Deploy Consultant App - RippleCore Documentation

Overview

The RippleCore Consultant App is a specialized portal for sustainability consultants managing multiple client organizations. This guide covers deployment configuration specific to the consultant app.

App Type: Next.js 16 with React 19Port: 3008 (development), 3000 (production)Dependencies: PostgreSQL 18, Redis 7, better-authFeatures: Portfolio analytics, white-label theming, client management

Prerequisites

Before deploying the consultant app, ensure you have:

Infrastructure Running

PostgreSQL 18 database (shared with main app)
Redis 7 cache (shared with main app)
Domain name configured (e.g., consultant.yourdomain.com)

Main App Deployed

The consultant app shares infrastructure with the main RippleCore app:

Deploy main app first (see Deployment Overview)
Ensure database schema is up to date
Verify Redis is accessible from consultant app

Environment Configured

All required environment variables ready
OpenAI API key for AI theme generation (optional)
Email service configured (Resend recommended)

Important: The consultant app must share the same database and Redis instance as the main RippleCore app for multi-tenant functionality to work correctly.

Environment Variables

Required Variables

Create apps/consultant/.env.production with these variables:

# Required - Core Configuration
NODE_ENV=production
PORT=3008

# Required - Database & Cache
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@host:5432/ripplecore"
REDIS_URL="redis://:password@host:6379"

# Required - Authentication (use same secret as main app)
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET="your-secret-min-32-chars"
BETTER_AUTH_URL="https://consultant.yourdomain.com"
BETTER_AUTH_TRUST_HOST=true

# Required - Public URLs
NEXT_PUBLIC_CONSULTANT_URL="https://consultant.yourdomain.com"
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL="https://app.yourdomain.com"

# App Identification
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_NAME="RippleCore Consultant"
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_TYPE=consultant

Optional Variables

# AI Theme Generation (recommended for consultants)
OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."

# Email Service (for client invitations)
RESEND_TOKEN="re_..."
RESEND_FROM="consultant@yourdomain.com"

# Rate Limiting (recommended)
ARCJET_KEY="aj_..."

# Analytics (optional)
NEXT_PUBLIC_GA_MEASUREMENT_ID="G-..."

Security Best Practice: Use the same BETTER_AUTH_SECRET across all RippleCore apps (main, consultant, charity, council) for session sharing to work correctly.

Deployment Methods

Dokploy (Recommended)
Docker Compose
Standalone Server

Deploy with Dokploy

The consultant app includes a dokploy.yaml configuration file for easy deployment.

Create Service in Dokploy

Open Dokploy dashboard
Navigate to your RippleCore project
Click New Service → Application
Select Git Source → Choose repository
Branch: main

Configure Build

Build Settings:

Build context: . (monorepo root)
Dockerfile path: apps/consultant/Dockerfile
Build command: Auto-detected from Dockerfile

Add Environment Variables

In Dokploy dashboard, add all required environment variables:

Copy from your .env.production file
Or use Dokploy’s .env file upload feature
Verify DATABASE_URL and REDIS_URL point to shared infrastructure

Configure Domain

Domain Settings:

Domain: consultant.yourdomain.com
SSL: Auto (Let’s Encrypt)
HTTP → HTTPS redirect: Enabled
Port: 3008 (internal), 80/443 (external via Traefik)

Deploy

Click Deploy and monitor logs for:

✅ Dependencies installed
✅ Next.js build successful
✅ Container started
✅ Health check passing
✅ SSL certificate issued

Verify Deployment:

# Check health endpoint
curl https://consultant.yourdomain.com/api/health

# Expected response
{
  "status": "ok",
  "timestamp": "2025-01-18T...",
  "service": "consultant-api",
  "version": "1.0.0"
}

Port Configuration

Development

Port 3008 is used for local development:

# Start consultant app in dev mode
pnpm --filter consultant dev

# Access at http://localhost:3008

Production

Port 3008 (internal) with reverse proxy for external access:

Internal Port

3008 - Container/app listens hereDocker, PM2, or systemd expose this port internally

External Port

80/443 - Public HTTPS via reverse proxyTraefik, Nginx, or Caddy routes traffic from 443 → 3008

Multi-App Deployment

Deploying Multiple RippleCore Apps

The consultant app is typically deployed alongside the main RippleCore app:

Deploy Infrastructure

PostgreSQL 18 (shared database)
Redis 7 (shared cache)
Traefik or Nginx (reverse proxy)

Deploy Main App

Domain: app.yourdomain.com
Port: 3000
See Deployment Overview

Deploy Consultant App

Domain: consultant.yourdomain.com
Port: 3008
Use same DATABASE_URL and REDIS_URL

Optional: Deploy Other Apps

Marketing: www.yourdomain.com (port 3001)
API: api.yourdomain.com (port 3002)
Council: council.yourdomain.com (port 3010)
Charity: charity.yourdomain.com (port 3009)

Shared Infrastructure: All RippleCore apps share the same PostgreSQL database and Redis cache for multi-tenant data isolation and session management.

Resource Requirements

Minimum Specifications

For the consultant app alone (not including infrastructure):

CPU

0.5 vCPU minimum1.0 vCPU recommended for 20+ clients

Memory

512 MB minimum1 GB recommended for theme generation

Storage

500 MB for applicationApplication size (no data)

Network

1 GB/month typicalDepends on consultant activity

Recommended VPS for Full Stack

For all RippleCore apps + infrastructure:

Hetzner CPX32: 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, €11.99/month
Digital Ocean: $24/month droplet (4GB RAM)
Linode: $12/month Dedicated 4GB

Health Checks & Monitoring

Health Endpoint

The consultant app exposes a health check endpoint: URL: https://consultant.yourdomain.com/api/health Response (healthy):

{
  "status": "ok",
  "timestamp": "2025-01-18T12:00:00Z",
  "service": "consultant-api",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "environment": "production",
  "checks": {
    "database": { "status": "ok" },
    "redis": { "status": "ok" }
  }
}

Response (unhealthy - 503):

{
  "status": "unhealthy",
  "timestamp": "2025-01-18T12:00:00Z",
  "service": "consultant-api",
  "checks": {
    "database": {
      "status": "error",
      "message": "Connection refused"
    },
    "redis": { "status": "ok" }
  }
}

Monitoring Setup

Uptime Monitoring
Application Logs
Performance Metrics

Use an external service to monitor availability:

UptimeRobot - Free tier available
Pingdom
Better Uptime

Monitor this URL:

https://consultant.yourdomain.com/api/health

Alert on:

HTTP status != 200
Response time > 2 seconds
status field != “ok”

Deployment Checklist

Pre-Deployment

Verify Infrastructure

# Test database connection
psql $DATABASE_URL -c "SELECT 1"

# Test Redis connection
redis-cli -u $REDIS_URL ping

Run Database Migrations

# From repository root
pnpm db:generate
pnpm db:push

Test Build Locally

# Build consultant app
pnpm --filter consultant build

# Check for errors
pnpm --filter consultant check

Configure Environment

Copy all required environment variables
Generate new BETTER_AUTH_SECRET if needed:
```
npx @better-auth/cli secret
```
Verify BETTER_AUTH_URL matches your domain

Deployment

Deploy to Platform

Follow platform-specific instructions:

Verify Health

curl https://consultant.yourdomain.com/api/health

Should return 200 OK with "status": "ok"

Test Authentication

Navigate to https://consultant.yourdomain.com
Sign in with a consultant account
Verify dashboard loads correctly
Test organization switcher

Test Core Features

Create a client invitation
Access theme editor
View portfolio analytics
Test white-label preview

Post-Deployment

Configure Monitoring

Add health check to uptime monitor
Set up error tracking (Sentry recommended)
Configure log aggregation

Performance Tuning

Review response times in production
Adjust container resource limits if needed
Enable Redis caching verification

Security Hardening

Verify SSL certificate is valid
Test rate limiting (Arcjet)
Review security headers
Enable CORS if needed for API access

Common Deployment Issues

Database Connection Errors

Connection Refused

Error: ECONNREFUSED when connecting to PostgreSQLCauses:

Database not running
Incorrect DATABASE_URL
Network/firewall blocking connection

Solutions:

# Verify database is running
docker ps | grep postgres

# Test connection from consultant container
docker exec ripplecore-consultant psql $DATABASE_URL -c "SELECT 1"

# Check network connectivity
docker network ls
docker network inspect dokploy-network

Authentication Failed

Error: password authentication failedCauses:

Wrong database password in DATABASE_URL
User doesn’t exist

Solutions:

Verify DATABASE_URL format: postgresql://user:password@host:5432/database
Check database user exists and has correct password
Verify user has permissions on ripplecore database

Redis Connection Errors

Redis Unavailable

Error: Error connecting to RedisSolutions:

# Verify Redis is running
docker ps | grep redis

# Test connection
redis-cli -u $REDIS_URL ping

# Check Redis URL format
# Correct: redis://:password@host:6379
# Incorrect: redis://host:6379 (missing password)

Build Failures

TypeScript Errors

Error: Build fails with TypeScript errorsSolutions:

# Check for type errors
pnpm --filter consultant check

# Regenerate types from database schema
pnpm db:generate

# Clear build cache and retry
rm -rf apps/consultant/.next
pnpm --filter consultant build

Dependency Issues

Error: Module not found errorsSolutions:

# Reinstall dependencies
pnpm install --force

# Verify workspace dependencies resolve
pnpm why @repo/consultant
pnpm why @repo/theme-editor

Runtime Issues

Theme Editor Not Loading

Problem: Theme editor shows blank screen or errorsCauses:

Missing OPENAI_API_KEY for AI generation
Client-side hydration mismatch
Browser compatibility issue

Solutions:

Add OPENAI_API_KEY for AI features (optional but recommended)
Check browser console for errors
Test in Chrome/Firefox latest versions
Clear browser cache and cookies

Sessions Not Persisting

Problem: Users logged out unexpectedlyCauses:

Redis not accessible
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET mismatch between apps
Secure cookie issues with HTTP (not HTTPS)

Solutions:

Verify Redis connection from consultant app
Ensure same BETTER_AUTH_SECRET across all apps
Use HTTPS in production (BETTER_AUTH_TRUST_HOST=true)
Check session cookies in browser DevTools

Scaling Considerations

Horizontal Scaling

The consultant app can be scaled horizontally with multiple instances: Requirements:

Load balancer (Traefik, Nginx, HAProxy)
Shared Redis for session storage
Shared PostgreSQL database
Sticky sessions NOT required (stateless)

Docker Swarm Example:

services:
  consultant:
    # ... existing config
    deploy:
      replicas: 3
      update_config:
        parallelism: 1
        delay: 10s
      restart_policy:
        condition: on-failure

Vertical Scaling

Adjust resources based on consultant portfolio size:

Clients	vCPU	Memory	Notes
1-10	0.5	512 MB	Starter consultants
10-30	1.0	1 GB	Growing portfolios
30-100	2.0	2 GB	Established firms
100+	4.0	4 GB	Enterprise consultants

Security Considerations

Consultant-Specific Security

Multi-Client Data Isolation

Critical: Ensure consultants can only access their clients’ dataImplementation:

Row-level security (RLS) in PostgreSQL enforces isolation
organizationId filtering on all queries
Session validation on every request
Redis cache keys include organizationId

Verification:

# Test as consultant user
# Should only see organizations you manage
curl https://consultant.yourdomain.com/api/clients \
  -H 'Cookie: better-auth.session_token=...'

API Rate Limiting

Recommended: Enable Arcjet rate limiting for consultant APIConfiguration:

ARCJET_KEY="aj_..."

Limits (from API reference):

Authenticated: 100 requests/minute
Bulk operations: 10 requests/minute
AI generation: 5 requests/minute

Test:

# Make 15 rapid requests to trigger limit
for i in {1..15}; do
  curl https://consultant.yourdomain.com/api/organizations/search?q=test
done
# Should receive 429 after request #10

Secrets Management

Never commit secrets to gitBest Practices:

Use environment variables for all secrets
Rotate BETTER_AUTH_SECRET every 90 days
Store secrets in Dokploy/platform secret manager
Use different secrets for dev/staging/production

Required Secrets:

BETTER_AUTH_SECRET (32+ characters, shared across apps)
OPENAI_API_KEY (for AI theme generation)
RESEND_TOKEN (for client emails)
ARCJET_KEY (for rate limiting)

Updating the Consultant App

Zero-Downtime Updates

Backup Database

# Create backup before updates
pg_dump $DATABASE_URL > backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

Deploy New Version

Dokploy:

Push to git: git push origin main
Dokploy auto-deploys from webhook
Old container stops after new one is healthy

Docker Compose:

# Pull latest code
git pull origin main

# Rebuild and restart
docker-compose up -d --build consultant

Run Migrations

# If database schema changed
pnpm db:generate
pnpm db:push

Verify Health

# Check health endpoint
curl https://consultant.yourdomain.com/api/health

# Monitor logs for errors
docker logs -f ripplecore-consultant

Troubleshooting

Deployment Verification Script

Use this script to verify your deployment:

#!/bin/bash
# verify-consultant-deployment.sh

DOMAIN="consultant.yourdomain.com"

echo "🔍 Verifying Consultant App Deployment..."

# 1. DNS Resolution
echo -n "DNS: "
if host $DOMAIN > /dev/null 2>&1; then
  echo "✅ Resolves"
else
  echo "❌ Failed"
  exit 1
fi

# 2. HTTPS Connection
echo -n "HTTPS: "
if curl -sf https://$DOMAIN/api/health > /dev/null; then
  echo "✅ Connected"
else
  echo "❌ Failed"
  exit 1
fi

# 3. Health Check
echo -n "Health: "
STATUS=$(curl -s https://$DOMAIN/api/health | jq -r '.status')
if [ "$STATUS" = "ok" ]; then
  echo "✅ Healthy"
else
  echo "❌ Unhealthy (status: $STATUS)"
  exit 1
fi

# 4. Database Check
echo -n "Database: "
DB_STATUS=$(curl -s https://$DOMAIN/api/health | jq -r '.checks.database.status')
if [ "$DB_STATUS" = "ok" ]; then
  echo "✅ Connected"
else
  echo "❌ Failed"
  exit 1
fi

# 5. Redis Check
echo -n "Redis: "
REDIS_STATUS=$(curl -s https://$DOMAIN/api/health | jq -r '.checks.redis.status')
if [ "$REDIS_STATUS" = "ok" ]; then
  echo "✅ Connected"
else
  echo "❌ Failed"
  exit 1
fi

echo ""
echo "🎉 Consultant App Deployment Verified!"

Additional Resources

Deployment Overview

Compare all deployment methods

Dokploy Guide

Detailed Dokploy instructions

Docker Compose

Manual Docker deployment

Troubleshooting

Common deployment issues

Deployment Support: Contact devops@ripplecore.co.uk for deployment assistance or custom infrastructure requirements.

What’s Next?

Deploy the App

Follow the deployment method of your choice above

Invite Your First Client

Test the client invitation workflow

Customize Branding

Use the theme editor to create your white-label experience

Monitor Performance

Set up health checks and monitoring

Onboard Consultants

Share the Consultant Guide with your team

Get Started

User Guides

Admin Portal

Compliance & Reporting

All We Can Integration

Deployment

​Overview

​Prerequisites

​Environment Variables

​Required Variables

​Optional Variables

​Deployment Methods

​Deploy with Dokploy

​Port Configuration

​Development

​Production

Internal Port

External Port

​Multi-App Deployment

​Deploying Multiple RippleCore Apps

​Resource Requirements

​Minimum Specifications

CPU

Memory

Storage

Network

​Recommended VPS for Full Stack

​Health Checks & Monitoring

​Health Endpoint

​Monitoring Setup

​Deployment Checklist

​Pre-Deployment

​Deployment

​Post-Deployment

​Common Deployment Issues

​Database Connection Errors

​Redis Connection Errors

​Build Failures

​Runtime Issues

​Scaling Considerations

​Horizontal Scaling

​Vertical Scaling

​Security Considerations

​Consultant-Specific Security

​Updating the Consultant App

​Zero-Downtime Updates

​Troubleshooting

​Deployment Verification Script

​Additional Resources

Deployment Overview

Dokploy Guide

Docker Compose

Troubleshooting

​What’s Next?

Overview

Prerequisites

Environment Variables

Required Variables

Optional Variables

Deployment Methods

Deploy with Dokploy

Port Configuration

Development

Production

Multi-App Deployment

Deploying Multiple RippleCore Apps

Resource Requirements

Minimum Specifications

Recommended VPS for Full Stack

Health Checks & Monitoring

Health Endpoint

Monitoring Setup

Deployment Checklist

Pre-Deployment

Deployment

Post-Deployment

Common Deployment Issues

Database Connection Errors

Redis Connection Errors

Build Failures

Runtime Issues

Scaling Considerations

Horizontal Scaling

Vertical Scaling

Security Considerations

Consultant-Specific Security

Updating the Consultant App

Zero-Downtime Updates

Troubleshooting

Deployment Verification Script

Additional Resources

What’s Next?