alumni_lookup

Deploy Guide

Last Updated: December 2, 2025
Current Version: v1.0.2
Audience: Anyone deploying code changes

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Quick Reference

I want to…	Command
Save my work locally	git add . && git commit -m "description"
Deploy to staging	git push origin main
Deploy to production	Create a version tag (see below)

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Daily Workflow

Step 1: Make Changes Locally

Edit files in VS Code as usual.

Step 2: Commit Your Changes

git add .
git commit -m "Brief description of what changed"

Good commit messages:

• “Add export button to alumni search”
• “Fix engagement score calculation”
• “Update champion signup email template”

Step 3: Deploy to Staging

git push origin main

What happens automatically:

1. ✅ Tests run (takes ~3-5 minutes)
2. ✅ Code deploys to staging
3. ✅ Smoke tests verify staging is working

Check status: https://github.com/chayner/alumni_lookup/actions

Test your changes: https://lookup-staging.bualum.co

Step 4: Deploy to Production

Once you’ve verified staging works, create a release tag:

git tag v1.2.0 -m "Brief description of release"
git push origin v1.2.0

What happens automatically:

1. ✅ Tests run again
2. ✅ Code deploys to production
3. ✅ Smoke tests verify production is working

Check status: https://github.com/chayner/alumni_lookup/actions

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Version Numbering

Use semantic versioning: vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH

Change Type	Example	When to Use
PATCH	v1.0.1 → v1.0.2	Bug fixes, small tweaks
MINOR	v1.0.2 → v1.1.0	New features (backward compatible)
MAJOR	v1.1.0 → v2.0.0	Breaking changes (rare)

See current version:

git tag --list 'v*' | sort -V | tail -1

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Common Scenarios

“I pushed but nothing deployed”

Check if tests failed: https://github.com/chayner/alumni_lookup/actions

If tests failed, fix the issue and push again.

“I need to undo my last push”

If not yet deployed to production:

git revert HEAD
git push origin main

This creates a new commit that undoes the previous one.

“Production is broken!”

Quick rollback to previous version:

heroku rollback --app alumni-lookup

This instantly reverts to the previous deploy while you fix the issue.

“I want to skip staging and deploy directly to production”

Don’t. Always test on staging first. The few minutes it takes can save hours of fixing production issues.

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Environment URLs

Environment	Lookup Portal	Champions Portal
Staging	https://lookup-staging.bualum.co	https://champions-staging.bualum.co
Production	https://lookup.bualum.co	https://champions.bualum.co

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Checking Deploy Status

GitHub Actions (CI/CD Pipeline)

https://github.com/chayner/alumni_lookup/actions

• 🟡 Yellow = Running
• ✅ Green = Success
• ❌ Red = Failed (click to see error)

Heroku Dashboard

• Staging: https://dashboard.heroku.com/apps/alumni-lookup-staging
• Production: https://dashboard.heroku.com/apps/alumni-lookup

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Emergency Contacts

If something goes wrong and you need help:

1. Check GitHub Actions for error messages
2. Check Heroku logs: heroku logs --tail --app alumni-lookup
3. Rollback if needed: heroku rollback --app alumni-lookup