DevOps documentation

DEVOPS.md

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+# DevOps Strategy for Form Engine Project
+
+## 1. Overview
+This document outlines the DevOps strategy for the Form Engine project, focusing on the frontend component and its integration points. The strategy prioritizes automation, quality assurance, and seamless deployment using modern CI/CD practices.
+
+## 2. Architecture & DevOps Diagram
+
+```mermaid
+graph TD
+    subgraph "Development Environment"
+        Dev[Developer]
+        Git[Local Git]
+    end
+
+    subgraph "Source Control (GitHub)"
+        Repo[form-engine-frontend Repo]
+        PR[Pull Request]
+        Main[Main Branch]
+    end
+
+    subgraph "CI/CD Pipeline (GitHub Actions)"
+        Lint[Lint & Format]
+        Test[Unit Tests (Vitest)]
+        Build[Build Check]
+        Deploy[Deploy to Vercel]
+    end
+
+    subgraph "Production Environment"
+        Vercel[Vercel Edge Network]
+        Browser[User Browser]
+    end
+
+    subgraph "External Dependencies"
+        API[Backend API (http://localhost:8000 / Production URL)]
+        DB[Database]
+    end
+
+    Dev -->|Commit Code| Git
+    Git -->|Push| Repo
+    Repo -->|Create PR| PR
+    PR -->|Trigger| Lint
+    Lint --> Test
+    Test --> Build
+    Build -->|Merge| Main
+    Main -->|Trigger| Deploy
+    Deploy --> Vercel
+    Vercel -->|Serve App| Browser
+    Browser -->|Fetch Data| API
+    API -->|Query| DB
+```
+
+## 3. Components & Deployment Strategy
+
+### 3.1 Frontend Component
+- **Source Code Repository**: `https://github.com/Nandgopal-R/form-engine-frontend`
+- **Deployment Location**:
+  - **Provider**: [Vercel](https://vercel.com) (Recommended for Vite/React apps) or AWS S3 + CloudFront.
+  - **URL**: Production URL (e.g., `https://form-engine.vercel.app`)
+- **Configuration**:
+  - Environment variables must be used for dynamic configuration (e.g., `VITE_API_URL` instead of hardcoded `http://localhost:8000`).
+- **Tests & Checks Strategy**:
+  1.  **Static Analysis**:
+      - **Linting**: `bun run lint` (ESLint) to ensure code quality and catch errors early.
+      - **Formatting**: `bun run format` (Prettier) to enforce code style.
+      - **Type Checking**: `tsc` to verify TypeScript types.
+  2.  **Unit & Integration Tests**:
+      - **Command**: `bun run test` (Vitest).
+      - **Scope**: Components, Hooks, and Utility functions.
+  3.  **Build Verification**:
+      - **Command**: `bun run build`.
+      - Ensures the application builds successfully without errors before deployment.
+
+### 3.2 Backend Component (External Integration)
+*Note: This component is referenced as a dependency.*
+- **Source Code Repository**: `form-engine` (Assumed)
+- **Tests & Checks**:
+  - API Contract Tests to ensure changes don't break the frontend.
+
+## 4. Tools, Platforms, and Libraries
+
+The following tools and platforms are selected for the DevOps lifecycle:
+
+| Category | Tool/Platform | Purpose |
+| :--- | :--- | :--- |
+| **Source Control** | **GitHub** | Version control and collaboration. |
+| **CI/CD** | **GitHub Actions** | Automated pipelines for testing and deployment. |
+| **Build Tool** | **Vite** | Fast frontend build tool. |
+| **Hosting** | **Vercel** | Optimized hosting for frontend assets. |
+| **Testing** | **Vitest** | Fast unit testing framework. |
+| **Linting** | **ESLint** | Javascript/TypeScript linting. |
+| **Formatting** | **Prettier** | Code formatting. |
+| **Containerization** | **Docker** (Optional) | For consistent local dev or containerized deployment if Vercel is not used. |
+
+## 5. CI/CD Pipeline Workflow
+
+The pipeline is triggered on push to `main` or pull requests.
+
+1.  **Install Dependencies**: `bun install`
+2.  **Lint & Format Check**: `bun run check` (Runs Prettier & ESLint)
+3.  **Run Tests**: `bun run test`
+4.  **Build Application**: `bun run build`
+5.  **Deploy** (Only on `main` branch): Deploy artifacts to Vercel.