Deployment

Relevant source files

The following files were used as context for generating this wiki page:

• app.config.ts
• package.json
• metro.config.js
• constants/oauth.ts
• server/storage.ts
• server/_core/oauth.ts
• babel.config.js
• server/_core/llm.ts

The aidoit4u-mobile-app project utilizes a hybrid architecture consisting of a frontend Expo application (for iOS, Android, and Web) and a backend Node.js server. Deployment involves building and running these two components, which are managed within a single monorepo structure. The frontend is responsible for the user interface and client-side logic, while the backend handles business logic, authentication, and communication with external services.

This document outlines the build process, configuration, and deployment strategy for both the frontend and backend components, as derived from the project's source files.

Architecture Overview

The project is structured with a client-side Expo application and a server-side Node.js application. During development, they are run concurrently. For production, the backend is built into a dist directory and the frontend is built for its target platforms (iOS, Android, Web).

This diagram illustrates the high-level components and their interactions.

Build & Deployment Scripts

The package.json file defines the core scripts for development, building, and running the application.

Script	Description
dev	Runs the backend server and the Expo Metro bundler concurrently for development.
dev:server	Starts the Node.js backend server in development mode using tsx for live reloading.
dev:metro	Starts the Expo Metro bundler for the web, iOS, and Android clients.
build	Compiles the backend TypeScript server code using esbuild into a production-ready bundle in the dist/ directory.
start	Runs the compiled backend server from the dist/ directory in a production environment.
android	Starts the development server for the Android app.
ios	Starts the development server for the iOS app.

Sources: package.json:5-12

Frontend Deployment (Expo)

The frontend is an Expo application configured for iOS, Android, and Web platforms. Its configuration and build process are defined in app.config.ts.

Application Configuration

The primary configuration is managed in app.config.ts. It defines application metadata, platform-specific settings, and plugins.

Property	Value/Description	Source
name	"Legal AI"	app.config.ts:15
slug	"aidoit4u-mobile-app"	app.config.ts:16
version	"1.0.0"	app.config.ts:25
orientation	"portrait"	app.config.ts:26
scheme	Dynamically generated from bundleId (e.g., manus20260105013345)	app.config.ts:11-12, 28
ios.bundleIdentifier	space.manus.aidoit4u.mobile.app.t20260105013345	app.config.ts:7, 20, 32
android.package	space.manus.aidoit4u.mobile.app.t20260105013345	app.config.ts:7, 21, 45
web.bundler	"metro"	app.config.ts:57

Sources: app.config.ts

A unique bundleId is constructed using a project name and a timestamp. This bundleId is then used to derive a deep link scheme for OAuth callbacks.

Sources: app.config.ts:7-12, constants/oauth.ts:6-8

Bundling and Transpilation

The project uses Metro as its JavaScript bundler, configured in metro.config.js.

• NativeWind: The configuration is wrapped with withNativeWind to enable Tailwind CSS for React Native.
• iOS Styling Fix: The forceWriteFileSystem: true option is enabled to fix styling issues in development mode on iOS by writing CSS to the file system instead of using virtual modules.
• Babel: The babel.config.js file configures the Babel transpiler, integrating presets for expo and nativewind, and includes the react-native-worklets/plugin.

Sources: metro.config.js:3-10, babel.config.js

Platform-Specific Builds

The app.config.ts file contains specific configurations for iOS and Android builds.

• Android:
  • An adaptive icon is configured with foreground, background, and monochrome images.
  • edgeToEdgeEnabled is set to true.
  • The POST_NOTIFICATIONS permission is requested.
  • Intent filters are set up to handle the custom deep link scheme (manus...) for OAuth callbacks.
  • Build architectures are specified as armeabi-v7a and arm64-v8a via the expo-build-properties plugin.
• iOS:
  • supportsTablet is enabled.
  • The bundle identifier is set from the centrally configured bundleId.

Sources: app.config.ts:31-68

Backend Deployment (Node.js)

The backend is a TypeScript-based Node.js server. The deployment process involves compiling the TypeScript source into JavaScript and running it with Node.

Backend Build and Run Flow

The following diagram shows the process for building and running the backend in production.

Environment and Service Dependencies

The backend server relies on several environment variables to connect to external services. These are critical for a successful deployment.

Environment Variable	Purpose	Relevant File(s)
BUILT_IN_FORGE_API_URL	Base URL for the Forge API (used for LLM and storage).	server/storage.ts:8, server/_core/llm.ts:153
BUILT_IN_FORGE_API_KEY	API key for authenticating with the Forge API.	server/storage.ts:9, server/_core/llm.ts:159
OAUTH_SERVER_URL	URL of the Manus OAuth server for authentication.	server/_core/sdk.ts:40
APP_ID	The application's unique ID for OAuth.	server/_core/sdk.ts:60
COOKIE_SECRET	Secret key used to sign and verify session JWTs.	server/_core/sdk.ts:133

Sources: server/storage.ts, server/_core/llm.ts, server/_core/sdk.ts

Frontend-Backend Communication

The frontend application needs to know the URL of the backend API server. The getApiBaseUrl function determines this URL.

• Web Platform: When running on the web, it automatically derives the backend URL from the current window.location. It assumes the frontend runs on a port like 8081 and the backend on 3000, replacing the port in the hostname (e.g., 8081-sandbox.domain becomes 3000-sandbox.domain).
• Native Platforms (iOS/Android): On native, it relies on the EXPO_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL environment variable. If this is not set, API calls will be made to a relative path, which will fail.

The following sequence diagram illustrates the URL derivation on the web.