Staging Deployment Checklist

Sprint 24 assumes the first staging deployment target is a Docker host or VPS running the existing web/docs images behind HTTPS reverse proxying for https://staging-app.submicrons.net. Use the same checklist if the host is replaced by another container platform, but record the platform decision in the staging deployment report.

1. Confirm branch and commit intended for staging.
2. Confirm CI is green.
3. Confirm .env.staging exists only in the secret store or deployment host.
4. Run pnpm env:check:staging.
5. Run node scripts/env-check.mjs staging --file=.env.staging on the staging host.
6. Confirm all external sending/sync/payment flags are false.
7. Run pnpm db:generate.
8. Take a database backup.
9. Run migration status.
10. Apply migrations with deploy mode.
11. Run migration status again.
12. Run seed only if demo/sample seed is approved.
13. Start/restart web and docs processes.
14. Check /api/health.
15. Check /api/ready.
16. Login with a demo staging account.
17. Run smoke tests against staging with pnpm test:smoke:staging.
18. Check docs app.
19. Check feature flags and disabled integrations.
20. Ask a manager reviewer to confirm dashboard reachability.
21. Record the deployment result and any follow-up System QA issues.