Build and Deploy

Learn how to use ao-forge build for production builds and deployment.

Overview

ao-forge provides a build system that handles frontend framework builds. Note: The build command currently focuses on frontend builds only. AO process deployment is handled separately through the AOS CLI.

Basic Build Commands

# Build for production
ao-forge build

# Build with custom output directory
ao-forge build --output ./dist

# Clean build (removes output directory first)
ao-forge build --clean

Build Configuration

Production Build

# Standard production build
ao-forge build

# This creates:
# - Optimized frontend bundle (via framework's build command)
# - Build artifacts in output directory

Build Options

# Custom output directory
ao-forge build --output ./dist

# Clean build (removes output directory first)
ao-forge build --clean

Framework-Specific Builds

The build command automatically detects your framework and runs the appropriate build command:

Next.js Projects

# Build Next.js application
ao-forge build
# Runs: npm run build (or pnpm/yarn equivalent)

Nuxt.js Projects

# Build Nuxt.js application  
ao-forge build
# Runs: npm run build (or pnpm/yarn equivalent)

React/Vue/Svelte Projects

# Build Vite-based projects
ao-forge build
# Runs: npm run build (or pnpm/yarn equivalent)

AO Process Management

Note: AO process building and deployment is handled separately through the AOS CLI, not through ao-forge build.

AO Process Development

# Start AO process for development
ao-forge process start

# List running processes
ao-forge process list

# Stop AO process
ao-forge process stop

AO Process Deployment

# Deploy AO process using AOS CLI directly
aos [process-name] --load ./ao/contract.lua

# Deploy with specific wallet
aos [process-name] --load ./ao/contract.lua --wallet ./wallet.json

# Deploy to testnet
aos [process-name] --load ./ao/contract.lua --testnet

Deployment Options

Note: The ao-forge deploy command exists but is currently in development. For production deployment, use your framework's standard deployment methods.

Frontend Deployment

# Build your project first
ao-forge build

# Deploy using your framework's tools:
# Next.js: Vercel, Netlify, etc.
# Nuxt.js: Vercel, Netlify, etc.  
# React/Vue/Svelte: Vercel, Netlify, GitHub Pages, etc.

Manual Deployment

# Build for production
ao-forge build --output ./dist

# Upload dist/ folder to your hosting provider
# Examples: Vercel, Netlify, GitHub Pages, AWS S3, etc.

Build Configuration

ao.config.yml

# Project configuration
name: 'my-ao-app'
framework: 'nextjs'
packageManager: 'pnpm'

# AO process configuration
luaFiles:
  - counter.lua
  - token.lua
autoStart: false
processName: 'my-process'

# Development ports
ports:
  dev: 3000

Build Process

The build command works by:

  1. Detecting your framework from package.json
  2. Running the framework's build command (npm run build, pnpm build, etc.)
  3. Copying build artifacts to the output directory
  4. Generating build summary

Build Output

# After running ao-forge build
dist/
├── index.html          # Main HTML file
├── assets/             # CSS, JS, images
│   ├── main.js
│   ├── main.css
│   └── images/
└── manifest.json       # Build manifest

Deployment Platforms

Since ao-forge build creates standard frontend build artifacts, you can deploy to any platform that supports your framework:

Vercel

# Build your project
ao-forge build

# Deploy using Vercel CLI
vercel --prod

Netlify

# Build your project
ao-forge build

# Deploy using Netlify CLI
netlify deploy --prod --dir=dist

GitHub Pages

# Build your project
ao-forge build

# Push dist/ folder to gh-pages branch
# Or use GitHub Actions for automated deployment

Build Scripts

package.json Scripts

{
  "scripts": {
    "build": "ao-forge build",
    "build:clean": "ao-forge build --clean",
    "dev": "ao-forge dev",
    "process:start": "ao-forge process start",
    "process:stop": "ao-forge process stop"
  }
}

CI/CD Integration

# .github/workflows/deploy.yml
name: Deploy
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v3
      - run: npm ci
      - run: ao-forge build
      # Deploy using your preferred platform
      - run: vercel --prod  # or netlify deploy, etc.

Best Practices

Build Process

  1. Test builds locally before deployment
  2. Use clean builds for production (ao-forge build --clean)
  3. Check build output in the dist/ directory
  4. Verify framework build works independently
  5. Use appropriate package manager (pnpm recommended)

Deployment

  1. Build first, then deploy using platform-specific tools
  2. Use staging environment for testing
  3. Automate deployment with CI/CD
  4. Monitor deployment status
  5. Use CDN for static assets

AO Processes

  1. Use AOS CLI directly for process deployment
  2. Test processes thoroughly in development
  3. Use proper error handling in Lua code
  4. Monitor process performance
  5. Backup important data

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

  1. Build fails
    # Check if framework build works independently
npm run build

# Clean build
ao-forge build --clean

# Check package.json scripts
cat package.json | grep scripts
  2. Framework not detected
    # Check package.json for framework dependencies
cat package.json | grep -E "(next|nuxt|react|vue|svelte)"

# Ensure you're in a valid project directory
ls -la package.json ao.config.yml
  3. AO process issues
    # Check AOS installation
aos --version

# List running processes
ao-forge process list

# Start process manually
ao-forge process start

Getting Help

# Get help with build commands
ao-forge build --help

# Get help with process commands
ao-forge process --help

# Check project configuration
ao-forge config list
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