Skip to content

RENDER_DEPLOYMENT.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
123 lines (89 loc) · 3.61 KB

RENDER_DEPLOYMENT.md

File metadata and controls

123 lines (89 loc) · 3.61 KB

Deploying Campus Bridge LMS to Render

This guide will help you deploy the full Campus Bridge LMS application to Render, which supports both the frontend and backend components.

Prerequisites

  1. A Render account (free)
  2. A GitHub account
  3. This repository forked or cloned

Deployment Steps

1. Prepare Your Application

The application has already been configured to work with Render's environment variables. The key changes made:

  1. Database configuration in db.js now uses environment variables
  2. Server configuration in server.js listens on Render's PORT
  3. Email verification links use APP_URL environment variable

2. Create a Render Account

  1. Go to https://render.com
  2. Sign up for a free account
  3. Connect your GitHub account

3. Deploy the Web Service

  1. Click "New +" and select "Web Service"

  2. Connect to your GitHub repository

  3. Configure the settings:

    • Name: campus-bridge-lms
    • Environment: Node
    • Build Command: npm install
    • Start Command: npm start
    • Instance Type: Free

  4. Add environment variables in the "Advanced" section:

4. Set Up Database

Render offers free PostgreSQL databases. To use it:

  1. Click "New +" and select "PostgreSQL"
  2. Choose the free tier
  3. Once created, you'll get connection details

Since Campus Bridge uses MySQL, you have two options:

  1. Modify the application to use PostgreSQL instead (see migration guide below)
  2. Use an external MySQL provider like PlanetScale (has a free tier)

5. Alternative: Using PlanetScale for Database

PlanetScale offers a free MySQL-compatible database:

  1. Go to https://planetscale.com
  2. Sign up for a free account
  3. Create a new database
  4. Get the connection details and use them as environment variables

6. Environment Variables

In Render, set these environment variables:

PORT=3000
MYSQL_HOST=your-db-host
MYSQL_PORT=3306
MYSQL_USER=your-db-username
MYSQL_PASSWORD=your-db-password
MYSQL_DATABASE=lms
EMAIL_SERVICE=gmail
EMAIL_USER=your-email@gmail.com
EMAIL_PASS=your-app-password
EMAIL_FROM=your-email@gmail.com
APP_URL=https://your-app-name.onrender.com

Render Free Tier Limitations

  1. Sleep Mode: Web services fall asleep after 15 minutes of inactivity
  2. 500 Build Minutes: Per month
  3. CPU Time: 500 hours per month
  4. Bandwidth: 100GB per month

Migration from MySQL to PostgreSQL (Optional)

If you want to use Render's free PostgreSQL database, you'll need to modify the database queries slightly:

  1. Update db.js:
const { Client } = require('pg');

const client = new Client({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
  ssl: {
    rejectUnauthorized: false
  }
});

client.connect();

module.exports = client;
  1. Update query syntax in server.js and other files to be PostgreSQL compatible.

Support

For questions about deployment or to report issues, contact: connect@campusbridge.io

For the complete GitHub repository: https://github.com/Codeunia/Campus-Bridge