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description: Outlines the deployment plan for the CV Optimization Platform, including environments and steps.
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# Deployment Plan

## Environments
- **Development Environment:** Local development environment on your machine.
- **Staging Environment:** (Optional but recommended for more complex projects) A staging environment that mirrors production for testing before live deployment.  Could be a separate branch or deployment on Vercel/Render.
- **Production Environment:** Live website accessible to users.

## Deployment Steps (MVP Launch)

### Frontend (Vercel)
1. **Connect GitHub Repository to Vercel:** In Vercel, create a new project and connect it to your GitHub repository.
2. **Configure Build Settings:** Vercel will usually auto-detect Next.js settings. Verify build command and output directory are correct.
3. **Set Environment Variables:** Add any necessary environment variables (e.g., API endpoint URLs, API keys - *be careful not to expose secrets in frontend code directly, ideally pass through backend or use secure environment variable management*).
4. **Deploy:** Trigger deployment from Vercel dashboard or by pushing to your `main` branch (if configured for automatic deployments).
5. **Domain Setup (Optional):** Configure a custom domain name if desired.

### Backend (Render/Heroku)
1. **Create Render/Heroku Account and Project:** Create an account and a new project for your backend application on Render or Heroku.
2. **Connect GitHub Repository:** Connect your backend GitHub repository to the Render/Heroku project.
3. **Configure Deployment Settings:**
    - **Build Command:**  (e.g., `pip install -r requirements.txt` for Python, `npm install` for Node.js).
    - **Start Command:** (e.g., `gunicorn app:app` for Flask, `uvicorn app:app --reload` for FastAPI during development, `node server.js` for Node.js).
    - **Environment Variables:** Set necessary environment variables, especially API keys, database connection strings (if applicable). Use secure environment variable management provided by Render/Heroku.
4. **Database Setup (if using external DB):** Set up a database service (e.g., Render PostgreSQL, Heroku Postgres, MongoDB Atlas) and configure connection details.
5. **Deploy:** Trigger deployment from Render/Heroku dashboard or by pushing to your `main` branch.
6. **Health Checks:** Configure health check endpoints for monitoring application status.

## Post-Deployment
- **Monitoring:** Set up monitoring tools (e.g., Vercel Analytics, Render/Heroku logs, dedicated monitoring services) to track application performance and errors.
- **Logging:** Review logs regularly to identify and address issues.
- **Scaling (Future):** Plan for scaling backend resources as user load increases.

**Note:** This is a basic deployment plan for MVP. It will need to be refined as the project evolves and more complex features are added. Consider CI/CD pipelines for automated deployments in the future.