# HOA LedgerIQ — Deployment Guide

**Version:** 2026.3.2 (beta)
**Last updated:** 2026-03-02

---

## Table of Contents

1. [Prerequisites](#prerequisites)
2. [Deploy to a Fresh Docker Server](#deploy-to-a-fresh-docker-server)
3. [SSL with Certbot (Let's Encrypt)](#ssl-with-certbot-lets-encrypt)
4. [Backup the Local Test Database](#backup-the-local-test-database)
5. [Restore a Backup into the Staged Environment](#restore-a-backup-into-the-staged-environment)
6. [Running Migrations on the Staged Environment](#running-migrations-on-the-staged-environment)
7. [Verifying the Deployment](#verifying-the-deployment)
8. [Environment Variable Reference](#environment-variable-reference)

---

## Prerequisites

On the **target server**, ensure the following are installed:

| Tool            | Minimum Version |
|-----------------|-----------------|
| Docker Engine   | 24+             |
| Docker Compose  | v2+             |
| Git             | 2.x             |
| `psql` (client) | 15+ *(optional, for manual DB work)* |

The app runs five containers — nginx, backend (NestJS), frontend (Vite/React),
PostgreSQL 15, and Redis 7. Total memory footprint is roughly **1–2 GB** idle.

For SSL, the server must also have:
- A **public hostname** with a DNS A record pointing to the server's IP
  (e.g., `staging.yourdomain.com → 203.0.113.10`)
- **Ports 80 and 443** open in any firewall / security group

---

## Deploy to a Fresh Docker Server

### 1. Clone the repository

```bash
ssh your-staging-server

git clone <repo-url> /opt/hoa-ledgeriq
cd /opt/hoa-ledgeriq
```

### 2. Create the environment file

Copy the example and fill in real values:

```bash
cp .env.example .env
nano .env          # or vi, your choice
```

**Required changes from defaults:**

```dotenv
# --- CHANGE THESE ---
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=<strong-random-password>
JWT_SECRET=<random-64-char-string>

# Database URL must match the password above
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://hoafinance:<same-password>@postgres:5432/hoafinance

# AI features (get a key from build.nvidia.com)
AI_API_KEY=nvapi-xxxxxxxxxxxx

# --- Usually fine as-is ---
POSTGRES_USER=hoafinance
POSTGRES_DB=hoafinance
REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
NODE_ENV=development        # keep as development for staging
AI_API_URL=https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1
AI_MODEL=qwen/qwen3.5-397b-a17b
AI_DEBUG=false
```

> **Tip:** Generate secrets quickly:
> ```bash
> openssl rand -hex 32    # good for JWT_SECRET
> openssl rand -base64 24 # good for POSTGRES_PASSWORD
> ```

### 3. Build and start the stack

```bash
docker compose up -d --build
```

This will:
- Build the backend and frontend images
- Pull `postgres:15-alpine`, `redis:7-alpine`, and `nginx:alpine`
- Initialize the PostgreSQL database with the shared schema (`db/init/00-init.sql`)
- Start all five services on the `hoanet` bridge network

### 4. Wait for healthy services

```bash
docker compose ps
```

All five containers should show `Up` (postgres and redis should also show
`(healthy)`). If the backend is restarting, check logs:

```bash
docker compose logs backend --tail=50
```

### 5. (Optional) Seed with demo data

If deploying a fresh environment for testing and you want the Sunrise Valley
HOA demo tenant:

```bash
docker compose exec -T postgres psql -U hoafinance -d hoafinance < db/seed/seed.sql
```

This creates:
- Platform admin: `admin@hoaledgeriq.com` / `password123`
- Tenant admin: `admin@sunrisevalley.org` / `password123`
- Tenant viewer: `viewer@sunrisevalley.org` / `password123`

### 6. Access the application

| Service   | URL                            |
|-----------|--------------------------------|
| App (UI)  | `http://<server-ip>`           |
| API       | `http://<server-ip>/api`       |
| Postgres  | `<server-ip>:5432` (direct)    |

> At this point the app is running over **plain HTTP**. Continue to the next
> section to enable HTTPS.

---

## SSL with Certbot (Let's Encrypt)

This section walks through enabling HTTPS using the included nginx container
and a Certbot sidecar. The process has three phases: obtain the certificate,
switch nginx to SSL, and set up auto-renewal.

### Files involved

| File | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| `nginx/default.conf` | HTTP-only config (development / initial state) |
| `nginx/certbot-init.conf` | Temporary config used only during initial cert request |
| `nginx/ssl.conf` | Full SSL config (HTTP→HTTPS redirect + TLS termination) |
| `docker-compose.ssl.yml` | Compose override that adds port 443, certbot volumes, and renewal service |

### Overview

```
  Phase 1 — Obtain certificate
  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │  nginx serves certbot-init.conf on port 80     │
  │  certbot answers ACME challenge → gets cert    │
  └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

  Phase 2 — Enable SSL
  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │  nginx switches to ssl.conf                    │
  │  port 80 → 301 redirect to 443                 │
  │  port 443 → TLS termination → backend/frontend │
  └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

  Phase 3 — Auto-renewal
  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │  certbot container checks every 12 hours       │
  │  renews if cert expires within 30 days         │
  │  nginx reloads via cron to pick up new cert    │
  └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

---

### Phase 1 — Obtain the certificate

Throughout this section, replace `staging.example.com` with your actual
hostname and `you@example.com` with your real email.

#### Step 1: Edit `nginx/ssl.conf` with your hostname

```bash
cd /opt/hoa-ledgeriq

sed -i 's/staging.example.com/YOUR_HOSTNAME/g' nginx/ssl.conf
```

This updates the three places where the hostname appears: the `server_name`
directive and the two certificate paths.

#### Step 2: Swap in the temporary certbot-init config

Nginx can't start with `ssl.conf` yet because the certificates don't exist.
Use the minimal HTTP-only config that only serves the ACME challenge:

```bash
# Back up the current config
cp nginx/default.conf nginx/default.conf.bak

# Use the certbot init config temporarily
cp nginx/certbot-init.conf nginx/default.conf
```

#### Step 3: Start the stack with the SSL compose override

```bash
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.ssl.yml up -d --build
```

This starts all services plus the certbot container, exposes port 443,
and creates the shared volumes for certificates and ACME challenges.

#### Step 4: Request the certificate

```bash
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.ssl.yml \
  run --rm certbot certonly \
    --webroot \
    --webroot-path /var/www/certbot \
    --email you@example.com \
    --agree-tos \
    --no-eff-email \
    -d YOUR_HOSTNAME
```

You should see output ending with:

```
Successfully received certificate.
Certificate is saved at: /etc/letsencrypt/live/YOUR_HOSTNAME/fullchain.pem
Key is saved at:         /etc/letsencrypt/live/YOUR_HOSTNAME/privkey.pem
```

> **Troubleshooting:** If certbot fails with a connection error, ensure:
> - DNS for `YOUR_HOSTNAME` resolves to this server's public IP
> - Port 80 is open (firewall, security group, cloud provider)
> - No other process is bound to port 80

---

### Phase 2 — Switch to full SSL

#### Step 5: Activate the SSL nginx config

```bash
cp nginx/ssl.conf nginx/default.conf
```

#### Step 6: Restart nginx to load the certificate

```bash
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.ssl.yml \
  exec nginx nginx -s reload
```

#### Step 7: Verify HTTPS

```bash
# Should follow redirect and return HTML
curl -I https://YOUR_HOSTNAME

# Should return 301 redirect
curl -I http://YOUR_HOSTNAME
```

Expected `http://` response:

```
HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently
Location: https://YOUR_HOSTNAME/
```

The app is now accessible at `https://YOUR_HOSTNAME` with a valid
Let's Encrypt certificate. All HTTP requests redirect to HTTPS.

---

### Phase 3 — Auto-renewal

The `certbot` service defined in `docker-compose.ssl.yml` already runs a
renewal loop (checks every 12 hours, renews if < 30 days remain).

However, nginx needs to be told to reload when a new certificate is issued.
Add a host-level cron job that reloads nginx daily:

```bash
# Add to the server's crontab (as root)
crontab -e
```

Add this line:

```cron
0 4 * * * cd /opt/hoa-ledgeriq && docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.ssl.yml exec -T nginx nginx -s reload > /dev/null 2>&1
```

This reloads nginx at 4 AM daily. Since reload is graceful (no downtime),
this is safe to run even when no new cert was issued.

> **Alternative:** If you prefer not to use cron, you can add a
> `--deploy-hook` to the certbot command that reloads nginx only when a
> renewal actually happens:
> ```bash
> docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.ssl.yml \
>   run --rm certbot certonly \
>     --webroot \
>     --webroot-path /var/www/certbot \
>     --email you@example.com \
>     --agree-tos \
>     --no-eff-email \
>     --deploy-hook "nginx -s reload" \
>     -d YOUR_HOSTNAME
> ```

---

### Day-to-day usage with SSL

Once SSL is set up, **always** use both compose files when running commands:

```bash
# Start / restart
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.ssl.yml up -d

# Rebuild after code changes
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.ssl.yml up -d --build

# View logs
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.ssl.yml logs -f nginx

# Shortcut: create an alias
echo 'alias dc="docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.ssl.yml"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
dc up -d --build     # much easier
```

### Reverting to HTTP-only (development)

If you need to go back to plain HTTP (e.g., local development):

```bash
# Restore the original HTTP-only config
cp nginx/default.conf.bak nginx/default.conf

# Run without the SSL override
docker compose up -d
```

---

### Quick reference: SSL file map

```
nginx/
├── default.conf        ← active config (copy ssl.conf here for HTTPS)
├── default.conf.bak    ← backup of original HTTP-only config
├── certbot-init.conf   ← temporary, used only during initial cert request
└── ssl.conf            ← full SSL config (edit hostname before using)

docker-compose.yml          ← base stack (HTTP only, ports 80)
docker-compose.ssl.yml      ← SSL overlay (adds 443, certbot, volumes)
```

---

## Backup the Local Test Database

### Full database dump (recommended)

From your **local development machine** where the app is currently running:

```bash
cd /path/to/HOA_Financial_Platform

# Dump the entire database (all schemas, roles, data)
docker compose exec -T postgres pg_dump \
  -U hoafinance \
  -d hoafinance \
  --no-owner \
  --no-privileges \
  --format=custom \
  -f /tmp/hoafinance_backup.dump

# Copy the dump file out of the container
docker compose cp postgres:/tmp/hoafinance_backup.dump ./hoafinance_backup.dump
```

The `--format=custom` flag produces a compressed binary format that supports
selective restore. The file is typically 50–80% smaller than plain SQL.

### Alternative: Plain SQL dump

If you prefer a human-readable SQL file:

```bash
docker compose exec -T postgres pg_dump \
  -U hoafinance \
  -d hoafinance \
  --no-owner \
  --no-privileges \
  > hoafinance_backup.sql
```

### Backup a single tenant schema

To export just one tenant (e.g., Pine Creek HOA):

```bash
docker compose exec -T postgres pg_dump \
  -U hoafinance \
  -d hoafinance \
  --no-owner \
  --no-privileges \
  --schema=tenant_pine_creek_hoa_q33i \
  > pine_creek_backup.sql
```

> **Finding a tenant's schema name:**
> ```bash
> docker compose exec -T postgres psql -U hoafinance -d hoafinance \
>   -c "SELECT name, schema_name FROM shared.organizations WHERE status = 'active';"
> ```

---

## Restore a Backup into the Staged Environment

### 1. Transfer the backup to the staging server

```bash
scp hoafinance_backup.dump user@staging-server:/opt/hoa-ledgeriq/
```

### 2. Ensure the stack is running

```bash
cd /opt/hoa-ledgeriq
docker compose up -d
```

### 3. Drop and recreate the database (clean slate)

```bash
# Connect to postgres and reset the database
docker compose exec -T postgres psql -U hoafinance -d postgres -c "
  SELECT pg_terminate_backend(pid)
  FROM pg_stat_activity
  WHERE datname = 'hoafinance' AND pid <> pg_backend_pid();
"
docker compose exec -T postgres dropdb -U hoafinance hoafinance
docker compose exec -T postgres createdb -U hoafinance hoafinance
```

### 4a. Restore from custom-format dump

```bash
# Copy the dump into the container
docker compose cp hoafinance_backup.dump postgres:/tmp/hoafinance_backup.dump

# Restore
docker compose exec -T postgres pg_restore \
  -U hoafinance \
  -d hoafinance \
  --no-owner \
  --no-privileges \
  /tmp/hoafinance_backup.dump
```

### 4b. Restore from plain SQL dump

```bash
docker compose exec -T postgres psql \
  -U hoafinance \
  -d hoafinance \
  < hoafinance_backup.sql
```

### 5. Restart the backend

After restoring, restart the backend so NestJS re-establishes its connection
pool and picks up the restored schemas:

```bash
docker compose restart backend
```

---

## Running Migrations on the Staged Environment

Migrations live in `db/migrations/` and are numbered sequentially. After
restoring an older backup, you may need to apply newer migrations.

Check which migrations exist:

```bash
ls -la db/migrations/
```

Apply them in order:

```bash
# Run all migrations sequentially
for f in db/migrations/*.sql; do
  echo "Applying $f ..."
  docker compose exec -T postgres psql \
    -U hoafinance \
    -d hoafinance \
    < "$f"
done
```

Or apply a specific migration:

```bash
docker compose exec -T postgres psql \
  -U hoafinance \
  -d hoafinance \
  < db/migrations/010-health-scores.sql
```

> **Note:** Migrations are idempotent where possible (`IF NOT EXISTS`,
> `DO $$ ... $$` blocks), so re-running one that has already been applied
> is generally safe.

---

## Verifying the Deployment

### Quick health checks

```bash
# Backend is responding (use https:// if SSL is enabled)
curl -s http://localhost/api/auth/login | head -c 100

# Database is accessible
docker compose exec -T postgres psql -U hoafinance -d hoafinance \
  -c "SELECT count(*) AS tenants FROM shared.organizations WHERE status = 'active';"

# Redis is working
docker compose exec -T redis redis-cli ping
```

### Full smoke test

1. Open `https://YOUR_HOSTNAME` (or `http://<server-ip>`) in a browser
2. Log in with a known account
3. Navigate to Dashboard — verify health scores load
4. Navigate to Capital Planning — verify Kanban columns render
5. Navigate to Projects — verify project list loads
6. Check the Settings page — version should read **2026.3.2 (beta)**

### Verify SSL (if enabled)

```bash
# Check certificate details
echo | openssl s_client -connect YOUR_HOSTNAME:443 -servername YOUR_HOSTNAME 2>/dev/null \
  | openssl x509 -noout -subject -issuer -dates

# Check that HTTP redirects to HTTPS
curl -sI http://YOUR_HOSTNAME | grep -E 'HTTP|Location'
```

### View logs

```bash
docker compose logs -f              # all services
docker compose logs -f backend      # backend only
docker compose logs -f postgres     # database only
docker compose logs -f nginx        # nginx access/error log
```

---

## Environment Variable Reference

| Variable          | Required | Description                                        |
|-------------------|----------|----------------------------------------------------|
| `POSTGRES_USER`   | Yes      | PostgreSQL username                                |
| `POSTGRES_PASSWORD`| Yes     | PostgreSQL password (**change from default**)      |
| `POSTGRES_DB`     | Yes      | Database name                                      |
| `DATABASE_URL`    | Yes      | Full connection string for the backend             |
| `REDIS_URL`       | Yes      | Redis connection string                            |
| `JWT_SECRET`      | Yes      | Secret for signing JWT tokens (**change from default**) |
| `NODE_ENV`        | Yes      | `development` or `production`                      |
| `AI_API_URL`      | Yes      | OpenAI-compatible inference endpoint               |
| `AI_API_KEY`      | Yes      | API key for AI provider (Nvidia)                   |
| `AI_MODEL`        | Yes      | Model identifier for AI calls                      |
| `AI_DEBUG`        | No       | Set `true` to log raw AI prompts/responses         |

---

## Architecture Overview

```
                     ┌──────────────────┐
  Browser ─────────► │  nginx :80/:443  │
                     └────────┬─────────┘
                   ┌──────────┴──────────┐
                   ▼                     ▼
          ┌──────────────┐       ┌──────────────┐
          │ backend :3000│       │frontend :5173│
          │   (NestJS)   │       │ (Vite/React) │
          └──────┬───────┘       └──────────────┘
            ┌────┴────┐
            ▼         ▼
    ┌────────────┐ ┌───────────┐    ┌───────────┐
    │postgres:5432│ │redis :6379│    │  certbot  │
    │  (PG 15)   │ │ (Redis 7) │    │ (renewal) │
    └────────────┘ └───────────┘    └───────────┘
```

**Multi-tenant isolation:** Each HOA organization gets its own PostgreSQL
schema (e.g., `tenant_pine_creek_hoa_q33i`). The `shared` schema holds
cross-tenant tables (users, organizations, market rates). Tenant context
is resolved from the JWT token on every API request.