Deployment Workflow

The template can run on any platform that supports Next.js Node deployments. Static export requires changes to dynamic endpoints such as search.

1. Create a release branch

git checkout -b docs/release-update
pnpm install --frozen-lockfile

2. Run local checks

pnpm lint
pnpm build
pnpm start

Test a deep link, a 404, search, light/dark mode, mobile navigation, and the Markdown/source actions you intend to expose.

3. Configure the platform

Use:

Install: pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
Build:   pnpm build
Start:   pnpm start

Set the Node version and environment variables explicitly. Do not rely on a developer machine's implicit defaults.

4. Deploy a preview

Review route behavior, canonical metadata, robots policy, assets, and responsive layouts on the actual preview origin. Share it with content and engineering reviewers.

5. Deploy production

Merge the reviewed change and let CI deploy the immutable commit. Record user-visible changes in the changelog.

6. Perform smoke tests

curl --fail https://docs.example.com/documentation/overview
curl --fail https://docs.example.com/api/search

Also check browser-only interactions and logs.

Rollback

Redeploy the last known-good commit. Database rollback is not required for the base template, but external search or analytics integrations may have their own release state.

Tip: A successful build proves compilation, not usability. Keep a short post-deployment checklist for routes and client interactions.