update_server/DEVELOPMENT_WORKFLOW.md

Update Server - Development Workflow

Recommendation

Start development locally on your Mac.

Only move to Proxmox after the first complete flow works:

• admin login;
• create project;
• upload release;
• create API key;
• download release through API.

This is the fastest and least painful path.

Why not start directly on Proxmox

• slower iteration cycle;
• harder debugging;
• extra network and proxy setup too early;
• file upload and local logs are less convenient while the app is changing a lot.

Recommended workflow

Stage 1 - Local development on Mac

• keep the whole project in one directory;
• run Go locally;
• store local dev data in a project folder like ./data-dev;
• use SQLite locally;
• build the admin pages and API here first.

Stage 2 - Local container verification

• add Dockerfile;
• add docker-compose.yml if needed;
• verify the app runs with mounted /data;
• verify uploads and DB survive container restart.

Stage 3 - Deploy to Proxmox

• create VM or LXC;
• run app container;
• mount persistent storage for /data;
• place Caddy or Nginx in front for HTTPS;
• expose only the reverse proxy to the internet;
• optionally protect admin UI by IP allow-list or VPN.

Local development checklist

• install Go
• initialize module
• add SQLite migrations
• create .env or env loader for dev values
• run server locally
• test upload/download with browser and curl
• only then freeze container setup

Deployment checklist

• persistent volume for SQLite and artifacts
• HTTPS configured
• strong SESSION_SECRET
• bootstrap admin credentials
• backup strategy for /data
• logs enabled
• rate limiting enabled

Final recommendation

Develop on Mac first.

Use Proxmox as the deployment target, not as the primary coding environment.