# Phase 6: Deployment - Research

**Researched:** 2026-02-01
**Domain:** Docker containerization, SvelteKit production deployment
**Confidence:** HIGH

## Summary

This phase containerizes the TaskPlaner SvelteKit application for production deployment with Docker. The research confirms a well-established pattern for deploying SvelteKit with adapter-node: multi-stage Alpine builds, runtime environment variables, health checks via API routes, and named volumes for data persistence.

The key technical considerations are:
1. Switching from adapter-auto to adapter-node for production Node.js server
2. Native module compilation (better-sqlite3, sharp) requiring npm install inside the container
3. SQLite WAL mode working correctly with Docker named volumes (single host, same filesystem)
4. Environment variable configuration via adapter-node's built-in support

**Primary recommendation:** Use a two-stage Dockerfile with node:22-alpine, run npm install in the builder stage to compile native modules correctly, and configure all runtime behavior via environment variables with sensible defaults.

## Standard Stack

The established libraries/tools for this domain:

### Core
| Library | Version | Purpose | Why Standard |
|---------|---------|---------|--------------|
| @sveltejs/adapter-node | ^5.x | SvelteKit Node.js server | Official adapter, supports all env vars natively |
| node:22-alpine | LTS | Docker base image | Small (~40MB vs 350MB+), includes 'node' user |

### Supporting
| Library | Version | Purpose | When to Use |
|---------|---------|---------|-------------|
| dumb-init | ^1.2.5 | PID 1 init process | Optional: proper signal handling in containers |

### Alternatives Considered
| Instead of | Could Use | Tradeoff |
|------------|-----------|----------|
| node:alpine | node:slim (debian) | Debian avoids musl issues, but 3x larger image |
| Built-in signals | tini/dumb-init | adapter-node handles SIGTERM natively, may not need |

**Installation:**
```bash
npm install -D @sveltejs/adapter-node
```

## Architecture Patterns

### Recommended Project Structure
```
project-root/
├── Dockerfile              # Multi-stage build
├── docker-compose.yml      # Single-service compose
├── .dockerignore           # Build context exclusions
├── .env.example            # Environment variable template
├── backup.sh               # Volume backup script
├── build/                  # (gitignored) Production build output
└── data/                   # (gitignored) Local dev data
    ├── db/
    │   └── taskplaner.db
    └── uploads/
        ├── originals/
        └── thumbnails/
```

### Pattern 1: Multi-Stage Dockerfile
**What:** Separate build dependencies from runtime to minimize image size
**When to use:** Always for production Docker deployments
**Example:**
```dockerfile
# Source: https://gist.github.com/aradalvand/04b2cad14b00e5ffe8ec96a3afbb34fb
# Stage 1: Build
FROM node:22-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci
COPY . .
RUN npm run build
RUN npm prune --production

# Stage 2: Production
FROM node:22-alpine
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=builder /app/build build/
COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules node_modules/
COPY package.json .
USER node
EXPOSE 3000
ENV NODE_ENV=production
CMD ["node", "build"]
```

### Pattern 2: SvelteKit Health Check Endpoint
**What:** API route returning 200 for container health checks
**When to use:** Docker HEALTHCHECK, Kubernetes probes, load balancer checks
**Example:**
```typescript
// src/routes/health/+server.ts
// Source: https://svelte.dev/docs/kit/routing
import type { RequestHandler } from './$types';

export const GET: RequestHandler = async () => {
  return new Response('ok', { status: 200 });
};
```

### Pattern 3: Runtime Environment Configuration
**What:** Configure app behavior via environment variables at runtime
**When to use:** All deployments - allows same image for different environments
**Example:**
```bash
# adapter-node reads these automatically
# Source: https://svelte.dev/docs/kit/adapter-node
PORT=3000
HOST=0.0.0.0
ORIGIN=http://localhost:3000
BODY_SIZE_LIMIT=10M

# Reverse proxy headers (when behind nginx/traefik)
PROTOCOL_HEADER=x-forwarded-proto
HOST_HEADER=x-forwarded-host
ADDRESS_HEADER=x-forwarded-for
XFF_DEPTH=1
```

### Pattern 4: Named Volume for Data Persistence
**What:** Docker-managed volume mounted to container data directory
**When to use:** Any stateful data (database, uploads)
**Example:**
```yaml
# docker-compose.yml
services:
  app:
    volumes:
      - taskplaner_data:/data

volumes:
  taskplaner_data:
```

### Anti-Patterns to Avoid
- **Copying node_modules from host:** Native modules compiled for host OS won't work in Alpine container. Always run npm install inside Dockerfile.
- **Bind mounts for production data:** Use named volumes for better portability and Docker management.
- **Running as root:** Security risk. Use `USER node` in production stage.
- **Hardcoded configuration:** Makes the image environment-specific. Use env vars.
- **Installing dev dependencies in production:** Bloats image. Use `npm prune --production` or `npm ci --only=production`.

## Don't Hand-Roll

Problems that look simple but have existing solutions:

| Problem | Don't Build | Use Instead | Why |
|---------|-------------|-------------|-----|
| Environment variables | Custom config parser | adapter-node env vars | Built-in, documented, handles edge cases |
| Graceful shutdown | Signal handlers | adapter-node SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT | Built-in, handles request draining |
| Health checks | Complex readiness probe | Simple /health route | Docker just needs HTTP 200 |
| Process management | supervisor/pm2 | Docker restart policies | Container-native, simpler |
| Logging to files | File appenders | stdout/stderr | Docker captures, aggregators consume |

**Key insight:** adapter-node provides most production concerns out of the box. Don't add middleware or wrappers - use its environment variables.

## Common Pitfalls

### Pitfall 1: Native Module Architecture Mismatch
**What goes wrong:** App crashes with "Cannot find module" or "symbol not found" errors for better-sqlite3 or sharp
**Why it happens:** node_modules from macOS/Windows host copied to Linux container
**How to avoid:**
1. Add `node_modules` to `.dockerignore`
2. Run `npm ci` inside Dockerfile builder stage
3. For sharp on Alpine, npm will download musl-compatible prebuilt binaries automatically (sharp >= 0.33)
**Warning signs:** Errors mentioning `linuxmusl`, `glibc`, or module loading failures

### Pitfall 2: SQLite WAL File Permissions
**What goes wrong:** "database is locked" or "read-only" errors
**Why it happens:** SQLite creates `-wal` and `-shm` files with same permissions as main db file. If user/group mismatch, can't access.
**How to avoid:**
1. Run container as `node` user (uid 1000)
2. Use named volumes (Docker manages permissions)
3. Ensure app creates data directories with correct ownership
**Warning signs:** Works first time, fails on restart; "attempt to write a readonly database"

### Pitfall 3: ORIGIN Environment Variable Missing
**What goes wrong:** CSRF errors on form submissions: "Cross-site POST form submissions are forbidden"
**Why it happens:** SvelteKit validates Origin header against expected origin
**How to avoid:** Always set `ORIGIN` env var to match how users access the app
**Warning signs:** Forms work in development but fail in production

### Pitfall 4: Missing Reverse Proxy Headers
**What goes wrong:** App sees internal Docker IPs instead of real client IPs; redirects go to wrong protocol/host
**Why it happens:** Default behavior ignores X-Forwarded-* headers for security
**How to avoid:** Set `PROTOCOL_HEADER`, `HOST_HEADER`, `ADDRESS_HEADER` only when behind trusted proxy
**Warning signs:** Logs show 172.x.x.x instead of real IPs; HTTPS redirects to HTTP

### Pitfall 5: Volume Data Not Persisting
**What goes wrong:** Data disappears after container restart
**Why it happens:** Using anonymous volumes or not declaring volume in compose file
**How to avoid:**
1. Declare named volume in `volumes:` section of docker-compose.yml
2. Use consistent mount path in container
3. Don't use `docker-compose down -v` unless intentionally deleting data
**Warning signs:** Fresh database on each restart

### Pitfall 6: Health Check Curl Not Installed
**What goes wrong:** Container marked unhealthy despite app running
**Why it happens:** Alpine doesn't include curl by default
**How to avoid:** Use wget (included in Alpine) or node for health checks
**Warning signs:** Container in "unhealthy" state but app responds normally

## Code Examples

Verified patterns from official sources:

### svelte.config.js with adapter-node
```javascript
// Source: https://svelte.dev/docs/kit/adapter-node
import adapter from '@sveltejs/adapter-node';

/** @type {import('@sveltejs/kit').Config} */
const config = {
  kit: {
    adapter: adapter({
      out: 'build',
      precompress: true,
      envPrefix: 'TASKPLANER_'
    })
  }
};

export default config;
```

### Complete Dockerfile
```dockerfile
# Stage 1: Build
FROM node:22-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app

# Copy package files first for layer caching
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci

# Copy source and build
COPY . .
RUN npm run build

# Remove dev dependencies
RUN npm prune --production

# Stage 2: Production
FROM node:22-alpine

# Create app directory
WORKDIR /app

# Copy built app and production dependencies
COPY --from=builder /app/build build/
COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules node_modules/
COPY package.json .

# Create data directory and set ownership
RUN mkdir -p /data/db /data/uploads/originals /data/uploads/thumbnails \
    && chown -R node:node /data /app

# Switch to non-root user
USER node

# Environment defaults
ENV NODE_ENV=production
ENV PORT=3000
ENV TASKPLANER_DATA_DIR=/data

EXPOSE 3000

# Health check using wget (available in Alpine)
HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=10s --start-period=5s --retries=3 \
  CMD wget --no-verbose --tries=1 --spider http://localhost:3000/health || exit 1

CMD ["node", "build"]
```

### docker-compose.yml
```yaml
# Source: https://docs.docker.com/reference/compose-file/
services:
  taskplaner:
    build: .
    container_name: taskplaner
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "${PORT:-3000}:3000"
    volumes:
      - taskplaner_data:/data
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - PORT=3000
      - TASKPLANER_DATA_DIR=/data
      - ORIGIN=${ORIGIN:-http://localhost:3000}
      # Uncomment when behind reverse proxy:
      # - PROTOCOL_HEADER=x-forwarded-proto
      # - HOST_HEADER=x-forwarded-host
      # - ADDRESS_HEADER=x-forwarded-for
      # - XFF_DEPTH=1
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "wget", "--no-verbose", "--tries=1", "--spider", "http://localhost:3000/health"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 10s

volumes:
  taskplaner_data:
```

### .dockerignore
```
# Source: https://snyk.io/blog/10-best-practices-to-containerize-nodejs-web-applications-with-docker/
# Dependencies - rebuild inside container
node_modules

# Build outputs
build
.svelte-kit

# Development files
.git
.gitignore
.env
.env.*
*.md
*.log

# IDE/Editor
.vscode
.idea

# Docker files (prevent recursion)
Dockerfile
.dockerignore
docker-compose*.yml

# Test files
*.test.ts
*.spec.ts
coverage
```

### .env.example
```bash
# TaskPlaner Environment Configuration
# Copy to .env and customize for your deployment

# === Server Configuration ===
# Port the server listens on (inside container, map with docker-compose ports)
PORT=3000

# === Data Storage ===
# Directory for database and uploads (must match volume mount)
TASKPLANER_DATA_DIR=/data

# === Production URL ===
# Required: The full URL where users access the app
# Used for CSRF validation and generating absolute URLs
ORIGIN=http://localhost:3000

# === Reverse Proxy (uncomment when behind nginx/traefik) ===
# PROTOCOL_HEADER=x-forwarded-proto
# HOST_HEADER=x-forwarded-host
# ADDRESS_HEADER=x-forwarded-for
# XFF_DEPTH=1

# === Request Limits ===
# Maximum request body size (default: 512kb)
# Supports K, M, G suffixes
BODY_SIZE_LIMIT=10M

# === Logging ===
# Log level: debug, info, warn, error
# TASKPLANER_LOG_LEVEL=info
```

### backup.sh
```bash
#!/bin/bash
# Source: https://docs.docker.com/engine/storage/volumes/
# Backup TaskPlaner data volume

set -e

BACKUP_DIR="${BACKUP_DIR:-./backups}"
CONTAINER_NAME="${CONTAINER_NAME:-taskplaner}"
VOLUME_NAME="${VOLUME_NAME:-taskplaner_data}"
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
BACKUP_FILE="${BACKUP_DIR}/taskplaner_backup_${TIMESTAMP}.tar.gz"

# Create backup directory if needed
mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"

echo "Backing up TaskPlaner data..."
echo "Volume: $VOLUME_NAME"
echo "Output: $BACKUP_FILE"

# Create backup using temporary container
docker run --rm \
  -v "${VOLUME_NAME}:/data:ro" \
  -v "$(pwd)/${BACKUP_DIR}:/backup" \
  alpine:latest \
  tar czf "/backup/taskplaner_backup_${TIMESTAMP}.tar.gz" -C /data .

echo "Backup complete: $BACKUP_FILE"
echo "Size: $(du -h "$BACKUP_FILE" | cut -f1)"
```

### Health Check Endpoint
```typescript
// src/routes/health/+server.ts
import type { RequestHandler } from './$types';
import { db } from '$lib/server/db';
import { entries } from '$lib/server/db/schema';

export const GET: RequestHandler = async () => {
  try {
    // Verify database connectivity
    db.select().from(entries).limit(1).all();
    return new Response('ok', {
      status: 200,
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'text/plain' }
    });
  } catch (error) {
    return new Response('unhealthy', {
      status: 503,
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'text/plain' }
    });
  }
};
```

## State of the Art

| Old Approach | Current Approach | When Changed | Impact |
|--------------|------------------|--------------|--------|
| adapter-auto | adapter-node for Docker | SvelteKit 2.x | Explicit Node.js server, env var support |
| COPY node_modules | npm ci in Dockerfile | Always best practice | Correct native module binaries |
| curl in healthcheck | wget (Alpine native) | Alpine best practice | No extra packages needed |
| Root user | node:node (uid 1000) | Security standard | Reduced attack surface |
| JSON config files | Environment variables | 12-factor app | Same image, different configs |

**Deprecated/outdated:**
- `adapter-node@1.x`: Use 5.x for SvelteKit 2 compatibility
- Installing sharp with `--platform` flags: sharp 0.33+ auto-detects musl
- Manual signal handling: adapter-node handles SIGTERM/SIGINT natively

## Open Questions

Things that couldn't be fully resolved:

1. **JSON logging integration**
   - What we know: Pino is the standard for JSON logging in Node.js
   - What's unclear: Pino has bundling issues with SvelteKit production builds (Worker Threads)
   - Recommendation: Defer structured logging to a future enhancement. Console.log output goes to stdout and Docker captures it. Can add pino later if needed.

2. **Drizzle migrations in production**
   - What we know: Currently using `drizzle-kit push` for development
   - What's unclear: Best practice for running migrations in Docker container
   - Recommendation: For single-user app, continue using push mode via db initialization in hooks.server.ts. Schema is simple enough. Could add migration script later if needed.

3. **Specific extended environment variables**
   - What we know: CONTEXT.md says "extended config scope" beyond PORT/DATA_DIR
   - What's unclear: Exactly which additional env vars users need
   - Recommendation: Start with essentials (PORT, DATA_DIR, ORIGIN, BODY_SIZE_LIMIT, log level). Add more based on user feedback.

## Sources

### Primary (HIGH confidence)
- [SvelteKit adapter-node documentation](https://svelte.dev/docs/kit/adapter-node) - Environment variables, configuration, graceful shutdown
- [Docker official volumes documentation](https://docs.docker.com/engine/storage/volumes/) - Named volumes, backup procedures
- [Docker Compose services documentation](https://docs.docker.com/reference/compose-file/services/) - Health checks, configuration
- [Sharp installation documentation](https://sharp.pixelplumbing.com/install/) - Cross-platform, musl support

### Secondary (MEDIUM confidence)
- [SvelteKit Dockerfile gist by aradalvand](https://gist.github.com/aradalvand/04b2cad14b00e5ffe8ec96a3afbb34fb) - Multi-stage build pattern
- [Snyk Node.js Docker best practices](https://snyk.io/blog/10-best-practices-to-containerize-nodejs-web-applications-with-docker/) - Security, .dockerignore
- [Node.js docker-node best practices](https://github.com/nodejs/docker-node/blob/main/docs/BestPractices.md) - Non-root user, Alpine considerations

### Tertiary (LOW confidence)
- Various Medium/DEV articles on SvelteKit Docker deployment - General patterns confirmed by official docs

## Metadata

**Confidence breakdown:**
- Standard stack: HIGH - adapter-node is official, well-documented
- Architecture: HIGH - Multi-stage builds, named volumes are established Docker patterns
- Pitfalls: HIGH - Native modules, SQLite permissions are well-known issues with documented solutions
- Code examples: HIGH - Based on official documentation

**Research date:** 2026-02-01
**Valid until:** 2026-03-01 (30 days - Docker/SvelteKit patterns are stable)