A production deployment pipeline should do more than copy a build folder to a server. It should prove that the application is valid before deployment, preserve a recoverable release structure and verify that the deployed application is actually healthy.
Start with a quality gate
- Formatting verification
- Linting
- Type checking
- Automated tests
- Production build
- Build artifact verification
- Dependency security checks
Validate the build output before deployment
The deployment workflow should verify required files and metadata rather than assuming that a successful build command produced a deployable release.
Use recoverable releases
A release-based server structure with current and previous references provides a safer operational model than overwriting the active application directory directly.
Finish with a smoke test
After deployment, validate the application's root route, health endpoint and representative client-side route before treating the release as complete.
