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Deployment

This guide covers deploying CHAD in production environments with security, reliability, and scalability considerations.

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Deployment Options

Best for most deployments: 
docker compose up -d
Includes:
  • CHAD Backend
  • CHAD Frontend
  • PostgreSQL database

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Kubernetes

For larger deployments, use Helm charts (coming soon) or adapt the Docker Compose.

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Production Checklist

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Security

  • Generate unique secrets (JWT, session, encryption keys)
  • Enable HTTPS with valid certificates
  • Set APP_URL to your public URL
  • Configure ALLOWED_HOSTS
  • Enable 2FA for admin accounts
  • Review default ports

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Reliability

  • Set up database backups
  • Configure health monitoring
  • Set up alerting for CHAD health
  • Plan for updates and rollbacks

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Performance

  • Adequate resources for expected load
  • OpenSearch cluster sized appropriately
  • Database connection pooling configured

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Docker Compose Deployment

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1. Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/terrifiedbug/chad.git
cd chad

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2. Configure Environment

cp .env.example .env
Edit .env: 
# Required - Generate unique values!
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 24)
JWT_SECRET_KEY=$(openssl rand -base64 32)
SESSION_SECRET_KEY=$(openssl rand -base64 32)
CHAD_ENCRYPTION_KEY=$(openssl rand -base64 32)

# Your public URL
APP_URL=https://chad.example.com

# Production logging
LOG_LEVEL=warning

# Allowed hosts (comma-separated)
ALLOWED_HOSTS=chad.example.com

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3. SSL/TLS Configuration

Use nginx, Traefik, or cloud load balancer: 
server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name chad.example.com;

    ssl_certificate /path/to/cert.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /path/to/key.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }

    location /api {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    }

    location /ws {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
    }
}

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Option B: Built-in SSL

Mount certificates into containers (advanced).

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4. Start Services

docker compose up -d

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5. Verify Deployment

# Check containers are running
docker compose ps

# Check logs
docker compose logs -f

# Test connectivity
curl https://chad.example.com/api/health

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Database Configuration

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PostgreSQL Settings

For production workloads: 
# docker-compose.yml
postgres:
  environment:
    POSTGRES_MAX_CONNECTIONS: 100
  command:
    - "postgres"
    - "-c"
    - "shared_buffers=256MB"
    - "-c"
    - "work_mem=16MB"

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External PostgreSQL

Use managed PostgreSQL for better reliability: 
# .env
POSTGRES_HOST=your-rds-instance.amazonaws.com
POSTGRES_PORT=5432
POSTGRES_USER=chad
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your-secure-password
POSTGRES_DB=chad

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Backup Strategy

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Database Backup

# Automated backup script
#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR=/backups
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

docker compose exec -T postgres pg_dump -U chad chad | \
  gzip > $BACKUP_DIR/chad_$DATE.sql.gz

# Retain 30 days
find $BACKUP_DIR -name "*.sql.gz" -mtime +30 -delete
Schedule with cron: 
0 2 * * * /opt/chad/backup.sh

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Configuration Backup

Export CHAD configuration regularly:
  1. Go to Settings > Export
  2. Download configuration
  3. Store securely

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Monitoring

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Health Endpoints

# Application health
curl https://chad.example.com/api/health

# Database health
curl https://chad.example.com/api/health/db

# OpenSearch health
curl https://chad.example.com/api/health/opensearch

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Metrics

Monitor:
  • Container CPU/memory usage
  • API response times
  • Database connections
  • OpenSearch cluster health

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Alerting

Set up alerts for:
  • Health check failures
  • High error rates
  • Database connection issues
  • Disk space warnings

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Updates

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Standard Update

# Pull latest images
docker compose pull

# Restart with new images
docker compose up -d

# Run migrations (if needed)
docker compose exec backend alembic upgrade head

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Rollback

# Restore previous image
docker compose down
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml up -d --no-deps backend

# Or restore from backup
pg_restore -U chad -d chad backup.sql

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Scaling Considerations

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Single Instance

Suitable for:
  • Small to medium teams (< 50 users)
  • Thousands of rules
  • Millions of alerts

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Horizontal Scaling (Future)

For larger deployments:
  • Multiple API instances behind load balancer
  • Celery + Redis for distributed tasks
  • PostgreSQL read replicas

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Security Hardening

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Network

  • Run CHAD on private network
  • Expose only via reverse proxy
  • Use firewall rules

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Containers

  • Run as non-root user
  • Read-only file systems where possible
  • Limited container capabilities

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Secrets

  • Use secrets management (Vault, AWS Secrets Manager)
  • Rotate secrets periodically
  • Never log secrets

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Updates

  • Subscribe to security advisories
  • Apply updates promptly
  • Test in staging first

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Troubleshooting

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Container won’t start

# Check logs
docker compose logs backend

# Common issues:
# - Invalid environment variables
# - Database connection failed
# - Port already in use

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Database connection failed

  1. Check PostgreSQL is running
  2. Verify credentials
  3. Check network connectivity
  4. Review PostgreSQL logs

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API errors

  1. Check backend logs
  2. Verify OpenSearch connection
  3. Check database connectivity
  4. Review recent changes

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Next Steps

Environment Variables

Complete configuration reference

Health Monitoring

Set up monitoring