Deploying MERP25 ERP to Railway.com¶

This guide walks you through deploying the MERP25 ERP system to Railway using its multi-service capabilities.

Architecture Overview¶

You'll create two separate services on Railway from the same repository: 1. Backend: Web Service (Python/Django) 2. Frontend: Static Site (React/Vite)

Step 1: Deploy Backend (Web Service)¶

1.1 Create New Service¶

Go to Railway Dashboard
Click "New Project" → "Deploy from GitHub repo"
Connect your repository.
Once added, go to the service settings:
Service Name: merp25-backend
Root Directory: backend
Build Command: ./build.sh
Start Command: gunicorn config.wsgi:application

1.2 Set Environment Variables¶

Add these variables in the Variables tab:

Variable	Value
`DATABASE_URL`	Your PostgreSQL connection string (Supabase or Railway DB)
`SUPABASE_URL`	Your Supabase project URL
`SUPABASE_KEY`	Your Supabase anonymous key
`ALLOWED_HOSTS`	`merp25-backend.up.railway.app,merp25-frontend.up.railway.app`
`CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS`	`https://merp25-frontend.up.railway.app`
`DEBUG`	`False`
`SECRET_KEY`	(generate a random string)

Step 2: Deploy Frontend (Static Site)¶

2.1 Create New Service¶

In the same project, click "New" → "GitHub Repo" (choose the same repo).
Configure the new service:
Service Name: merp25-frontend
Root Directory: frontend
Build Command: npm install && npm run build
Install Command: npm install

2.2 Set Environment Variables¶

Add these variables to the frontend service:

Variable	Value
`VITE_API_URL`	Your backend service URL (e.g., `https://merp25-backend.up.railway.app/api`)
`VITE_SUPABASE_URL`	Same as backend
`VITE_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY`	Same as backend

Step 3: Optimization & Monorepo Setup¶

To prevent the backend triggering a build when you only change frontend files (and vice versa), you must configure Watch Paths.

3.1 Configure Trigger Paths¶

Go to your Backend Service settings:
Scroll to Deployments or Triggers section.
Find Watch Paths (sometimes under "Build & Deploy" or "Git").
Set the Watch Path to: /backend/**
Save.
Go to your Frontend Service settings:
Find Watch Paths.
Set the Watch Path to: /frontend/**
Save.

Result: - When you push changes to frontend/src/..., only the Frontend service will rebuild. - When you push changes to backend/core/..., only the Backend service will rebuild.

Step 4: Verification¶

Verify the backend API is reachable at https://your-backend-url/api/.
Verify the frontend loads the login page.
Check the browser console to ensure there are no CORS or CSRF errors during login/signup.

Troubleshooting¶

If you get a "CSRF verification failed" error when logging into /admin, ensure CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS includes the backend's own domain as well as the frontend's domain.

Static Files Not Loading¶

The backend uses whitenoise to serve static files. Ensure python manage.py collectstatic --no-input runs during the build (it is included in backend/build.sh).