Deployment Overview

This section covers deploying the TEA Platform for production use. The recommended approach is Docker Compose for self-hosting.

Development vs Production

For local development setup, see the Getting Started section. This section is for production deployments.

Deployment Options

Docker Compose (Recommended)

The simplest way to deploy the TEA Platform is using Docker Compose. This bundles the application and database in containers that can run on any Docker-compatible host.

Suitable for:

Small to medium deployments
Single-server hosting
Organisations with Docker experience

See Docker Production for setup instructions.

Manual Deployment

For more control, you can deploy the components separately:

Next.js application on any Node.js hosting
PostgreSQL on a managed database service

This approach requires more configuration but allows integration with existing infrastructure.

Environment Variables

The TEA Platform is configured through environment variables. Here’s a reference of the key variables:

Required Variables

Variable	Description	Example
`DATABASE_URL`	PostgreSQL connection string	`postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/tea`
`NEXTAUTH_SECRET`	Secret for session encryption	Generate with `openssl rand -base64 32`
`NEXTAUTH_URL`	Public URL of the application	`https://tea.example.com`

Optional Variables

Variable	Description	Default
`GITHUB_APP_CLIENT_ID`	GitHub OAuth client ID	(disabled)
`GITHUB_APP_CLIENT_SECRET`	GitHub OAuth client secret	(disabled)
`NODE_ENV`	Environment mode	`production`

Database Configuration

Variable	Description	Default
`POSTGRES_USER`	Database user	`tea`
`POSTGRES_PASSWORD`	Database password	(required)
`POSTGRES_DB`	Database name	`tea`

Security Considerations

Secrets Management

Never commit secrets to version control
Use environment variables or a secrets manager
Rotate NEXTAUTH_SECRET periodically
Use strong, unique database passwords

Network Security

Run behind a reverse proxy (nginx, Traefik)
Enable HTTPS with a valid certificate
Restrict database access to application only
Consider network isolation for database

Authentication

Enable GitHub OAuth for easier user onboarding
Require email verification for local accounts
Implement rate limiting on authentication endpoints

Backup Strategy

Regular backups are essential for production deployments:

Database backups - Daily automated backups
Configuration backups - Store environment configs securely
Test restores - Regularly verify backup integrity

See Database Management for backup procedures.

Monitoring

Consider monitoring for production deployments:

Application health - HTTP health checks
Database metrics - Connection pool, query performance
Error tracking - Application error monitoring
Uptime monitoring - External availability checks