Pre-Deployment Checklist

Before publishing your app, check two things: security and infrastructure.

Security Check

If you’re deploying your app publicly, a security review is essential. Ask Claude Code to perform a security audit.

Example prompt for Claude Code:

Please perform a comprehensive security audit of this application.
Check the following areas and list any issues found, ranked by severity (Critical / High / Medium / Low):

- Authentication and authorization flaws
- Input validation issues (XSS, SQL injection, etc.)
- Hardcoded API keys or secrets
- CORS configuration problems
- Known vulnerabilities in dependencies
- Any other OWASP Top 10 items

When you get the results:

1. Address Critical / High issues first
2. Tell Claude Code “Please fix this issue” and it will suggest the fix
3. If short on time, at least resolve all Critical issues
4. Medium / Low issues can often be addressed after launch

Common findings and fixes:

Repository Hygiene

Before pushing code to GitHub, make sure no unnecessary files or sensitive information are included.

Check .gitignore

Verify that the following files are excluded from Git tracking.

Please check this project's .gitignore file.
Verify that .env files, API keys, node_modules, and build artifacts
are excluded from Git tracking.
Fix any gaps you find.

Files to watch out for:

• .env / .env.local — Contains API keys and secrets
• node_modules/ — Dependencies (very large)
• .next/ / dist/ / build/ — Build artifacts

If you’ve already committed these files, ask Claude Code: “Remove the .env file from Git history.”

Create a README

Write a basic README for your future self and others.

Please create a README.md for this project.
Include:
- Project overview (what the app does)
- Setup instructions (npm install, environment variables, etc.)
- How to run it

Pre-Launch Quality Check

Error Handling

Make sure your app doesn’t show blank screens or stack traces in production.

Please review this app's error handling.
- Are user-friendly messages shown when API errors occur?
- Are stack traces hidden in production?
- Is there a fallback screen for unexpected errors?

Responsive Design

Important for demos too. Check that the layout doesn’t break on phones or tablets.

Please check this app's responsive design.
Verify that the layout looks correct at mobile (375px),
tablet (768px), and desktop (1280px) widths.

License Check

Review the licenses of libraries you’re using. This is especially important for commercial or internal use.

Please list the licenses of all packages used in this project.
Flag any that have restrictions on commercial use.

Common licenses:

Choosing a Deployment Platform

Choose the right platform based on your app type.

Deployment tips:

• Environment variables: Register your local .env values in the deployment platform’s settings
• Build check: Make sure npm run build succeeds locally before deploying
• Domain: Each service automatically provides a URL (custom domains can be configured later)

Example prompt to get help with deployment:

I want to deploy this app to Vercel.
Please check the required configuration files and walk me through the deployment steps.

Platform Guide

Vercel

Best integration with Next.js. Zero-config deployment.

Best for: Next.js / React frontends, full-stack apps

If you need a database:

• Vercel Postgres (powered by Neon) — Create directly from the Vercel dashboard with auto-configured environment variables. Easiest option
• Supabase — PostgreSQL + auth + realtime features bundled. Generous free tier (500MB)
• PlanetScale — Serverless MySQL. Branch-based schema changes for safe migrations

Deployment steps:

1. Push your repo to GitHub
2. Import your repo at vercel.com 
3. Configure environment variables
4. Click Deploy

Note: The Hobby plan (free) only supports public repos. Private repos require the Pro plan ($20/month).

Cloudflare Pages

Ideal for static sites and edge-powered web apps. Very generous free tier.

Best for: Static sites, SPAs, lightweight web apps

If you need a database:

• Cloudflare D1 — SQLite-based DB running on Cloudflare’s edge. Stays within the same ecosystem for easy setup. Free tier available
• Turso — Edge-compatible SQLite (libSQL). Works well with Cloudflare Workers
• Supabase — Connect as an external service via REST API

Deployment steps:

1. Push your repo to GitHub
2. Go to Cloudflare Dashboard  → Pages → “Create a project”
3. Connect your repo and configure build settings
4. Click Deploy

Railway

Best for backend APIs and apps that need databases. Docker-compatible and flexible.

Best for: Backend APIs, full-stack apps, apps requiring a database

If you need a database:

• Railway’s built-in PostgreSQL / MySQL / Redis — Add with one click. Managed within the same project, connection details auto-configured
• Rarely need to use external DB services

Deployment steps:

1. Connect GitHub at railway.app 
2. Select your repo
3. Add a database via ”+ New” if needed
4. Configure environment variables for auto-deploy

Note: Free credit ($5/month) then paid. Hobby plan is $5/month.

Render

Simple setup, popular Heroku alternative.

Best for: Backend APIs, static sites, cron jobs

If you need a database:

• Render PostgreSQL — Create from the dashboard. Free tier available (90 days, 256MB)
• Supabase / Neon — Use external free DB services for long-term projects

Deployment steps:

1. Connect GitHub at render.com 
2. “New +” → Web Service (API) or Static Site
3. Configure build and start commands
4. Set environment variables and deploy

Google Cloud (GCP)

Enterprise-grade cloud platform. Offers an Always Free tier, scaling from small to large.

Best for: Production business systems, large-scale apps, apps with ML components

Main deployment options:

• Cloud Run — Run containers serverlessly. Just provide a Docker image and it auto-scales. Most recommended
• App Engine — PaaS. Just push code to deploy. Supports Node.js, Python, etc.
• Firebase Hosting — For static sites and SPAs. Fast CDN delivery

If you need a database:

• Cloud SQL (PostgreSQL / MySQL) — Managed relational DB. Production-grade. No Always Free tier but highly reliable
• Firestore — NoSQL document DB. Generous free tier (1GB storage, 50,000 reads/day). Easy Firebase integration
• AlloyDB — High-performance PostgreSQL-compatible DB for large-scale data

Deployment steps (Cloud Run):

1. Create a project at Google Cloud Console 
2. Install gcloud CLI (ask Claude Code: “Install the gcloud CLI”)
3. Prepare a Dockerfile (ask Claude Code to create one)
4. Deploy with gcloud run deploy

Note: Always Free tier includes Cloud Run (2M requests/month) and Firestore (1GB), but misconfiguration can incur charges. Always set up budget alerts.