Skip to main content

Frontend on App Engine

Frontend deployment lives in orphaned-wells-ui/deployment/app-engine.

Each collaborator frontend has its own App Engine service, branch-triggered GitHub Actions workflow, backend URL secret, dispatch route, DNS records, custom domain, and OAuth configuration.

Use <collaborator> as the short deployment key, such as ca, isgs, newts, osage, or rrc. Use <COLLABORATOR> for uppercase GitHub secret names.

Add or update an App Engine service​

Add an App Engine service config:

deployment/app-engine/app-<collaborator>.yaml

Copy an existing app-*.yaml file and update the service value. Existing services use the <collaborator>-uow naming pattern:

service: <collaborator>-uow
runtime: python310

Add a deployment workflow​

Add a frontend workflow:

.github/workflows/deploy-<collaborator>.yml

Copy an existing collaborator deployment workflow and update:

  • Workflow name.
  • Trigger branch.
  • Job name.
  • app_yaml.
  • collaborator.
  • Backend URL secret name.

The workflow calls .github/workflows/deploy-dispatch.yml, which builds the React app and deploys the configured App Engine service.

Add the backend URL secret​

Add a frontend repository secret:

<COLLABORATOR>_BACKEND_URL

The value should be the public backend URL and must not include a trailing slash:

https://<collaborator>-server.uow-carbon.org

Deploy the frontend​

Deploy by pushing to the workflow's configured branch, or run the workflow manually if the workflow supports manual dispatch.

The deployment workflow writes the build-time React environment values:

  • REACT_APP_BACKEND_URL
  • REACT_APP_GOOGLE_CLIENTID
  • REACT_APP_COLLABORATOR

Add the App Engine dispatch route​

Add the hostname to deployment/app-engine/dispatch.yaml:

- url: "<collaborator>.uow-carbon.org/*"
  service: <collaborator>-uow

Deploy the dispatch file from the App Engine deployment directory:

cd orphaned-wells-ui/deployment/app-engine
gcloud app deploy dispatch.yaml

Configure DNS and custom domain​

In Google Cloud DNS, add records for:

<collaborator>.uow-carbon.org

Use the same frontend IPv4 and IPv6 addresses as the other frontend instances:

  • A record for IPv4.
  • AAAA record for IPv6.

Then add <collaborator>.uow-carbon.org in App Engine custom domains.

Update OAuth​

In Google OAuth credentials, add both frontend URLs wherever frontend origins are required:

  • The App Engine generated service URL.
  • https://<collaborator>.uow-carbon.org.

Use the exact URL format required by the OAuth client. Avoid trailing slashes unless the existing entries use them.

Verify​

After deployment:

  • Visit https://<collaborator>.uow-carbon.org.
  • Confirm the frontend calls the expected backend URL.
  • Confirm sign-in works for the custom domain.
  • Confirm the App Engine dispatch route sends the host to the expected service.