Run a VueJS Container App

back4app containers is a powerful platform for hosting vue js applications with its ability to automatically deploy dockerized vue js apps, you can launch your project in a scalable and flexible environment with ease in this guide, we will walk you through the process of preparing and deploying your vue js application on back4app containers, covering everything from simple projects to more complex setups we will begin with the necessary preparations, then move on to dockerizing the application, testing it locally, pushing the project to github, setting up the project on back4app containers, monitoring deployment, and troubleshooting common issues at any time, if you want to check a sample working vue js project on back4app containers, go to https //github com/templates back4app/containers vuejs sample https //github com/templates back4app/containers vuejs sample 1 prepare your vue js application a project structure verify that your vue js application follows a proper directory structure, with all necessary files and folders, such as src , public , components , and assets , organized appropriately the main entry point for your application should be the src/main js file b dependencies check if all required dependencies are listed in the package json file, including their correct versions ensure that you have installed all dependencies using npm install or yarn install to generate a package lock json or yarn lock file c build process for more complex projects that involve a build process, ensure that your build scripts and configurations (e g , webpack or vue cli) are properly set up you should be able to run the build process locally without any issues d environment variables if your application relies on environment variables, ensure that you have a env file with the necessary variables defined when deploying to back4app containers, you will need to configure these environment variables in the deployment settings e server setup (if applicable) if your vue js application includes a custom server (e g , express), make sure it is correctly set up and configured to serve your vue js application test your server locally to ensure it works as expected f application optimization optimize your vue js application by minimizing bundle sizes, using code splitting, and implementing performance best practices use tools like lighthouse to audit your application and address any performance or accessibility issues g cross browser compatibility test your application across multiple browsers and devices to ensure proper rendering and functionality once you have thoroughly reviewed and prepared your vue js application, you can proceed to the next step, which is creating a dockerfile for your project 2 dockerization dockerizing a vue js application involves creating a dockerfile in the root directory of your project the dockerfile contains instructions to build a docker image of your application, which can then be deployed to back4app containers here's a detailed explanation of how to create a dockerfile for a regular vue js application \# use an official node js runtime as a parent image from node 14 \# set the working directory to /app workdir /app \# copy package json and package lock json into the working directory copy package json / \# install any needed packages run npm install \# copy the rest of the application code into the working directory copy \# build the application for production run npm run build \# use an nginx server to serve the application from nginx 1 19 0 alpine \# copy the built application files from the parent image copy from=0 /app/dist /usr/share/nginx/html \# expose port 80 for the nginx server expose 80 \# start the nginx server cmd \["nginx", " g", "daemon off;"] 3 test your project locally before deploying your vue js application on back4app containers, it's important to test it locally using docker this helps ensure that your application runs as expected and helps you identify and fix any issues before deployment build the docker image for your vue js application in your terminal, navigate to your project's root directory and run the following command, replacing your app name with the name of your application docker build t your app name run the docker container locally next, run the following command to start the docker container locally this command maps the container's exposed port (e g , 80) to a port on your local machine (e g , 8080) docker run p 8080 80 your app name test your application open a web browser and navigate to http //localhost 8080 http //localhost 8080 to view your vue js application make sure everything works as expected if you encounter any issues, address them before moving on to the next step 4 push your project to github create a gitignore file in your project's root directory to exclude unnecessary or sensitive files from your repository (e g , node modules , env , dist , etc ) initialize a git repository, commit your project files, and push them to a remote repository (e g , on github) git add git commit m "initial commit" git remote add origin \<your remote repo url> git push u origin master 5 deploy your application on back4app containers after creating your back4app account you can follow the steps listed on the docs 1 connect you github repo with back4app https //www back4app com/docs containers/integrate with github 2 prepare your project for deployment https //www back4app com/docs containers/prepare your deployment in summary containers will follow the instructions detailed on your dockerfile and start to create your app 6 monitor deployment and address possible errors keep an eye on the deployment logs and status on the back4app containers dashboard address any errors or issues that arise during deployment during deployment in case of more complex projects, ensure that all necessary services (such as databases or external apis) are correctly configured and accessible 7 troubleshooting common problems common deployments errors when running a vue js app on back4app containers are listed here https //www back4app com/docs containers/troubleshooting other possible common errors when deploying a vue js application are incorrect port configuration vue js applications should be configured to run on a specified port when deployed on back4app containers if the application is still not accessible, check the dockerfile to make sure the correct port is exposed (e g , expose 80 for port 80) incompatible or missing dependencies ensure that all required dependencies are listed in the package json file and that their versions are compatible with each other and your application code missing or incompatible dependencies can lead to runtime errors invalid environment variables or configuration check if your application relies on specific environment variables or configuration files, and ensure they are correctly set up in the back4app containers environment set any necessary environment variables in your dockerfile using the env command application crashes or unhandled exceptions unhandled exceptions or crashes in your vue js application code can cause deployment failures or unexpected behavior examine your application logs for any error messages, and address any issues in your code check the container logs by running docker logs your app name to see if there are any errors or exceptions being thrown use a tool like sentry to track and monitor errors in your application server side rendering configuration if your vue js application uses server side rendering (ssr), ensure that your ssr setup is correctly configured in your dockerfile and that it starts your application using the right entry point 8 scale your application for more complex projects that require additional resources or horizontal/vertical scaling, consider upgrading your back4app containers plan to handle increased traffic and load 9 sample application for a sample vue js application project you can go to https //github com/templates back4app/containers vuejs sample