Production deployment guide for the SLMS frontend and backend — Vercel configuration, environment variables, and deployment architecture.

Deployment

Both the frontend and backend are configured for deployment on Vercel as serverless functions. Each application has its own vercel.json configuration file.

Architecture

┌──────────────────────────────┐     ┌──────────────────────────────┐
│     Frontend (Vercel)        │     │     Backend (Vercel)         │
│  Next.js 16 App              │────▶│  Express.js Serverless       │
│  slms.anandverse.qzz.io      │     │  api.slms.anandverse.qzz.io  │
└──────────────────────────────┘     └──────────┬───────────────────┘
                                                 │
                                                 ▼
                                     ┌──────────────────────────────┐
                                     │    MongoDB Atlas (Cloud)     │
                                     └──────────────────────────────┘

Live URLs:

Frontend: https://slms.anandverse.qzz.io/
Backend API: https://api.slms.anandverse.qzz.io/
Documentation: https://docs.slms.anandverse.qzz.io/docs

Backend Deployment

Vercel Configuration

File: backend/vercel.json

{
  "version": 2,
  "builds": [
    {
      "src": "server.js",
      "use": "@vercel/node"
    }
  ],
  "routes": [
    {
      "src": "/(.*)",
      "dest": "/server.js"
    }
  ]
}

Key details:

Uses @vercel/node builder to run server.js as a serverless function
All incoming requests are routed to the Express app via the catch-all route
The server conditionally listens only in non-production (process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production'), since Vercel handles routing

Backend Environment Variables

Set these in the Vercel dashboard under Settings → Environment Variables:

Variable	Required	Description
`DATABASE_URL`	✅	MongoDB Atlas connection string
`AUTH_SECRET` or `JWT_SECRET`	✅	Secret key for JWT signing
`NODE_ENV`	✅	Set to `production`
`SMTP_HOST`	—	SMTP server hostname (default: `smtp.gmail.com`)
`SMTP_PORT`	—	SMTP port (default: `587`)
`SMTP_USER`	—	SMTP username/email
`SMTP_PASS`	—	SMTP password or app password

Frontend Deployment

Vercel Configuration

File: frontend/vercel.json

{
  "framework": "nextjs"
}

Next.js is auto-detected by Vercel. No additional build configuration is needed.

Frontend Environment Variables

Set these in the Vercel dashboard:

Variable	Required	Description
`NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL`	✅	Full URL to the deployed backend (e.g., `https://slms-backend.vercel.app/api/v1`)
`AUTH_SECRET`	✅	NextAuth.js secret for session encryption
`MONGODB_URI`	✅	MongoDB connection string (used by NextAuth for the setup flow)
`NEXTAUTH_URL`	✅	Canonical URL of the frontend (e.g., `https://slms.vercel.app`)

Deployment Checklist

Pre-Deployment

Ensure MongoDB Atlas cluster is provisioned and connection string is ready
Set all required environment variables in Vercel
Verify CORS is configured to allow the frontend origin on the backend
Test the health check endpoint after deploying the backend

Post-Deployment Verification

Backend Health Check:

curl https://your-backend.vercel.app/health
# Expected: { "status": "ok", "message": "SLMS API is running" }

Frontend Smoke Test:
- Navigate to the deployed frontend URL
- Verify the login page loads
- Test login with admin credentials
- Confirm role-based redirect works

Local Development vs Production

Aspect	Local	Production
Backend URL	`http://localhost:5000/api/v1`	`https://api.slms.anandverse.qzz.io/api/v1`
Frontend URL	`http://localhost:3000`	`https://slms.anandverse.qzz.io`
Docs URL	`http://localhost:3000/docs`	`https://docs.slms.anandverse.qzz.io/docs`
Server Listening	`app.listen()` runs	Vercel handles routing
HTTPS	Not enforced	Enforced via `src/app.js` middleware
Rate Limiting	Active	Active (15-min window, 100 req/IP)

Important Notes

Cron Jobs: Vercel serverless functions do not natively support persistent cron jobs. The fine calculator cron job (node-cron) starts when the src/app.js module is loaded but may not run reliably in a cold-start serverless environment. Consider using Vercel Cron Jobs or an external scheduler for production.
Cold Starts: Serverless functions may have cold start delays. The MongoDB connection is cached across invocations within the same function instance.
File Uploads: The current deployment does not include file upload handling. Cover images referenced in the Book model use external URLs.

Deployment

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