is using Vercel’s one-click deployment: Deploy with Vercel
1

Click the Deploy button

Click the “Deploy with Vercel” button above to start the deployment process.
2

Configure environment variables

Vercel will prompt you to configure the required environment variables. See the Environment Variables guide for details on each variable.At minimum, you’ll need:
  • OPENAI_API_KEY
  • ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
  • DATABASE_URL
  • BETTER_AUTH_SECRET
  • REDIS_URL
3

Deploy

Click “Deploy” and Vercel will:
  • Clone the repository
  • Install dependencies
  • Build the application
  • Deploy to production
4

Run database migrations

After deployment, run database migrations:
pnpm drizzle-kit push

​
Vercel Configuration

Scira is optimized for Vercel with the following Next.js configuration:
  • Output: Standalone mode for optimal performance
  • Server Actions: 20MB body size limit for file uploads
  • Image Optimization: Configured for various external image sources
  • Edge Config: Support for Vercel Edge Config
  • Analytics: Built-in Vercel Analytics and Speed Insights integration

​
Docker Deployment

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Production Docker Setup

For Docker-based production deployments:
1

Prepare environment file

Create a .env file with all required environment variables:
cp .env.example .env
Edit .env and configure all production values.
2

Build the production image

Build the Docker image:
docker build -t scira.app:production .
The multi-stage Dockerfile optimizes for:
  • Small image size - Uses Alpine Linux and output tracing
  • Security - Runs as non-root user
  • Performance - Standalone Next.js build
3

Run the container

Start the container:
docker run -d \
  --name scira \
  --env-file .env \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  scira.app:production

​
Docker Compose Production

For orchestrating multiple containers: 
version: '3.8'

services:
  scira.app:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    ports:
      - '3000:3000'
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - PORT=3000
      - HOSTNAME=0.0.0.0
    env_file:
      - .env
    restart: unless-stopped
    depends_on:
      - postgres
      - redis

  postgres:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: scira
      POSTGRES_USER: scira
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    restart: unless-stopped

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  postgres_data:

​
Container Health Checks

Add health checks to your Docker setup: 
HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=3s --start-period=40s --retries=3 \
  CMD node -e "require('http').get('http://localhost:3000/api/health', (r) => r.statusCode === 200 ? process.exit(0) : process.exit(1))"

​
Environment Setup

​
Required Environment Variables

For production, you must configure:
​
NODE_ENV
string
required
Set to production for production deployments
​
DATABASE_URL
string
required
PostgreSQL connection string
​
REDIS_URL
string
required
Redis connection URL for caching and rate limiting
​
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET
string
required
Secret key for authentication. Generate with:
openssl rand -base64 32

​
Production Security Checklist

Before deploying to production, ensure you:
  • ✅ Use strong, randomly generated secrets
  • ✅ Enable HTTPS/SSL encryption
  • ✅ Configure proper CORS origins
  • ✅ Set up database connection pooling
  • ✅ Enable Redis for rate limiting
  • ✅ Configure OAuth redirect URLs correctly
  • ✅ Never expose API keys in client-side code
  • ✅ Set up monitoring and error tracking
  • ✅ Configure database backups
  • ✅ Use environment-specific configurations

​
Database Migrations

Run database migrations after deployment: 
# Push schema changes to database
pnpm drizzle-kit push

# Or generate and apply migrations
pnpm drizzle-kit generate
pnpm drizzle-kit migrate

​
Migration Best Practices

  1. Test migrations locally first - Always test migrations in a development environment
  2. Backup before migrating - Create a database backup before running migrations
  3. Use transactions - Drizzle ORM automatically wraps migrations in transactions
  4. Monitor migration progress - Watch logs during migration execution
  5. Rollback plan - Have a rollback strategy ready if migrations fail

​
Health Checks and Monitoring

​
Health Check Endpoint

Implement a health check endpoint for monitoring: 
// app/api/health/route.ts
export async function GET() {
  return Response.json({ status: 'ok' });
}

​
Monitoring Recommendations

  • Application Performance - Use Vercel Analytics or similar
  • Error Tracking - Configure error logging (e.g., Sentry)
  • Database Monitoring - Monitor query performance and connection pool
  • Redis Monitoring - Track cache hit rates and memory usage
  • API Rate Limiting - Monitor rate limit hits via Upstash

​
Performance Optimization

Next.js configuration in next.config.ts includes: 
{
  compiler: {
    removeConsole: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production' ? { exclude: ['error'] } : false,
  },
  experimental: {
    optimizePackageImports: [
      '@phosphor-icons/react',
      'lucide-react',
      '@hugeicons/react',
      'date-fns',
    ],
    staleTimes: {
      dynamic: 10,
      static: 30,
    },
  },
}

​
Scaling Considerations

​
Database Scaling

  • Use connection pooling (PgBouncer)
  • Configure read replicas for read-heavy workloads
  • Optimize indexes for frequently queried fields
  • Monitor slow queries and optimize them

​
Redis Scaling

  • Use Redis Cluster for high availability
  • Configure appropriate eviction policies
  • Monitor memory usage and scale vertically if needed

​
Application Scaling

  • Enable horizontal scaling with multiple instances
  • Use load balancing for traffic distribution
  • Configure CDN for static assets
  • Optimize image delivery with Next.js Image component

​
Troubleshooting

​
Common Deployment Issues

Ensure all dependencies are properly installed:
rm -rf node_modules
pnpm install
  • Verify DATABASE_URL is correct
  • Check database server is accessible
  • Ensure database user has proper permissions
  • Verify SSL/TLS configuration if required
  • Check BETTER_AUTH_SECRET is set
  • Verify OAuth redirect URLs match deployment URL
  • Ensure OAuth credentials are correct
  • Check trustedOrigins in auth configuration
  • Check image remote patterns in next.config.ts
  • Verify external image sources are allowed
  • Ensure CDN/blob storage is accessible

​
Next Steps

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