GoHireHumans — Deployment Guide

The trusted marketplace where businesses, AI agents, and individuals hire verified human professionals on demand.

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────┐          ┌──────────────────────────┐
│    Vercel (Frontend)     │  ─────▶  │  Railway (Backend API)    │
│                         │   API    │                          │
│  index.html             │  calls   │  Flask + Gunicorn        │
│  style.css              │          │  SQLite database         │
│  base.css               │          │  Python 3.12             │
│  config.js              │          │                          │
└─────────────────────────┘          └──────────────────────────┘

• Frontend: Static SPA (HTML/CSS/JS) hosted on Vercel
• Backend: Python Flask API hosted on Railway (Docker)
• Database: SQLite (file-based, included in container volume)

---

Quick Start (Local Development)

1. Start the Backend

cd backend
pip install -r requirements.txt
python server.py

The API will be running at http://localhost:8080. Test it:

curl http://localhost:8080/health
# → {"status": "ok", "service": "gohirehumans-api"}

2. Seed Demo Data

Seeding is disabled unless SEED_SECRET is configured. Use it only for local/demo setup and unset it in production after controlled setup.

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/seed \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"secret":"YOUR_SEED_SECRET"}'

This creates local/demo marketplace records. Do not publish or rely on demo credentials for production.

3. Serve the Frontend

cd frontend
# Any static file server works:
python -m http.server 3000

Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser.

---

Deploy to Railway (Backend)

Step 1: Create a Railway Project

1. Go to railway.app and sign in
2. Click "New Project" → "Deploy from GitHub Repo"
3. Connect your GitHub account and select your repo (or use "Deploy from Local" with the Railway CLI)

Step 2: Configure the Service

1. In your Railway project, click on the service
2. Go to Settings → Build & Deploy
3. Set Root Directory to backend
4. Railway will auto-detect the Dockerfile

Step 3: Add Environment Variables

In the Railway dashboard, go to Variables and add:

Variable	Value
PORT	8080 (Railway usually sets this automatically)
FLASK_DEBUG	false
DATABASE_PATH	Optional local override. Production prefers /data/gohirehumans.db.

Step 4: Add a Persistent Volume (Important!)

SQLite needs persistent storage:

1. In Railway, click "+ New" → "Volume"
2. Mount path: /data
3. Do not point production SQLite under /app; /app is ephemeral.

Step 5: Deploy

Railway deploys automatically on push. Your backend URL will look like:

https://gohirehumans-api-production-xxxx.up.railway.app

Step 6: Optional Controlled Seed

Only seed a controlled staging/demo environment. Production auto-seeding is disabled by default.

curl -X POST https://YOUR-RAILWAY-URL/seed \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"secret":"YOUR_SEED_SECRET"}'

---

Deploy to Vercel (Frontend)

Step 1: Update API URL

Edit frontend/config.js and set your Railway backend URL:

window.GOHIREHUMANS_API_URL = "https://your-railway-backend-url.up.railway.app";

Step 2: Deploy to Vercel

Option A: Vercel CLI

cd frontend
npx vercel --prod

Option B: GitHub Integration

1. Go to vercel.com and sign in
2. Click "Add New Project" → import your repo
3. Set Root Directory to frontend
4. Framework Preset: Other
5. Click Deploy

Step 3: Custom Domain

1. In Vercel dashboard → Settings → Domains
2. Add gohirehumans.com
3. Follow the DNS configuration instructions

---

Deploy with Railway CLI (Alternative)

# Install Railway CLI
npm install -g @railway/cli

# Login
railway login

# Initialize project
cd backend
railway init

# Deploy
railway up

# Get your URL
railway domain

---

Project Structure

gohirehumans-deploy/
├── backend/
│   ├── server.py          # Flask server (production wrapper)
│   ├── api_core.py        # Core API logic (2600+ lines)
│   ├── requirements.txt   # Python dependencies
│   ├── Dockerfile         # Container config for Railway
│   ├── railway.toml       # Railway deployment config
│   ├── Procfile           # Process file (Heroku/Railway)
│   ├── .env.example       # Environment variable template
│   └── .gitignore
│
├── frontend/
│   ├── index.html         # Single Page Application
│   ├── style.css          # Main stylesheet
│   ├── base.css           # CSS reset/base
│   ├── config.js          # API URL configuration ← EDIT THIS
│   ├── vercel.json        # Vercel routing/headers config
│   └── .gitignore
│
└── README.md              # This file

---

API Endpoints

Method	Path	Description
GET	/health	Health check
POST	/auth/register	Register new user
POST	/auth/login	Login
GET	/profile	Get current user profile
GET	/services	List service listings
POST	/services	Create a service listing
GET	/jobs	List jobs
POST	/jobs	Create a job
POST	/jobs/{id}/apply	Apply to a job
POST	/jobs/{id}/hire	Hire an applicant
POST	/services/{id}/order	Order a listed service
POST	/orders/{id}/approve	Approve submitted work and release payment
POST	/orders/{id}/review	Leave a review
POST	/seed	Secret-gated local/demo seeding
GET	/admin/stats	Admin statistics

---

Content Safety

GoHireHumans includes built-in content safety filters that block:

• 80+ prohibited keywords and phrases
• Inappropriate service categories
• Dark web / illegal content patterns

All task titles and descriptions are automatically screened.

---

Troubleshooting

CORS Errors

The backend uses the ALLOWED_ORIGINS env var and does not allow wildcard credentials by default. If you see CORS errors:

1. Make sure the backend is running and accessible
2. Check that config.js has the correct backend URL
3. Ensure there's no trailing slash on the URL

Database Reset

To start fresh locally, delete your local SQLite file and optionally run secret-gated /seed again. Do not delete production /data/gohirehumans.db without a verified backup and restore plan.

Railway Volume Issues

If data disappears between deploys, make sure you've attached a persistent volume at /data. The app stores production SQLite at /data/gohirehumans.db.

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Tech Stack

• Frontend: Vanilla JS SPA, Inter font, CSS custom properties
• Backend: Python 3.12, Flask, Gunicorn, SQLite
• Hosting: Vercel (frontend) + Railway (backend)
• Security: HMAC password hashing, session tokens, rate limiting, content safety filters
• Domain: gohirehumans.com