Environment Architecture

Overview

We use three distinct environments: Development, Staging, and Production.

Environment Details

Development

• Database: Local PostgreSQL (Docker)
• Storage: LocalStack S3 (Docker)
• Domain: localhost:port (3000 by default)
• Purpose: Local development and testing

Staging (a.k.a. "Preview" on Vercel)

• Database: Neon PostgreSQL (branch from production, shared across all staging environments)
• Storage: Dedicated S3 bucket (separate from production, shared across all staging environments)
• Domain: Vercel Preview URLs
• Purpose: Testing and verification

Production

• Database: Neon PostgreSQL (Main Branch)
• Storage: Dedicated S3 bucket
• Domain: mindvista.ca
• Purpose: Live production environment

Environment Variables

Each environment has its own .env file:

• Development: .env.development (reminder that this should be named .env in your local environment)
• Staging: .env.staging
• Production: .env.production

[!WARNING] .env.development should be named .env in your local environment. Any references made to .env.development in our documentation refers to your local .env file.

Data Flow

graph TD
    A[Production] -->|Seeds| B[Staging]
    C[Local Dev] -->|Independent| D[Local Data]

Key Points

• Local development uses isolated environment for independent testing and is reseeded using example data
• Staging must be manually reseeded from production for more up-to-date specific testing
• Production remains isolated with its own dedicated resources