Demo Hosting Prep Report

Demo Hosting Prep Report

Execution date: 2026-04-21

Files Created Or Updated

• Created: fly.toml
• Created: scripts/seed_demo_workspace.py
• Created: docs/RELEASE_NOTES_v1.0.0-github-draft.md
• Created: docs/plans/2026-04-22-demo-hosting-prep-report.md
• Updated: Dockerfile
• Updated: docs/DEPLOY.md
• Updated: README.md
• Staged with the same task commit: docs/plans/codex-tasks/2026-04-22-cx-demo-hosting-prep.md

Bug Fixes And Fly Compatibility Notes

• Docker runtime now respects AB_HOST and AB_PORT at container start. Before this change, the image always started uvicorn with hardcoded 0.0.0.0:8008, which made the env vars ineffective.
• No backend patch was required for SQLite path handling. app/backend/app/config.py already reads AB_DB_PATH, and app/backend/app/repository.py already creates the parent directory before SQLite initialization, which is enough for a writable Fly volume mounted at /data.
• Demo seed data is implemented as a manual helper script instead of a Fly release_command. Fly release Machines do not mount persistent volumes, so a release-time seed would write to ephemeral storage rather than the SQLite volume.

Verification Status

• python -c "import tomllib; tomllib.load(open('fly.toml','rb'))" passed.
• docker build -t ab-test-research-designer:1.0.0 . passed.
• docker run --rm -p 18008:8008 -e AB_ENV=demo -e AB_WORKSPACE_DIR=/tmp/abtest -e AB_DB_PATH=/tmp/abtest/p.sqlite3 -v <temp-host-dir>:/tmp/abtest ab-test-research-designer:1.0.0 reached GET /health -> 200, returned "environment":"demo", and created the SQLite file on the mounted path.
• python scripts/seed_demo_workspace.py --idempotent passed in a temporary demo workspace: first run created 3 sample projects, second run skipped the same 3 projects as expected.
• scripts\verify_all.cmd --with-e2e is currently blocked before the backend or Fly-specific checks run. It fails at the generated contract gate because app/frontend/src/lib/generated/api-contract.ts is already out of date relative to pre-existing API changes in the dirty worktree outside this task’s file scope.

User Deploy Checklist

1. Run fly apps create <fly-app-name>.
2. Update app in fly.toml or deploy with fly deploy -a <fly-app-name>.
3. Run fly volumes create ab_test_data --region ams --size 1.
4. Optional secure mode: fly secrets set AB_API_TOKEN=... AB_READONLY_API_TOKEN=... AB_WORKSPACE_SIGNING_KEY=....
5. Run fly deploy.
6. Optional demo seed after the first deploy: fly ssh console -C "python scripts/seed_demo_workspace.py --idempotent".
7. Replace <fly-url-after-deploy> and the release-note placeholders after the real deploy and Docker push.

Known Risks

• Cold-start latency remains possible because min_machines_running = 0 allows Fly to scale the demo down to zero.
• [[vm]] is pinned to shared CPU with 512 MB RAM; large exports or future feature growth may need a memory bump.
• SQLite on a Fly volume is acceptable for a single demo machine, but it does not scale horizontally; multi-machine hosting would require Postgres or LiteFS.