PRODUCTION_DEPLOYMENT.md

OpenLearnX Production Deployment Guide

Last Updated: May 12, 2026
Status: Ready for Production Deployment

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📋 Table of Contents

1. Prerequisites
2. Backend Deployment
3. Frontend Deployment
4. Environment Configuration
5. Database Setup
6. Blockchain Setup
7. Post-Deployment Checks
8. Monitoring & Maintenance

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Prerequisites

Required Tools

• Node.js 18+ (for frontend)
• Python 3.10+ (for backend)
• MongoDB 4.4+ (database)
• Foundry/Anvil or Ethereum RPC endpoint (blockchain)
• Git
• PM2 or systemd (process manager)
• Nginx or Apache (reverse proxy)
• SSL/TLS certificates (HTTPS)

Recommended Hosting

• Backend: Heroku, DigitalOcean, AWS, GCP, or self-hosted VPS
• Frontend: Vercel, Netlify, or static hosting
• Database: MongoDB Atlas, AWS DocumentDB, or self-hosted
• Blockchain: Alchemy, Infura, or self-hosted node

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Backend Deployment

Option 1: Deploy to Heroku

1. Prerequisites

npm install -g heroku
heroku login

2. Create Procfile

cd backend
cat > Procfile << 'EOF'
web: python main.py
EOF

3. Create requirements file (if not exists)

pip freeze > requirements.txt

4. Deploy to Heroku

heroku create openlearnx-backend
git push heroku main

# Set environment variables
heroku config:set FLASK_ENV=production
heroku config:set MONGODB_URI=<your-mongodb-uri>
heroku config:set WEB3_PROVIDER_URL=<your-rpc-endpoint>
heroku config:set CONTRACT_ADDRESS=<deployed-contract-address>
heroku config:set SECRET_KEY=<secure-random-key>
heroku config:set JWT_SECRET_KEY=<secure-jwt-key>

5. View logs

heroku logs --tail

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Option 2: Deploy to VPS (DigitalOcean/AWS/Linode)

1. SSH into server

ssh root@your-server-ip

2. Install dependencies

apt update && apt upgrade -y
apt install -y python3.10 python3-pip python3-venv nginx git mongodb

3. Clone repository

cd /var/www
git clone https://github.com/th30d4y/OpenLearnX.git
cd OpenLearnX/backend

4. Setup Python environment

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r ../requirements.txt

5. Create .env file

cat > .env << 'EOF'
FLASK_ENV=production
SECRET_KEY=$(python3 -c 'import secrets; print(secrets.token_hex(32))')
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/openlearnx
WEB3_PROVIDER_URL=https://eth-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/v2/YOUR-API-KEY
CONTRACT_ADDRESS=0x...
JWT_SECRET_KEY=$(python3 -c 'import secrets; print(secrets.token_hex(32))')
EOF

6. Setup PM2

npm install -g pm2
pm2 start "python3 main.py" --name openlearnx-backend
pm2 startup
pm2 save

7. Configure Nginx

cat > /etc/nginx/sites-available/openlearnx-backend << 'EOF'
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name api.openlearnx.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:5000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}
EOF

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/openlearnx-backend /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
nginx -t
systemctl restart nginx

8. Setup SSL with Let's Encrypt

apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
certbot --nginx -d api.openlearnx.com

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Frontend Deployment

Option 1: Deploy to Vercel

1. Connect repository to Vercel

• Go to https://vercel.com
• Import GitHub repository
• Select frontend as root directory

2. Configure environment variables

NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=https://api.openlearnx.com
NEXT_PUBLIC_CHAIN_ID=1
NEXT_PUBLIC_CONTRACT_ADDRESS=0x...
NEXT_PUBLIC_RPC_URL=https://eth-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/v2/YOUR-API-KEY

3. Deploy

git push origin main
# Vercel will automatically deploy on push

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Option 2: Deploy to Netlify

1. Connect repository

• Go to https://netlify.com
• Import GitHub repository
• Select frontend as publish directory

2. Build settings

• Build command: pnpm install && pnpm build
• Publish directory: .next

3. Environment variables

NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=https://api.openlearnx.com
NEXT_PUBLIC_CHAIN_ID=1
NEXT_PUBLIC_CONTRACT_ADDRESS=0x...
NEXT_PUBLIC_RPC_URL=https://eth-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/v2/YOUR-API-KEY

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Option 3: Deploy to VPS

1. SSH into server

ssh root@your-server-ip

2. Install Node.js

curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo -E bash -
apt install -y nodejs
npm install -g pnpm

3. Clone repository

cd /var/www
git clone https://github.com/th30d4y/OpenLearnX.git
cd OpenLearnX/frontend

4. Build application

pnpm install
pnpm build

5. Setup PM2

pm2 start "pnpm start" --name openlearnx-frontend
pm2 startup
pm2 save

6. Configure Nginx

cat > /etc/nginx/sites-available/openlearnx-frontend << 'EOF'
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name openlearnx.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}
EOF

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/openlearnx-frontend /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
nginx -t
systemctl restart nginx

7. Setup SSL

certbot --nginx -d openlearnx.com

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Environment Configuration

Backend (.env) - Production

FLASK_ENV=production
DEBUG=False
SECRET_KEY=<secure-random-32-char-key>
JWT_SECRET_KEY=<secure-jwt-key>

# Database
MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://user:password@cluster.mongodb.net/openlearnx

# Blockchain
WEB3_PROVIDER_URL=https://eth-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/v2/YOUR-API-KEY
CONTRACT_ADDRESS=0x<deployed-contract-address>

# Security
CORS_ORIGINS=https://openlearnx.com,https://www.openlearnx.com
ADMIN_TOKEN=<secure-admin-token>

# Optional: Email configuration
MAIL_SERVER=smtp.gmail.com
MAIL_PORT=587
MAIL_USERNAME=your-email@gmail.com
MAIL_PASSWORD=your-app-password

Frontend (.env.production.local)

NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=https://api.openlearnx.com
NEXT_PUBLIC_CHAIN_ID=1
NEXT_PUBLIC_CONTRACT_ADDRESS=0x<contract-address>
NEXT_PUBLIC_RPC_URL=https://eth-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/v2/YOUR-API-KEY

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Database Setup

MongoDB Atlas (Cloud)

1. Go to https://mongodb.com/cloud/atlas
2. Create account and new cluster
3. Add database user with strong password
4. Whitelist IP addresses
5. Get connection string: mongodb+srv://user:pass@cluster.mongodb.net/openlearnx

Self-Hosted MongoDB

# Install MongoDB
apt install -y mongodb-org

# Start service
systemctl start mongod
systemctl enable mongod

# Create database and user
mongosh
use openlearnx
db.createUser({
  user: "openlearnx",
  pwd: "secure-password",
  roles: ["readWrite"]
})

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Blockchain Setup

Using Alchemy (Recommended)

1. Go to https://alchemy.com
2. Create account and new app
3. Select Ethereum mainnet (or testnet)
4. Get API key: https://eth-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/v2/YOUR-API-KEY

Using Infura

1. Go to https://infura.io
2. Create account and new project
3. Select Ethereum mainnet
4. Get API key: https://mainnet.infura.io/v3/YOUR-API-KEY

Self-Hosted Node

# Deploy smart contract to mainnet
cd backend
source venv/bin/activate

# Update WEB3_PROVIDER_URL to mainnet endpoint
python3 scripts/deploy.py  # Deploys to mainnet

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Post-Deployment Checks

1. Test Backend

curl https://api.openlearnx.com/api/health
curl https://api.openlearnx.com/api/dashboard/comprehensive-stats

2. Test Frontend

• Open https://openlearnx.com in browser
• Verify page loads
• Test wallet connection
• Test authentication flow

3. Database

mongosh
use openlearnx
db.stats()

4. Blockchain

curl -X POST https://eth-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/v2/YOUR-API-KEY \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_getCode","params":["0x...","latest"],"id":1}'

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Monitoring & Maintenance

PM2 Monitoring

pm2 monit          # Real-time monitoring
pm2 logs           # View logs
pm2 restart all    # Restart all processes
pm2 stop all       # Stop all processes

Nginx Logs

tail -f /var/log/nginx/access.log
tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

Database Backups

# Daily backup to S3
0 2 * * * mongodump --uri="mongodb+srv://..." --archive=/backups/openlearnx-$(date +\%Y\%m\%d).archive

SSL Certificate Renewal

# Auto-renewal with Let's Encrypt
certbot renew --dry-run
certbot renew  # Runs automatically via cron

Update dependencies

# Backend
cd backend
source venv/bin/activate
pip install --upgrade pip
pip install -r ../requirements.txt

# Frontend
cd frontend
pnpm update
pnpm build

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Troubleshooting

Backend not responding

pm2 logs openlearnx-backend
systemctl status mongod

Frontend blank page

pm2 logs openlearnx-frontend
# Check NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL environment variable

Database connection errors

# Test MongoDB connection
mongosh --uri="your-connection-string"

SSL certificate issues

certbot renew --force-renewal
systemctl restart nginx

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Security Checklist

• Update SECRET_KEY and JWT_SECRET_KEY with secure values
• Enable HTTPS with SSL certificates
• Configure firewall rules
• Setup rate limiting on API
• Enable CORS only for your domain
• Rotate API keys regularly
• Setup monitoring and alerting
• Implement database backups
• Use environment variables for secrets
• Enable audit logging
• Update dependencies regularly
• Setup DDoS protection (Cloudflare)

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Support

For issues or questions:

• GitHub Issues: https://github.com/th30d4y/OpenLearnX/issues
• Documentation: See DOCUMENTATION.md
• Contact: See README.md for contact info

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Deployment Version: 2.0.4
Last Updated: May 12, 2026