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Deployment Guide

This guide will help you deploy your Healthcare Management System to Netlify (frontend) and various backend hosting services.

🚀 Frontend Deployment (Netlify)

Prerequisites

  • GitHub account
  • Netlify account (free tier available)

Step 1: Prepare Your Repository

  1. Make sure all your code is committed and pushed to GitHub
  2. Ensure your netlify.toml file is in the root directory
  3. Verify the _redirects file is in the frontend/ directory

Step 2: Deploy to Netlify

Option A: Using Netlify Dashboard (Recommended)

  1. Login to Netlify: Go to netlify.com and sign in
  2. New Site from Git: Click "New site from Git"
  3. Choose GitHub: Select GitHub as your Git provider
  4. Select Repository: Choose your healthcare management repository
  5. Configure Build Settings:
    • Base directory: frontend
    • Build command: npm run build
    • Publish directory: frontend/dist
  6. Environment Variables: Add environment variables in Netlify dashboard:
    • Go to Site settings → Environment variables
    • Add: VITE_API_BASE_URL = https://your-backend-url.com/api
  7. Deploy: Click "Deploy site"

Option B: Using Netlify CLI

# Install Netlify CLI
npm install -g netlify-cli

# Login to Netlify
netlify login

# Build your frontend
cd frontend && npm run build

# Deploy
netlify deploy --prod --dir=dist

Step 3: Configure Custom Domain (Optional)

  1. In Netlify dashboard, go to Site settings → Domain management
  2. Add your custom domain
  3. Configure DNS settings as instructed

🔧 Backend Deployment Options

Option 1: Railway (Recommended)

Railway offers easy MySQL database hosting and application deployment.

  1. Sign up: Go to railway.app
  2. Create New Project: Click "New Project"
  3. Deploy from GitHub: Connect your repository
  4. Add MySQL Database: Add a MySQL service to your project
  5. Environment Variables: Set the following in Railway: 
    DATABASE_URL=mysql://username:password@host:port/database
PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=production
CORS_ORIGIN=https://your-netlify-site.netlify.app
  6. Deploy: Railway will automatically deploy your backend

Option 2: Heroku

  1. Install Heroku CLI: Download from heroku.com
  2. Login: heroku login
  3. Create App: heroku create your-app-name
  4. Add MySQL: heroku addons:create jawsdb:kitefin
  5. Set Environment Variables: 
    heroku config:set NODE_ENV=production
heroku config:set CORS_ORIGIN=https://your-netlify-site.netlify.app
  6. Deploy: 
    git subtree push --prefix backend heroku main

Option 3: DigitalOcean App Platform

  1. Create Account: Sign up at digitalocean.com
  2. Create App: Use the App Platform
  3. Connect Repository: Link your GitHub repository
  4. Configure Build: Set source directory to backend
  5. Add Database: Create a managed MySQL database
  6. Environment Variables: Configure in the dashboard
  7. Deploy: DigitalOcean will build and deploy automatically

Option 4: Render

  1. Sign up: Go to render.com
  2. New Web Service: Create from your GitHub repository
  3. Configure:
    • Root Directory: backend
    • Build Command: npm install
    • Start Command: npm start
  4. Add Database: Create a PostgreSQL database (you'll need to modify your code)
  5. Environment Variables: Set in Render dashboard
  6. Deploy: Render will automatically deploy

🗄️ Database Setup

For MySQL-compatible services:

  1. Import Schema: Run the SQL files in your hosting service:

    -- Run backend/sql/schema.sql first
-- Then run backend/sql/sample_data.sql

  2. Update Connection: Make sure your environment variables match your database:

    DATABASE_URL=mysql://username:password@host:port/database_name

For PostgreSQL (if using Render/Heroku):

You'll need to convert your MySQL schema to PostgreSQL syntax.

🔄 Automatic Deployments

GitHub Actions (Already Configured)

Your repository includes a GitHub Actions workflow that:

  • Automatically builds your frontend when you push to main
  • Deploys to Netlify using secrets

Required GitHub Secrets

Add these secrets in your GitHub repository settings:

  1. NETLIFY_AUTH_TOKEN: Your Netlify personal access token
  2. NETLIFY_SITE_ID: Your Netlify site ID
  3. VITE_API_BASE_URL: Your backend API URL

🌐 Environment Variables Summary

Frontend (.env)

VITE_API_BASE_URL=https://your-backend-api.com/api

Backend (.env)

# Database
DATABASE_URL=mysql://username:password@host:port/database
# OR individual variables:
DB_HOST=your-db-host
DB_USER=your-db-user
DB_PASSWORD=your-db-password
DB_NAME=your-db-name

# Server
PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=production

# CORS
CORS_ORIGIN=https://your-netlify-site.netlify.app

🧪 Testing Your Deployment

  1. Frontend: Visit your Netlify URL
  2. Backend: Test API endpoints at your backend URL
  3. Integration: Ensure frontend can communicate with backend
  4. Database: Verify data persistence and retrieval

🔧 Troubleshooting

Common Issues:

  1. CORS Errors:

    • Ensure CORS_ORIGIN matches your Netlify URL exactly
    • Include both http:// and https:// if needed

  2. API Not Found:

    • Check VITE_API_BASE_URL is correct
    • Verify backend is running and accessible

  3. Database Connection Issues:

    • Verify DATABASE_URL format
    • Check database server is running
    • Ensure firewall allows connections

  4. Build Failures:

    • Check Node.js version compatibility
    • Verify all dependencies are in package.json
    • Review build logs for specific errors

📞 Support

If you encounter issues:

  1. Check the logs in your hosting service dashboard
  2. Verify all environment variables are set correctly
  3. Test locally first with production-like settings
  4. Consult hosting service documentation

Remember to update your frontend/_redirects file with your actual backend URL before deploying!