dorfteich/docs/architecture/deployment.md

Deployment architecture

Four stages, one Compose definition. Foundational decisions: ADR 0014 (CI/CD), ADR 0015 (backup), kickoff topology decision (Dev local on the developer's machine; Test and Int on the operator's VPS 188.245.116.44; the Prod host is decided at go-live — the architecture must keep that choice and any later move cheap). DNS status: *.dorfteich.online and *.dorfteich.cloud already point to the VPS.

The Compose stack

Every stage (and every self-hosted instance) runs the same services:

Service	Image	Notes
web	dorfteich-web	nginx: SPA assets, fonts; SPA fallback routing
api	dorfteich-api	NestJS; runs prisma migrate deploy on start
collab	dorfteich-collab	Hocuspocus WebSocket server
db	postgres:<pinned>	volume db-data
pandoc	pandoc/core:<pinned> (server mode)	internal only
gotenberg	gotenberg/gotenberg:<pinned>	internal only
backup	dorfteich-backup	cron sidecar: pg_dump, volume archive, prune, mirror (ADR 0015)

Volumes: db-data, uploads (uploads + installed plugins), backups. Networks: frontend (reverse proxy ↔ web/api/collab) and internal (api/collab ↔ db/pandoc/gotenberg); db and converters are never exposed.

Ingress is a host-level reverse proxy (existing Caddy/Traefik/nginx on the host), routing:

/            → web
/api/        → api
/collab      → collab   (WebSocket upgrade required)
/media/      → api      (permission-checked file streaming)

The proxy forwards /collab without stripping the prefix, so the collab service answers its health probe at /collab/healthz externally and at /healthz for the container-internal Docker healthcheck.

Self-hosters without a proxy can enable the optional caddy Compose profile (bundled Caddy with automatic TLS).

Stages

Stage	Where	Domain	Purpose	Data
Dev	contributor machine (e.g. the operator's MacBook), Docker Desktop	localhost	feature work; hot reload via compose.dev.yml overlay (source mounts, vite dev server)	fixtures/seed script
Test	VPS 188.245.116.44, /home/DOCKER/dorfteich-test/	test.dorfteich.cloud	auto-deploy target of main; e2e suite runs here	reset-able; seeded
Int	VPS 188.245.116.44, /home/DOCKER/dorfteich-int/	int.dorfteich.cloud	stable preview; manual/exploratory testing; release candidates	persistent test data
Prod	host decided at go-live (M8): the VPS or a dedicated host	dorfteich.online	public flagship instance	real data; full backup + mirror

Stage layout follows the operator's Docker host convention: compose file + .env under /home/DOCKER/dorfteich-<stage>/, bulk data volumes under /home/RAID/DOCKER/dorfteich-<stage>/ (bind-mounted).

Prod relocation readiness (kickoff requirement): all state lives in the three volumes + .env; the documented move procedure is: stop stack → final backup → restore backup set on the new host → switch DNS. The backup sidecar's restore runbook doubles as the migration procedure, and Test restore drills (ADR 0015) keep it honest.

Configuration

• One .env per stage (never in git; .env.example in the repo documents every variable): database credentials, APP_BASE_URL, collab token signing key, SMTP settings, stage name shown in the UI for non-Prod.
• First-run setup wizard (kickoff decision): when the API starts against an empty database it exposes only /setup (create Site Admin account, SMTP, instance name/locale, registration mode); the wizard locks itself after completion. .env can pre-seed these for automated deploys (Test/Int use exactly that).

Pipeline (ADR 0014, concrete)

flowchart LR
    PR[PR: lint + typecheck + unit + build] -->|merge| M[main]
    M --> B[build images :sha]
    B --> DT[deploy Test]
    DT --> E2E[Playwright e2e vs Test]
    E2E -->|green| DI[deploy Int - tag int]
    DI --> REL{manual: tag vX.Y.Z + approval}
    REL --> DP[deploy Prod - semver tag]

• Deploy jobs SSH into the stage directory and run docker compose pull && docker compose up -d; migrations apply on api start. Rollback = re-deploy the previous tag (migrations must be backward-compatible one release back — contributor rule for schema stories).
• The e2e suite is the Int-promotion gate; flaky tests are defects.
• Release notes are generated from merged PR titles; releases with data-affecting migrations are labeled migration and called out.

Self-hosting distribution

• Published artifacts per release: versioned images in the Gitea registry (mirrored to a public registry at first public release), a reference docker-compose.yml + .env.example, and the install/update/backup guide (docs/self-hosting/, written as part of the docs milestone).
• Minimum requirements: Docker + Compose, 2 GB RAM, a domain (TLS via own proxy or the caddy profile). Setup = compose up + browser wizard.
• Updates: docker compose pull && up -d on a new semver tag; migrations run automatically; the release notes flag anything manual. Downgrades are supported one release back.