Deployment.md

Deployment with Apollo Universal Starter Kit

Deploying to Linux Running on Node.js

1. Clone the latest stable branch of Apollo Universal Starter Kit and cd into the project folder:

git clone -b stable https://github.com/sysgears/apollo-universal-starter-kit.git
cd apollo-universal-starter-kit

2. Install dependencies:

yarn

NOTE: Apollo Starter Kit uses Yarn's special feature to handle the package architecture – workspaces. Using Yarn workspaces allows us to install all the dependencies that are listed in the root package.json as well as the dependencies in packages/client/package.json, packages/server/package.json, and packages/mobile/package.json from the root project directory.

Managing packages architecture the same way isn't possible with NPM, which is why we're using Yarn. Otherwise, you'll have to install the dependencies separately from each package – client, server, and mobile – to be able to run the project.

3. Seed the data to the database for production:

NODE_ENV=production yarn seed

4. Set SERVER_PORT and WEBSITE_URL environment variables to match your production setup or edit packages/server/build.config.js:

const config = ...;

if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production') {
  config.__SERVER_PORT__ = 8080; // Change to the production port
  config.__WEBSITE_URL__ = '"https://your-website-name.com"'; // Change to the production domain
}

5. If you need to run the mobile app, set API_URL and WEBSITE_URL environment variables to match your production setup or edit packages/mobile/build.config.js:

const config = ...;

if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production') {
  // Other settings are omitted for brevity
  // Change the following two lines
  config.__API_URL__ = '"https://your-website-name.com/graphql"';
  config.__WEBSITE_URL__ = '"https://your-website-name.com"';
  // Other settings are omitted for brevity
}

6. Compile the project for production:

yarn build

7. Run the project in production mode:

yarn start

Deploying to Heroku

1. Create an account on Heroku.

2. Install the Heroku Command Line Interface (CLI):

   • On Ubuntu, run sudo snap install heroku --classic
   • For Windows and MacOS, download the appropriate installer from Heroku CLI

3. Log in to the Heroku CLI with your Heroku login and password and follow the suggestions shown by the CLI:

heroku login

4. Create your application on Heroku via the CLI. Use the name of your application instead of application-name:

heroku create application-name

The command line will generate two links. The link before the pipe is the URL for your Heroku application, while the URL after the pipe is yhe Git repository to which you'll push your application:

https://application-name.herokuapp.com/ | https://git.heroku.com/application-name.git

Consult deploying a Node.js app for full details about creating your application on Heroku.

5. Set your deployment configuration variables in Heroku Dashboard.

Click the name of your application in the list and then follow to the Settings tab. In Settings, click on the Config Variables link and add the following variable:

Variable	Value
YARN_PRODUCTION	false

NOTE: If you don't need the mobile app when deploying to Heroku, rename heroku-postbuild script in packages/mobile/package.json to something else, so that Heroku doesn't find and run it:

However, if you want to deploy a mobile app, first create an account on Expo. Additionally, you need to set these three variables in Heroku Dashboard:

Variable	Value
YARN_PRODUCTION	false
EXP_USERNAME	your_expo_account_username
EXP_PASSWORD	your_expo_account_password

NOTE: To register new users, configure your SMTP server. By default, Apollo Universal Starter Kit uses Ethereal for the fake SMTP server, but you shouldn't use Ethereal for production application because the registration emails with the validation link will be sent to Ethereal, not to the real users.

Variable	Value
EMAIL_HOST	mailboxExample.example.com
EMAIL_PASSWORD	examplePassword
EMAIL_USER	example@example.com

6. Set a proper value for the server website URL in WEBSITE_URL environment variable or inside packages/server/build.config.js to match your production setup.

• If you're deploying your application on Heroku without a custom domain name, the production URL will look similar to this: https://application-name.herokuapp.com

application-name is the name of your application you've generated at the step 4 (creation of an app with the Heroku CLI).

• If you're using a custom domain, the production URL will look like this: https://domain-example.com

Remember to add the custom domain in Heroku Dashboard. Select your application from the list, and then follow to the Settings tab. Scroll to the button Add domain and add your domain.

7. If you're deploying your mobile app to Expo, you need to connect the app to the back-end URL. To do that set API_URL and WEBSITE_URL environment variable or edit packages/mobile/build.config.js:

const config = ...;

if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production') {
  config.__API_URL__ = '"https://application-name.herokuapp.com/graphql"';
  config.__WEBSITE_URL__ = '"https://application-name.herokuapp.com"';
}

8. Configure other Apollo Starter Kit modules such as the Stripe module if necessary.

9. Commit your changes and run the command below with the name of your application instead of application-name:

git push https://git.heroku.com/application-name.git

If you're deploying from another branch (not from master) run:

git push --force heroku your_branch:master

10. Heroku will automatically build your project. The website will be published to Heroku, and the mobile app will be available on Expo.io.

Publishing a Mobile App

1. Run the following command to publish your mobile app:

yarn expo publish

Building a Standalone Mobile App for Google Play or App Store

1. Run the command below to build a signed .apk for Android:

yarn expo ba

You need to run the command below to build a signed .iap for iOS:

yarn expo bi

3. Run yarn expo bs to get the status and links for signed standalone mobile apps when the build finishes.

For more details refer to Building Standalone Apps in the Expo documentation.