Table of Contents

INTRO

Introduction: Why Most Deployment Advice is Garbage

The problem with "best practices" from experienced engineers and why they don't apply to AI-coded apps. Learn why simpler is better and how to avoid over-engineering your deployment.

The deployment advice gap for AI-coded projects
Why "best practices" can be your worst enemy
What makes AI-coded deployments different
Who this book is for (and who it's not for)

Part I: Foundation & Philosophy

CH 1

The Philosophy: Simple, Repeatable Deployments

Understanding the core principles that make deployments sustainable without a DevOps team. Learn to think about deployment as a product feature, not an afterthought.

The three pillars of sustainable deployment
Why automation beats documentation every time
The "deploy on day one" mindset
Building deployment confidence through repetition

CH 2

The Workflow: Four Steps to Production

A complete overview of the deployment workflow: Replit → AWS RDS → GitHub → Tag-Based Deployment. See how each piece fits together.

Step 1: Rapid development in Replit
Step 2: Connecting to AWS RDS for persistent data
Step 3: Version control with GitHub
Step 4: Automated deployment with tags
Why this workflow beats containers and Kubernetes

CH 3

Rapid Development with Replit

How to use Replit for maximum velocity without sacrificing code quality. Best practices for AI-assisted coding in a cloud IDE.

Setting up your Replit environment for AI coding
Managing secrets and environment variables
When to use Replit vs. local development
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Part II: Infrastructure & Data

CH 4

Setting Up AWS RDS

Step-by-step guide to creating and configuring an AWS RDS database. PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MariaDB covered.

Creating your first RDS instance
Security groups and access control
Connecting from Replit
Cost optimization strategies

CH 5

Database Migrations & Schema Management

Managing schema changes without breaking production. Simple migration strategies that work with AI-generated code.

Writing your first migration
Migration best practices for AI-coded apps
Rolling back when things go wrong
Testing migrations safely

CH 6

Backups & Disaster Recovery

Setting up automated backups and practicing recovery. Sleep well knowing your data is safe.

Configuring automated RDS backups
Point-in-time recovery
Testing your backup strategy
When to use manual snapshots

Part III: Deployment & Automation

CH 7

GitHub Integration & Version Control

Moving from Replit to GitHub without losing momentum. Essential Git workflows for solo founders.

Connecting Replit to GitHub
Branch strategies that actually work
Writing commit messages AI can understand
When to commit and when to wait

CH 8

Tag-Based Deployment with GitHub Actions

The magic of deploying with Git tags. One command deployments that just work.

Setting up GitHub Actions for deployment
Creating and pushing deployment tags
Rollback strategies using tags
Environment-specific deployments

CH 9

Server Setup & Configuration

Choosing and configuring your production server. EC2, Lightsail, and DigitalOcean options covered.

Picking the right server size
Initial server configuration
Security hardening basics
Setting up process managers (systemd, PM2)

Part IV: Production & Monitoring

CH 10

Environment Variables & Secrets Management

Keeping secrets out of your code and managing configuration across environments.

The .env file pattern
GitHub Secrets for CI/CD
Server-side environment configuration
Rotating API keys and credentials

CH 11

Monitoring & Logging

Essential monitoring without the complexity. Know when things break before your users tell you.

Application logging best practices
Simple uptime monitoring
Error tracking that actually helps
Performance monitoring on a budget

CH 12

Scaling & Next Steps

When to scale, how to scale, and what to avoid. Planning for growth without premature optimization.

Identifying real bottlenecks vs. imagined ones
Vertical vs. horizontal scaling
When to finally consider containers
Growing beyond a solo founder setup

Appendices & Resources

Appendix A: Pre-Deployment Checklist

Everything you need to verify before pushing to production

Appendix B: Deployment Day Checklist

Step-by-step guide for your first deployment

Appendix C: Troubleshooting Guide

Common issues and how to fix them

Appendix D: Command Reference

Quick reference for Git, SSH, and deployment commands