Go-live checklist

Work through this before exposing an instance to the internet. See prerequisites for what to have ready and deployment for how to set each value.

Infrastructure

• [ ] TLS in front of the app (reverse proxy, load balancer, or CDN) with a valid certificate, forwarding the X-Forwarded-Proto header.
• [ ] PostgreSQL provisioned; DATABASE_URL points at it (not SQLite).
• [ ] Domain name resolves to the service.
• [ ] Shared cache (ACES_WORKBENCH_CACHE_URL) if running more than one worker.

Application configuration

• [ ] ACES_WORKBENCH_SECRET_KEY set to a stable value from a secrets manager.
• [ ] ACES_WORKBENCH_ALLOWED_HOSTS set to your public hostname(s).
• [ ] ACES_WORKBENCH_CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS set to your public origin(s), e.g. https://scenarios.example.com.
• [ ] Debug is off (the default) so HTTPS redirect, HSTS, and secure cookies are enabled.
• [ ] SMTP configured (ACES_WORKBENCH_EMAIL_*) so invitations and password resets are delivered.

Verify

• [ ] Run aces-workbench doctor on the server — every line reads OK, or you understand why a warning is acceptable for your deployment.
• [ ] Migrations are applied (aces-workbench migrate).
• [ ] The first administrator exists (aces-workbench createadmin).
• [ ] The configured Django admin path is restricted to administrators.
• [ ] Sign in over HTTPS, create a scenario, and send yourself an invitation to confirm email delivery end to end.

Operate

• [ ] Database backups are scheduled.
• [ ] Logs and errors are collected somewhere you will see them.
• [ ] A process exists to apply dependency and security updates.