CertiKAS Deployment Guide

Complete guide for deploying CertiKAS to production on Vercel.

Prerequisites

Required Accounts

✅ GitHub account - For code repository
✅ Vercel account - For hosting (free tier available)
✅ Kaspa wallet - For blockchain transactions (mainnet)

Development Tools

node --version  # v18.0.0 or higher
npm --version   # v9.0.0 or higher
git --version   # v2.0 or higher

Step 1: Prepare Repository

Initialize Git Repository

cd ~/claude-projects/CertiKAS

# Initialize git (if not already done)
git init

# Add all files
git add .

# Create initial commit
git commit -m "Initial commit: CertiKAS blockchain certification platform"

Create GitHub Repository

# Option 1: Using GitHub CLI (recommended)
gh repo create certikas --public --source=. --push

# Option 2: Manual
# 1. Go to https://github.com/new
# 2. Create repository named "certikas"
# 3. Don't initialize with README (we have one)
# 4. Copy the remote URL

# Add remote and push
git remote add origin https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/certikas.git
git branch -M main
git push -u origin main

Step 2: Configure Environment Variables

Create Production .env

IMPORTANT: Never commit .env to git! It's already in .gitignore.

Required Variables

# Server
NODE_ENV=production
PORT=3000

# Kaspa Blockchain (PRODUCTION)
KASPA_NODE_URL=https://api.kaspa.org
KASPA_NETWORK=mainnet
KASPA_WALLET_ADDRESS=kaspa:qr... # YOUR PRODUCTION WALLET
KASPA_PRIVATE_KEY=... # YOUR PRIVATE KEY (KEEP SECRET!)

# Kasplex (Igra Token)
KASPLEX_API_URL=https://api.kasplex.org
KASPLEX_ENABLED=false # Set to true when Igra launches
IGRA_TOKEN_ADDRESS= # Will be provided when Igra launches

# Database (Optional - for future)
# DB_HOST=your-postgres-host
# DB_NAME=certikas
# DB_USER=certikas_user
# DB_PASSWORD=your-secure-password

# Redis (Optional - for future)
# REDIS_HOST=your-redis-host
# REDIS_PASSWORD=your-redis-password

# Security
JWT_SECRET=YOUR_RANDOM_32_CHAR_SECRET_HERE
JWT_EXPIRATION=24h
WEBHOOK_SECRET=YOUR_WEBHOOK_SECRET_HERE

# Rate Limiting
RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_MS=900000
RATE_LIMIT_MAX_REQUESTS=100

# CORS
CORS_ORIGIN=https://certikas.org,https://www.certikas.org
CORS_CREDENTIALS=true

# Logging
LOG_LEVEL=info

# Feature Flags
FEATURE_IGRA_BRIDGE=false
FEATURE_BULK_CERTIFICATION=true
FEATURE_WEBHOOK_NOTIFICATIONS=true

# Blockchain
MOCK_BLOCKCHAIN=false # MUST be false in production
MIN_CONFIRMATIONS=6

Step 3: Deploy to Vercel

Option A: Vercel CLI (Recommended)

# Install Vercel CLI globally
npm install -g vercel

# Login to Vercel
vercel login

# Deploy to preview (test first)
vercel

# Deploy to production
vercel --prod

Option B: Vercel Dashboard

Go to Vercel Dashboard
- Visit: https://vercel.com/dashboard
Import Project
- Click "Add New..." → "Project"
- Select "Import Git Repository"
- Choose your GitHub repository
Configure Project
- Framework Preset: Other
- Root Directory: ./
- Build Command: npm run build (or leave empty)
- Output Directory: public
- Install Command: npm install
Add Environment Variables
- Go to "Environment Variables" section
- Add all variables from .env (see Step 2)
- CRITICAL: Set MOCK_BLOCKCHAIN=false
- CRITICAL: Add your real Kaspa wallet credentials
Deploy
- Click "Deploy"
- Wait 2-3 minutes for build
- Get deployment URL: https://certikas.vercel.app

Step 4: Configure Custom Domain

Add Domain to Vercel

Purchase Domain (if you don't have one)
- Recommended: certikas.org
- Alternative: certikas.com, certifykaspa.com
Add Domain in Vercel
- Go to Project Settings → Domains
- Click "Add Domain"
- Enter: certikas.org and www.certikas.org

Update DNS Records

Go to your domain registrar (Namecheap, GoDaddy, etc.)
Add these DNS records:

Type: A
Name: @
Value: 76.76.19.19
TTL: 3600

Type: CNAME
Name: www
Value: cname.vercel-dns.com
TTL: 3600

Wait for SSL Certificate
- Vercel automatically provisions SSL
- Usually takes 10-30 minutes
- Your site will be available at https://certikas.org

Step 5: Post-Deployment Verification

Test Endpoints

# Health check
curl https://certikas.org/health

# Expected response:
{
  "status": "healthy",
  "timestamp": "2025-10-07T10:00:00Z",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "services": {
    "kaspa": {
      "connected": true,
      "network": "mainnet",
      "blockHeight": 1234567
    }
  }
}

# Blockchain health
curl https://certikas.org/api/v1/blockchain/health

# Statistics
curl https://certikas.org/api/v1/statistics

Test Certification (PRODUCTION)

⚠️ WARNING: This will cost a small amount of KAS for transaction fees!

curl -X POST https://certikas.org/api/v1/certify/hash \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "content_hash": "a1b2c3d4e5f6789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234",
    "content_type": "article",
    "creator_wallet_address": "YOUR_KASPA_WALLET",
    "metadata": {
      "title": "Production Test Article"
    }
  }'

Test Web Interface

Visit: https://certikas.org
Upload a test file
Certify content
Verify certificate appears

Step 6: Monitoring & Maintenance

Setup Vercel Monitoring

Enable Analytics
- Go to Project → Analytics
- Enable Web Analytics
- Track page views, performance
Configure Alerts
- Go to Project → Settings → Integrations
- Add Slack/Discord webhook for deployment alerts
- Get notified on errors

Check Logs

# View real-time logs
vercel logs https://certikas.org --follow

# View specific deployment logs
vercel logs [deployment-url]

Monitor Blockchain Connection

# Check Kaspa node status
curl https://certikas.org/api/v1/blockchain/health

# If connection fails:
# 1. Check KASPA_NODE_URL is correct
# 2. Verify Kaspa network is operational
# 3. Check Vercel function logs

Database Backup (Future)

When PostgreSQL is added:

# Backup database daily
pg_dump $DATABASE_URL > backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

# Upload to S3/Backblaze
aws s3 cp backup-*.sql s3://certikas-backups/

Step 7: Security Hardening

Secure Environment Variables

Rotate Secrets Regularly
- Change JWT_SECRET every 90 days
- Update WEBHOOK_SECRET if compromised
- NEVER share KASPA_PRIVATE_KEY
Enable 2FA on Vercel
- Go to Account Settings → Security
- Enable Two-Factor Authentication

Review Access Logs

# Check for suspicious activity
vercel logs --since 24h | grep "POST /api/v1/certify"

Rate Limiting

Current limits (adjust in .env):

100 requests per 15 minutes per IP
Adjust RATE_LIMIT_MAX_REQUESTS if needed

CORS Configuration

Update CORS_ORIGIN in Vercel environment variables:

CORS_ORIGIN=https://certikas.org,https://www.certikas.org,https://app.certikas.org

Step 8: Production Checklist

Before Going Live

After Going Live

Create social media accounts (Twitter, Discord)
Announce to Kaspa community
Add site to search engines (Google Search Console)
Setup uptime monitoring (UptimeRobot, Pingdom)
Create support email (hello@certikas.org)
Write launch blog post
Share on Reddit (r/kaspa, r/cryptocurrency)

Step 9: Scaling Considerations

When to Scale

Monitor these metrics:

API requests > 1,000/hour → Upgrade Vercel plan
Certificates > 10,000 → Add database
Users > 1,000 → Add caching (Redis)

Upgrade Path

Add PostgreSQL Database

# Vercel Postgres
vercel postgres create

# Or external (Supabase, Railway, etc.)

Add Redis Caching

# Vercel KV (Redis)
vercel kv create

# Cache certificate lookups

Add CDN for Static Assets
- Already handled by Vercel Edge Network
- Consider Cloudflare for additional DDoS protection

Troubleshooting

Deployment Fails

# Check build logs
vercel logs [deployment-url]

# Common issues:
# 1. Missing environment variables → Add in Vercel dashboard
# 2. Node version mismatch → Set in package.json "engines"
# 3. Build command fails → Check package.json scripts

API Returns 500 Errors

# Check function logs
vercel logs --follow

# Common causes:
# 1. Kaspa node unreachable → Check KASPA_NODE_URL
# 2. Missing environment variable → Verify all variables set
# 3. Syntax error in code → Check recent commits

Blockchain Connection Issues

# Test Kaspa node directly
curl https://api.kaspa.org

# If Kaspa node is down:
# 1. Use alternative node URL
# 2. Check Kaspa Discord for status
# 3. Enable MOCK_BLOCKCHAIN temporarily

High Memory Usage

# Increase Vercel function memory
# In vercel.json:
{
  "functions": {
    "src/server.js": {
      "memory": 2048  // Increase from 1024 to 2048 MB
    }
  }
}

Cost Estimates

Vercel Pricing

Free Tier (Hobby):

✅ 100 GB bandwidth/month
✅ 100 serverless function executions/day
✅ Automatic HTTPS
✅ Unlimited domains
❌ No commercial use

Pro Tier ($20/month):

✅ 1 TB bandwidth/month
✅ Unlimited function executions
✅ Analytics included
✅ Commercial use allowed
Recommended for production

Kaspa Transaction Fees

~0.0001-0.001 KAS per certification
For 1,000 certifications/month: ~1 KAS ($0.10-$1.00)
Very affordable!

Domain Registration

certikas.org: ~$12-15/year (Namecheap, GoDaddy)

Total Monthly Cost (Estimated)

Hobby/MVP: $0-2/month (domain only)
Production: $20-30/month (Vercel Pro + domain)
Scale: $50-100/month (Vercel Pro + database + Redis)

Rollback Procedure

If deployment fails or has critical bugs:

# List recent deployments
vercel ls

# Rollback to previous deployment
vercel rollback [previous-deployment-url]

# Or in Vercel dashboard:
# Go to Deployments → Click previous deployment → "Promote to Production"

Support & Resources

Vercel Docs: https://vercel.com/docs
Kaspa Docs: https://kaspa.org/docs
CertiKAS GitHub: https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/certikas
Discord: Create support channel
Email: hello@certikas.org

Next Steps After Deployment

Marketing Launch
- Tweet announcement
- Post on Kaspa Discord
- Share on Reddit
Content Creation
- Write launch blog post
- Create demo video
- Design graphics for social media
Community Building
- Create Discord server
- Setup Twitter account
- Engage with Kaspa community
Feature Development
- Browser extension (Q1 2026)
- Igra integration (when launched)
- Mobile apps (Q2 2026)

Congratulations! Your CertiKAS platform is now live! 🎉

Fighting fake news, one certificate at a time. 🛡️

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