Build & Deploy Commands

This guide provides the specific commands required to build and deploy each part of the Merq platform: the Go backend, the React web dashboard, and the React Native mobile app.

Backend (merq-backend)

The backend is a Go application built and run using Docker.

Building

The primary build process is defined in the merq-backend/Dockerfile. It’s a multi-stage build:

1. Builder Stage: Compiles the Go source code into binaries for the server, migrator, and seeder.
2. Run Stage: Copies the compiled binaries into a lightweight alpine image.

To build the Docker image, run the following command from the merq-backend directory:

docker build -t merq-backend .

Running Locally

The backend can be run locally using the docker-compose.yml file, which orchestrates the backend container along with its dependencies (PostgreSQL, Redis, etc.).

docker-compose up -d --build

Makefile Commands

The merq-backend repository includes a Makefile with helper targets for common development tasks:

Goose SQL Migrations (primary)

Command	Description
make goose-status	Show status of all SQL migrations
make goose-up	Run all pending SQL migrations
make goose-down	Rollback last SQL migration
make goose-reset	Rollback ALL migrations (down-to 0)
make goose-redo	Rollback and re-apply last migration
make goose-create name=xxx	Create new SQL migration file

Seeders

Command	Description
make seed-v2	Run all pending seeders
make seed-list	List all seeders and their status

Integration Tests

Command	Description
make integration-up	Start test database container
make integration-down	Stop test database container
make test-integration	Run integration tests
make test-integration-verbose	Run integration tests with verbose output

Note: The older make migrate-up/down/create targets use the legacy GORM-based migrator tool and are kept for backward compatibility. Prefer make goose-* for all new migration work.

Web Dashboard (merq-web)

The web dashboard is a React application built with Vite.

Building

The build process is managed by bun (for deployment) or npm/pnpm (for local dev), configured in merq-web/package.json.

• Development Build: npm run build:dev
• Production Build: npm run build

These commands bundle the React code and output static files to the merq-web/dist/ directory.

Deployment

The deployment process for the web dashboard is handled by the merq-web/deploy.sh script. This script is intended to be run on a VPS and performs the following actions:

1. Installs dependencies (bun install).
2. Builds the project for production (bun run build).
3. Copies the contents of the dist/ directory to the web server’s root (e.g., /var/www/merq-web).
4. Sets the correct file permissions (chmod -R 755) to ensure the web server (like Nginx) can serve the files.

Mobile App (merq-mobile)

The mobile app is a React Native project.

Building for Development

The mobile project uses Yarn as its package manager. To run the app on a simulator or connected device during development:

• Android: yarn android
• iOS: yarn ios

The active env file is controlled by the ENVFILE variable (e.g., ENVFILE=.env.dev yarn android). By default the scripts use .env.

Building for Production

Building a release version of the mobile app is a more involved process.

Android (APK / AAB)

The merq-mobile/package.json file contains scripts for building Android releases:

• yarn build:apk: Creates a standalone release .apk file (assembleRelease).
• yarn build:apk-debug: Creates a debug .apk file (assembleDebug).
• yarn build:abb: Creates an Android App Bundle (.aab) for submission to the Google Play Store.
• yarn build:bundlejs: Bundles the JavaScript entry point into android/app/src/main/assets/index.android.bundle (useful for debugging native builds).

These scripts invoke Gradle commands within the merq-mobile/android/ directory.

iOS

Building for iOS is typically done through Xcode. You would open the merq-mobile/ios/merq.xcworkspace file in Xcode and use its “Archive” feature to create a build for submission to the App Store. There are no specific command-line scripts for this in package.json.