shopdb-flask/docs/deployment/PRODUCTION-READINESS.md

<!-- docmeta
purpose: explanation
audience: developer, adopter
status: historical
summary: The 2026-09-07 assessment of why deployment was hard. Its gaps became the roadmap; its recommendation was reversed.
loadwith: none
-->
# Production readiness assessment, 2026-09-07

> **This is a record, not guidance.** Read it for WHY the deployment story
> needed work, not for what to do. Two things have moved since:
>
> - **Its recommendation was reversed.** It recommends Windows/IIS for the
>   reference site and Docker only for new ones. The decision since is the
>   other way round: Docker is the path for every site and Windows/IIS is the
>   legacy topology that will be deprecated.
> - **Its "critical path" became the roadmap.** Pre-built images in a registry,
>   one-command setup, automatic plugin registration and a simpler backup mode
>   are now the distributed-release item on [ROADMAP](../ROADMAP.md). Several
>   of its gaps are already closed: the `migrate` service runs the schema, the
>   plugin bootstrap and the seeders with no manual step, and
>   `docker-compose.prebuilt.yml` removes npm from the image build.
>
> Current pages: [DEPLOY](../DEPLOY.md) to stand a site up,
> [DOCKER-PREBUILT-APPROACH](DOCKER-PREBUILT-APPROACH.md) to build it behind a
> proxy, [ROADMAP](../ROADMAP.md) for what is left.

## Executive Summary

[CRITICAL] **NOT PRODUCTION READY** in current state without significant operational investment.

The Docker deployment requires extensive manual setup, multiple services, and assumes expertise with Docker Compose, restic backup systems, and Flask plugin architecture. This assessment documents current gaps and provides recommendations.

## Current State: Deployment Complexity

### What Works

[OK] **Flask application code** - Stable, tested, 17 plugins functional  
[OK] **Database schema** - Migrations work, data model is sound  
[OK] **Frontend build** - Vue 3 SPA compiles and serves correctly  
[OK] **Docker images** - Build successfully (with caveats below)  
[OK] **Plugin architecture** - Clean, documented, extensible  

### Critical Gaps

[FAIL] **One-command deployment** - Requires 7-10 manual steps  
[FAIL] **Corporate proxy handling** - Zscaler cert extraction needed for npm  
[FAIL] **Backup system complexity** - 3 containers + restic + scheduler  
[FAIL] **TLS certificate generation** - Manual OpenSSL commands required  
[FAIL] **Plugin initialization** - Must run `apply-profile` after first start  
[FAIL] **Password reset** - No default admin password, requires manual SQL  
[FAIL] **Build time** - 15+ minutes with corporate proxy  
[FAIL] **Documentation scattered** - 3 different setup guides (Docker, Local, Backup)

## Why Is This So Complex?

### 1. Corporate Network Reality

**Problem:** Behind Zscaler proxy, npm can't trust npm registry  
**Impact:** Docker build fails without extracted corporate root CA  
**Workaround:** PowerShell script to extract cert before building  
**Production Fix:** Pre-build images in CI/CD with cert, publish to registry

### 2. Plugin Architecture Design

**Problem:** Plugin state in `instance/plugins.json`, not database  
**Impact:** Importing prod database doesn't register plugins  
**Workaround:** Manual `flask plugin apply-profile` after first start  
**Production Fix:** Auto-detect installed plugins from schema on boot

### 3. Backup System Architecture

**Problem:** Designed for restic with 3-container orchestration  
**Impact:** Requires backup-store + backup-watcher + backup containers  
**Workaround:** All documented, but complex to deploy  
**Production Fix:** Simpler mysqldump-only mode with direct file storage

### 4. Multi-Stage Docker Build

**Problem:** Frontend build needs Node 20, backend needs Python 3.14  
**Impact:** Multi-stage build is slow, complex, hard to debug  
**Workaround:** Build works, but takes 15 minutes  
**Production Fix:** Pre-build frontend on CI, copy dist/ into Python-only image

## Deployment Models (Ordered by Simplicity)

### Option 1: IIS + Windows Services (SIMPLEST)

**Best for:** Single Windows server deployment  
**Complexity:** Low  
**Maintenance:** Medium  

**Setup:**
1. Install Python 3.13+
2. Install MySQL (or use existing instance)
3. Run installer (creates Windows service for Flask)
4. Configure IIS reverse proxy
5. Install plugins via UI

**Pros:**
- Native Windows deployment
- Familiar IIS management
- No Docker complexity
- Fast startup

**Cons:**
- Windows-only
- Manual updates
- No containerization benefits

**Production Ready:** [WARN] **YES** (with installer improvements)

### Option 2: Docker Pre-Built Images (RECOMMENDED)

**Best for:** Sites with Docker but no build capability  
**Complexity:** Low-Medium  
**Maintenance:** Low  

**Setup:**
1. Pull pre-built image from registry
2. Run docker-compose with .env file
3. Access UI, enable plugins

**Pros:**
- No build step
- Fast deployment (2 minutes)
- Consistent environment
- Easy updates (pull new image)

**Cons:**
- Requires Docker
- Need image registry
- Initial registry setup

**Production Ready:** [OK] **YES** (requires CI/CD setup)

### Option 3: Docker Source Build (CURRENT)

**Best for:** Development, customization  
**Complexity:** High  
**Maintenance:** High  

**Setup:**
1. Extract Zscaler cert
2. Generate TLS certs
3. Build Docker images (15+ min)
4. Configure .env with 15+ variables
5. Start docker-compose
6. Run migrations
7. Install plugins
8. Reset admin password
9. Configure backup system
10. Test everything

**Pros:**
- Full source control
- Customizable
- No external dependencies

**Cons:**
- Extremely complex
- Long build times
- Many failure points
- Requires Docker expertise

**Production Ready:** [CRITICAL] **NO** (too complex for operations)

### Option 4: Kubernetes (FUTURE)

**Best for:** Multi-site deployment, high availability  
**Complexity:** Very High  
**Maintenance:** Medium (with proper GitOps)  

**Status:** Not implemented  
**Effort:** 2-3 weeks of work  

## What Would Make This Production Ready?

### Critical Path (Must Have)

1. **Pre-Built Images in Registry**
   - Build images in CI/CD
   - Push to container registry
   - Sites just `docker pull`
   - **Effort:** 1 week

2. **One-Command Setup**
   - `./deploy.sh` does everything
   - No manual cert extraction
   - No manual plugin installation
   - **Effort:** 3 days

3. **Automated Plugin Detection**
   - Scan database schema on boot
   - Auto-register plugins in JSON
   - No manual `apply-profile`
   - **Effort:** 2 days

4. **Simplified Backup (Option)**
   - Simple mysqldump + tar mode
   - Single container, no restic
   - Good enough for 80% of sites
   - **Effort:** 1 week

5. **Windows Installer Improvements**
   - One-click install
   - Includes Python runtime
   - Creates service automatically
   - **Effort:** 1 week

### Nice to Have (Future)

- Helm chart for Kubernetes
- Monitoring/metrics built-in
- Health check endpoints
- Automated testing in CI
- Rolling update strategy

## Honest Recommendations

### For the reference site

**Recommended:** Option 1 (IIS + Windows Services)

*Reversed since. See the note at the top of this page.*

**Why (as argued at the time):**
- The site already had Windows infrastructure
- Simpler to operate
- Faster to deploy
- The team knew IIS

**Steps:**
1. Build Windows installer
2. Deploy to Windows Server
3. Configure IIS reverse proxy
4. Import prod database
5. Done

**Timeline:** 2-3 days including testing

### For New Sites

**Recommended:** Option 2 (Docker Pre-Built Images)

**Prerequisites:**
- Set up CI/CD to build images
- Set up container registry (Docker Hub, Harbor, or AWS ECR)
- Create `deploy.sh` script

**Then sites can:**
```bash
# 1. Copy .env.example to .env and edit
cp .env.example .env

# 2. Run deployment
./deploy.sh

# 3. Access UI
https://your-server:5001
```

**Timeline for CI/CD setup:** 1-2 weeks

### For Current Docker Source Build

**Status:** Development/customization only, not for production

**Use when:**
- Testing new features
- Developing plugins
- Debugging issues
- Learning the system

**Don't use when:**
- Deploying to operations
- Training new ops staff
- Time-sensitive deployments

## Current Documentation Issues

### Too Many Guides

- `LOCAL-DEV-SETUP.md` - Windows development (port 3307, run_dev.py)
- `DOCKER-SETUP.md` - Docker source build (complex, 15+ steps)
- `PRODUCTION-READINESS.md` - This file (meta/assessment)
- `scripts/backup/README.md` - Backup system (3 containers, restic)

*Closed since: the first two were folded into `DEVELOPMENT-SETUP` and `DEPLOY`,
and `INDEX.md` is now the single entry point this section asks for.*

**Problem:** Which one do I follow?

**Solution:** Create decision tree:
- Developer on Windows -> LOCAL-DEV-SETUP.md
- Ops deploying to prod -> (DOESN'T EXIST YET - need simplified guide)
- Custom development -> DOCKER-SETUP.md
- Backup questions -> scripts/backup/README.md

### Missing Guides

- **PRODUCTION-DEPLOY.md** - Step-by-step for operations (IIS or Docker pull)
- **QUICK-START.md** - 5-minute version for evaluation
- **TROUBLESHOOTING.md** - Common issues, not scattered across files
- **UPGRADE-GUIDE.md** - How to update between versions

## What We Did Today (Honest Assessment)

[OK] **Merged the upstream development branch down** - 98 commits  
[OK] **Fixed local dev** - `run_dev.py` works for Windows development  
[OK] **Documented Docker** - Comprehensive but too complex  
[OK] **Added backup docs** - System works but needs expertise  
[WARN] **Docker "production ready"** - Technically works, operationally complex  
[FAIL] **Simple deployment** - Still requires too many manual steps  

## Next Steps (Priority Order)

### Immediate (This Week)

1. **Create QUICK-START.md**
   - 5-minute eval version
   - Uses pre-built image (if available) OR local dev
   - Gets people to working system fast

2. **Test Windows Installer**
   - Build the installer for the deployment branch
   - Deploy to test Windows Server
   - Document any issues

3. **Create deployment decision tree**
   - Flowchart: what's my situation -> which method to use
   - Don't make users read 4 docs to figure out where to start

### Short Term (Next Sprint)

4. **Set up CI/CD for image builds**
   - GitHub Actions or Jenkins
   - Build on every push to the deployment branch
   - Push to internal registry

5. **Create `deploy.sh` script**
   - One command: `./deploy.sh --env prod`
   - Handles certs, plugins, migrations automatically

6. **Simplify backup system**
   - Add "simple mode" - just mysqldump + tar
   - Keep restic for advanced sites
   - Document tradeoffs

### Long Term (Next Month)

7. **Auto-plugin detection**
   - Boot-time schema scan
   - No manual `apply-profile`

8. **Consolidate documentation**
   - One entry point
   - Clear paths for each audience
   - Tested by someone who hasn't seen the system

## Conclusion

**Is ShopDB production-ready?**

- **The code:** Yes, it's solid
- **Docker source build deployment:** No, too complex
- **Windows installer deployment:** Yes, with improvements
- **Docker pre-built images deployment:** Yes, but needs CI/CD setup

**Bottom line:** The application is mature. The deployment story needs work. Focus should shift from "making Docker work" to "making deployment simple."

**Recommendation:** Invest 2-3 weeks in deployment automation (CI/CD, pre-built images, deploy.sh) rather than continuing to document complex manual processes.