# Open-source AI deployment checklist

Who this is for:

- people who want to actually deploy an open-source AI or web project from GitHub;
- independent developers, small teams, and solo founders;
- people who already chose a project but worry about deployment mistakes, instability, or maintenance overhead.

The goal is not to make the first deployment perfect. It is to help you run through the most important items that are easy to miss but likely to become problems later.

## 1. Is the project even worth deploying?

- [ ] I can explain the project in one sentence.
- [ ] I know who this project is for, not just that it looks powerful.
- [ ] I know it is not an abandoned repository.
- [ ] I have checked the README, install docs, issues, and recent commits.
- [ ] I know whether it is better for local use, private use, or public use.
- [ ] I know what my fallback is if it does not work out.

## 2. Do I have the right environment?

- [ ] I know what runtime environment the project needs.
- [ ] I know which combination it uses from Node, Python, Docker, a database, and a reverse proxy.
- [ ] I know whether my local machine or server is compatible enough.
- [ ] I am not trying to start in production first.
- [ ] I have at least one test environment.

## 3. Do I understand config and environment variables?

- [ ] I found every required environment variable.
- [ ] I know which ones are API keys, database settings, or third-party endpoints.
- [ ] I am not putting real secrets into the repository.
- [ ] I checked whether there are unsafe defaults in the sample config.
- [ ] I know which variables can wait and which must be set before the first deployment.

## 4. Where does the data live?

- [ ] I know whether the project stores user data.
- [ ] I know whether the data lives in files, a database, object storage, or a third-party platform.
- [ ] I know which data would be painful to lose.
- [ ] I have at least thought through backup.
- [ ] I know the rough shape of initialization, migration, and rollback.

## 5. What is exposed to the network?

- [ ] I know whether this should stay private, stay internal, or go public.
- [ ] If it goes public, I know what to do about the domain, HTTPS, and reverse proxy.
- [ ] I will not expose admin screens, debug endpoints, or test endpoints by default.
- [ ] I checked the exposed ports instead of just asking whether it works.
- [ ] I know what I would need to change if the domain or server moved.

## 6. What about auth and basic security?

- [ ] I know whether the project has login, permissions, or admin accounts.
- [ ] I checked that default accounts, passwords, and test keys are disabled or replaced.
- [ ] I know which pages or endpoints must be protected.
- [ ] I am not confusing "runs locally" with "safe to publish".
- [ ] I know whether logs or error pages might leak secrets, paths, or internal structure.

## 7. Is it stable enough to run?

- [ ] I know how to start, restart, and stop it.
- [ ] I know how to recover if the process dies.
- [ ] I have looked at startup and runtime logs at least once.
- [ ] I know which errors are normal and which need immediate action.
- [ ] I am not mistaking one successful launch for stability.

## 8. What will maintenance cost?

- [ ] I know what upgrades may affect later.
- [ ] I know whether the project tends to ship breaking changes.
- [ ] I know who will maintain it next.
- [ ] I did not choose something that only works right now.
- [ ] I roughly know the monthly cost: compute, storage, third-party APIs, and time.

## 9. Does it fit the actual business need?

- [ ] I know whether the current version actually matches my workflow.
- [ ] I know what is only flashy and what actually needs to change.
- [ ] I will not try to customize everything the moment it boots.
- [ ] I can separate "must fix now" from "can wait".
- [ ] I know which layer should be modified first if I need to adapt it.

## 10. Final launch check

- [ ] I have walked through the key path using the real workflow.
- [ ] I know the three most likely failure points.
- [ ] I know how to roll back if I must do it today.
- [ ] I am not treating "close enough" as launch-ready.
- [ ] I know that the goal of this release is a usable first version, not perfection.

## Final note

If this checklist keeps surfacing the same questions:

- which project should I choose?
- how should I configure the environment?
- which risks must be handled first?
- which changes can wait?

then the problem is usually not effort. It is that you need a clearer deployment plan before you keep moving.