Deployment Procedures

Production deployment principles and decision-making. Safe deployment workflows, rollback strategies, and verification. Teaches thinking, not scripts.

rootcastleco 66c49bc 5.8 KB Updated Sep 8, 2026 6 repo stars

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Deployment Procedures

Deployment principles and decision-making for safe production releases. Learn to THINK, not memorize scripts.

⚠️ How to Use This Skill

This skill teaches deployment principles, not bash scripts to copy.

Every deployment is unique
Understand the WHY behind each step
Adapt procedures to your platform

1. Platform Selection

Decision Tree

What are you deploying?
│
├── Static site / JAMstack
│   └── Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages
│
├── Simple web app
│   ├── Managed → Railway, Render, Fly.io
│   └── Control → VPS + PM2/Docker
│
├── Microservices
│   └── Container orchestration
│
└── Serverless
    └── Edge functions, Lambda

Each Platform Has Different Procedures

Platform	Deployment Method
Vercel/Netlify	Git push, auto-deploy
Railway/Render	Git push or CLI
VPS + PM2	SSH + manual steps
Docker	Image push + orchestration
Kubernetes	kubectl apply

2. Pre-Deployment Principles

The 4 Verification Categories

Category	What to Check
Code Quality	Tests passing, linting clean, reviewed
Build	Production build works, no warnings
Environment	Env vars set, secrets current
Safety	Backup done, rollback plan ready

Pre-Deployment Checklist

All tests passing
Code reviewed and approved
Production build successful
Environment variables verified
Database migrations ready (if any)
Rollback plan documented
Team notified
Monitoring ready

3. Deployment Workflow Principles

The 5-Phase Process

1. PREPARE
   └── Verify code, build, env vars

2. BACKUP
   └── Save current state before changing

3. DEPLOY
   └── Execute with monitoring open

4. VERIFY
   └── Health check, logs, key flows

5. CONFIRM or ROLLBACK
   └── All good? Confirm. Issues? Rollback.

Phase Principles

Phase	Principle
Prepare	Never deploy untested code
Backup	Can't rollback without backup
Deploy	Watch it happen, don't walk away
Verify	Trust but verify
Confirm	Have rollback trigger ready

4. Post-Deployment Verification

What to Verify

Check	Why
Health endpoint	Service is running
Error logs	No new errors
Key user flows	Critical features work
Performance	Response times acceptable

Verification Window

First 5 minutes: Active monitoring
15 minutes: Confirm stable
1 hour: Final verification
Next day: Review metrics

5. Rollback Principles

When to Rollback

Symptom	Action
Service down	Rollback immediately
Critical errors	Rollback
Performance >50% degraded	Consider rollback
Minor issues	Fix forward if quick

Rollback Strategy by Platform

Platform	Rollback Method
Vercel/Netlify	Redeploy previous commit
Railway/Render	Rollback in dashboard
VPS + PM2	Restore backup, restart
Docker	Previous image tag
K8s	kubectl rollout undo

Rollback Principles

Speed over perfection: Rollback first, debug later
Don't compound errors: One rollback, not multiple changes
Communicate: Tell team what happened
Post-mortem: Understand why after stable

6. Zero-Downtime Deployment

Strategies

Strategy	How It Works
Rolling	Replace instances one by one
Blue-Green	Switch traffic between environments
Canary	Gradual traffic shift

Selection Principles

Scenario	Strategy
Standard release	Rolling
High-risk change	Blue-green (easy rollback)
Need validation	Canary (test with real traffic)

7. Emergency Procedures

Service Down Priority

Assess: What's the symptom?
Quick fix: Restart if unclear
Rollback: If restart doesn't help
Investigate: After stable

Investigation Order

Check	Common Issues
Logs	Errors, exceptions
Resources	Disk full, memory
Network	DNS, firewall
Dependencies	Database, APIs

8. Anti-Patterns

❌ Don't	✅ Do
Deploy on Friday	Deploy early in week
Rush deployment	Follow the process
Skip staging	Always test first
Deploy without backup	Backup before deploy
Walk away after deploy	Monitor for 15+ min
Multiple changes at once	One change at a time

9. Decision Checklist

Before deploying:

Platform-appropriate procedure?
Backup strategy ready?
Rollback plan documented?
Monitoring configured?
Team notified?
Time to monitor after?

10. Best Practices

Small, frequent deploys over big releases
Feature flags for risky changes
Automate repetitive steps
Document every deployment
Review what went wrong after issues
Test rollback before you need it

Remember: Every deployment is a risk. Minimize risk through preparation, not speed.

When to Use

This skill is applicable to execute the workflow or actions described in the overview.

🏰 Rei Skills — Curated by Rootcastle Engineering & Innovation | Batuhan Ayrıbaş
Engineering Beyond Boundaries | admin@rootcastle.com

---name: deployment-proceduresdescription: Production deployment principles and decision-making. Safe deployment workflows, rollback strategies, and verification. Teaches thinking, not scripts.---# Deployment Procedures> Deployment principles and decision-making for safe production releases.> **Learn to THINK, not memorize scripts.**---## ⚠️ How to Use This SkillThis skill teaches **deployment principles**, not bash scripts to copy.- Every deployment is unique- Understand the WHY behind each step- Adapt procedures to your platform---## 1. Platform Selection### Decision Tree```What are you deploying?│├── Static site / JAMstack│ └── Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages│├── Simple web app│ ├── Managed → Railway, Render, Fly.io│ └── Control → VPS + PM2/Docker│├── Microservices│ └── Container orchestration│└── Serverless └── Edge functions, Lambda```### Each Platform Has Different Procedures| Platform | Deployment Method ||----------|------------------|| **Vercel/Netlify** | Git push, auto-deploy || **Railway/Render** | Git push or CLI || **VPS + PM2** | SSH + manual steps || **Docker** | Image push + orchestration || **Kubernetes** | kubectl apply |---## 2. Pre-Deployment Principles### The 4 Verification Categories| Category | What to Check ||----------|--------------|| **Code Quality** | Tests passing, linting clean, reviewed || **Build** | Production build works, no warnings || **Environment** | Env vars set, secrets current || **Safety** | Backup done, rollback plan ready |### Pre-Deployment Checklist- [ ] All tests passing- [ ] Code reviewed and approved- [ ] Production build successful- [ ] Environment variables verified- [ ] Database migrations ready (if any)- [ ] Rollback plan documented- [ ] Team notified- [ ] Monitoring ready---## 3. Deployment Workflow Principles### The 5-Phase Process```1. PREPARE └── Verify code, build, env vars2. BACKUP └── Save current state before changing3. DEPLOY └── Execute with monitoring open4. VERIFY └── Health check, logs, key flows5. CONFIRM or ROLLBACK └── All good? Confirm. Issues? Rollback.```### Phase Principles| Phase | Principle ||-------|-----------|| **Prepare** | Never deploy untested code || **Backup** | Can't rollback without backup || **Deploy** | Watch it happen, don't walk away || **Verify** | Trust but verify || **Confirm** | Have rollback trigger ready |---## 4. Post-Deployment Verification### What to Verify| Check | Why ||-------|-----|| **Health endpoint** | Service is running || **Error logs** | No new errors || **Key user flows** | Critical features work || **Performance** | Response times acceptable |### Verification Window- **First 5 minutes**: Active monitoring- **15 minutes**: Confirm stable- **1 hour**: Final verification- **Next day**: Review metrics---## 5. Rollback Principles### When to Rollback| Symptom | Action ||---------|--------|| Service down | Rollback immediately || Critical errors | Rollback || Performance >50% degraded | Consider rollback || Minor issues | Fix forward if quick |### Rollback Strategy by Platform| Platform | Rollback Method ||----------|----------------|| **Vercel/Netlify** | Redeploy previous commit || **Railway/Render** | Rollback in dashboard || **VPS + PM2** | Restore backup, restart || **Docker** | Previous image tag || **K8s** | kubectl rollout undo |### Rollback Principles1. **Speed over perfection**: Rollback first, debug later2. **Don't compound errors**: One rollback, not multiple changes3. **Communicate**: Tell team what happened4. **Post-mortem**: Understand why after stable---## 6. Zero-Downtime Deployment### Strategies| Strategy | How It Works ||----------|--------------|| **Rolling** | Replace instances one by one || **Blue-Green** | Switch traffic between environments || **Canary** | Gradual traffic shift |### Selection Principles| Scenario | Strategy ||----------|----------|| Standard release | Rolling || High-risk change | Blue-green (easy rollback) || Need validation | Canary (test with real traffic) |---## 7. Emergency Procedures### Service Down Priority1. **Assess**: What's the symptom?2. **Quick fix**: Restart if unclear3. **Rollback**: If restart doesn't help4. **Investigate**: After stable### Investigation Order| Check | Common Issues ||-------|--------------|| **Logs** | Errors, exceptions || **Resources** | Disk full, memory || **Network** | DNS, firewall || **Dependencies** | Database, APIs |---## 8. Anti-Patterns| ❌ Don't | ✅ Do ||----------|-------|| Deploy on Friday | Deploy early in week || Rush deployment | Follow the process || Skip staging | Always test first || Deploy without backup | Backup before deploy || Walk away after deploy | Monitor for 15+ min || Multiple changes at once | One change at a time |---## 9. Decision ChecklistBefore deploying:- [ ] **Platform-appropriate procedure?**- [ ] **Backup strategy ready?**- [ ] **Rollback plan documented?**- [ ] **Monitoring configured?**- [ ] **Team notified?**- [ ] **Time to monitor after?**---## 10. Best Practices1. **Small, frequent deploys** over big releases2. **Feature flags** for risky changes3. **Automate** repetitive steps4. **Document** every deployment5. **Review** what went wrong after issues6. **Test rollback** before you need it---> **Remember:** Every deployment is a risk. Minimize risk through preparation, not speed.## When to UseThis skill is applicable to execute the workflow or actions described in the overview.---> 🏰 **Rei Skills** — Curated by [Rootcastle Engineering & Innovation](https://www.rootcastle.com) | Batuhan Ayrıbaş > Engineering Beyond Boundaries | admin@rootcastle.com

rootcastleco/rei-skills/tree/main/skills/deployment-procedures commit 66c49bc447

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