Patrick Britton 6217cb2ffd fix: Resolve remaining compilation errors in Groups feature

2026-02-17 11:16:39 -06:00

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Backend Migration Comprehensive Guide

Overview

This document consolidates the complete migration journey from Supabase to a self-hosted Golang backend, including planning, execution, validation, and post-migration cleanup.

Migration Summary

Source: Supabase (Edge Functions, PostgreSQL with RLS, Auth, Storage)
Target: Golang (Gin), Self-hosted PostgreSQL, Nginx, Systemd
Status: ✅ COMPLETED - Production Ready as of January 25, 2026

Phase 1: Planning & Architecture

Project Overview

App: Sojorn (Social Media platform with Beacons/Location features)
Migration Type: Full infrastructure migration from serverless to self-hosted
Critical Requirements: Zero downtime, data integrity, feature parity

Infrastructure Requirements

OS: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
DB: PostgreSQL 15+ with PostGIS, pg_trgm, uuid-ossp
Proxy: Nginx (SSL via Certbot)
Process Manager: Systemd
Minimum Specs: 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM

API Mapping Strategy

Supabase Function	Go Endpoint	Status
`signup`	`POST /api/v1/auth/signup`	✅ Complete
`profile`	`GET /api/v1/profiles/:id`	✅ Complete
`feed-sojorn`	`GET /api/v1/feed`	✅ Complete
`publish-post`	`POST /api/v1/posts`	✅ Complete
`create-beacon`	`POST /api/v1/beacons`	✅ Complete
`search`	`GET /api/v1/search`	✅ Complete
`follow`	`POST /api/v1/users/:id/follow`	✅ Complete
`tone-check`	`POST /api/v1/analysis/tone`	✅ Complete
`notifications`	`POST /api/v1/notifications/device`	✅ Complete

Phase 2: Infrastructure Setup

VPS Configuration

Dependencies Installation:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y postgresql postgis nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx

Database Setup:

# Create database
sudo -u postgres createdb sojorn

# Enable extensions
sudo -u postgres psql sojorn -c "CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS uuid-ossp;"
sudo -u postgres psql sojorn -c "CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS pg_trgm;"
sudo -u postgres psql sojorn -c "CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS postgis;"

Application Deployment

Clone & Build:

git clone <your-repo> /opt/sojorn
cd /opt/sojorn/go-backend
go build -o bin/api ./cmd/api/main.go

Systemd Service Setup:

sudo ./scripts/deploy.sh

Nginx Configuration:

Set up reverse proxy to port 8080
Configure SSL with Certbot
Handle CORS for secure browser requests

Phase 3: Database Migration

Migration Strategy

Option 1: Dump and Restore (Used)

# Export from Supabase
pg_dump -h [supabase-host] -U [user] -d [database] > supabase_dump.sql

# Import to VPS
psql -h localhost -U youruser -d sojorn -f supabase_dump.sql

Option 2: Script-based Sync

Custom migration scripts for specific tables
Used for schema changes and data transformation

Schema Migration

Critical Changes:

RLS Policy Removal: Converted to application logic in Go middleware/services
Auth Integration: Migrated Supabase Auth users to local users table
E2EE Schema: Applied Signal Protocol migrations manually
PostGIS Integration: Added location/geospatial capabilities

Migration Tool: golang-migrate

make migrate-up

Data Validation

Final Stats:

Users: 72 (migrated + seeded)
Posts: 298 (migrated + seeded)
Status: Stress test threshold MET

Phase 4: Authentication System

JWT Implementation

Supabase Compatibility:

Maintained compatible JWT structure for Flutter client
Used same secret key for seamless transition
Preserved user session continuity

New Features:

Enhanced security with proper token validation
Refresh token rotation
MFA support framework

Auth Flow Migration

Supabase	Go Backend	Status
`auth.signUp()`	`POST /auth/register`	✅
`auth.signIn()`	`POST /auth/login`	✅
`auth.refresh()`	`POST /auth/refresh`	✅
`auth.user()`	JWT Middleware	✅

Phase 5: Feature Porting

Core Features Status

✅ Complete

User & Profile Management: Full CRUD operations
Posting & Feed Logic: Algorithmic feed with rich data
Beacon (GIS) System: Location-based features with PostGIS
Media Handling: Upload, storage, and serving
FCM Notifications: Push notification system
Search: Full-text search with pg_trgm

⚠️ Partial (Requires Client Implementation)

E2EE Chat: Schema ready, key exchange endpoints implemented
Real-time Features: WebSocket infrastructure in place

Key Implementation Details

CORS Resolution

Issue: "Failed to fetch" errors due to CORS + AllowCredentials Solution: Dynamic origin matching implementation

allowAllOrigins := false
allowedOriginSet := make(map[string]struct{})
for _, origin := range allowedOrigins {
    if strings.TrimSpace(origin) == "*" {
        allowAllOrigins = true
        break
    }
    allowedOriginSet[strings.TrimSpace(origin)] = struct{}{}
}

Media Handling

Upload Directory: /opt/sojorn/uploads Nginx Serving: Configured to serve static files R2 Integration: Cloudflare R2 for distributed storage

E2EE Chat

Schema: Complete with Signal Protocol tables Endpoints: /keys for key exchange Status: Backend ready, requires client key management

Phase 6: Cutover Strategy

Zero Downtime Approach

Parallel Run: Both Supabase and Go VPS running simultaneously
DNS Update: Point api.sojorn.net to new VPS IP
TTL Management: Set DNS TTL to 300s before cutover
Monitoring: Real-time log monitoring for errors

Cutover Execution

Pre-Cutover Checklist:

All endpoints tested and passing
Data migration validated
SSL certificates configured
Monitoring systems active
Rollback plan ready

DNS Switch:

# Update A record for api.sojorn.net
# Monitor propagation
# Watch error rates

Post-Cutover Validation:

# Monitor logs
journalctl -u sojorn-api -f

# Check error rates
curl -s https://api.sojorn.net/health

# Validate data integrity
sudo -u postgres psql sojorn -c "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM users;"

Phase 7: Validation & Testing

Infrastructure Integrity ✅

Service Health:

Go binary (sojorn-api) running via systemd
CORS configuration supporting secure browser requests
SSL/TLS verification: Certbot certificates active
Proxy Pass to localhost:8080: PASS

Database Connectivity:

Connection stable; seeder successfully populated
All critical tables present and verified
Migration state: Complete

Feature Validation ✅

Authentication:

POST /auth/register and /auth/login verified
JWT generation includes proper claims for Flutter
Profile and settings initialization mirrors legacy

Core Features:

Feed retrieval verified with ~300 posts
Media upload and serving functional
Search functionality working
Notification system operational

Client Compatibility ✅

API Contract:

JSON tags in Go structs match Dart models (Snake Case)
Error objects return standard JSON format
Response format consistent with Flutter expectations

Phase 8: Post-Migration

Supabase Decommissioning

Cleanup Steps:

Disable Edge Functions: No longer serving traffic
Pause Project: Keep as backup for 1 week
Export Final Data: For archival purposes
Cancel Subscription: After validation period

Legacy Reference:

Moved to _legacy/supabase/ folder
Contains Edge Functions and original migrations
Use for reference if logic verification needed

Performance Optimization

Monitoring Setup:

System resource monitoring
Database performance metrics
API response time tracking
Error rate alerting

Scaling Considerations:

Database connection pooling
Nginx caching configuration
CDN integration for static assets
Load balancing for high availability

Troubleshooting Guide

Common Issues & Solutions

CORS Issues

Symptom: "Failed to fetch" errors Solution: Verify dynamic origin matching in CORS middleware Check: Nginx configuration and Go CORS settings

Database Connection

Symptom: Database connection errors Solution: Check PostgreSQL service status and connection strings Command: sudo systemctl status postgresql

Authentication Failures

Symptom: JWT validation errors Solution: Verify JWT secret consistency between systems Check: .env file and client configuration

Media Upload Issues

Symptom: File upload failures Solution: Check upload directory permissions Command: ls -la /opt/sojorn/uploads

Rollback Plan

Emergency Rollback Procedure

DNS Reversion: Point api.sojorn.net back to Supabase
Data Sync: Restore any new data from Go backend to Supabase
Service Restart: Restart Supabase Edge Functions
Client Update: Update Flutter app configuration if needed

Rollback Triggers

Error rate > 5% for more than 10 minutes
Database corruption detected
Critical security vulnerability identified
Performance degradation > 50%

Current Architecture

Production Stack

Internet
    ↓
Nginx (SSL Termination, Static Files)
    ↓
Go Backend (API, Business Logic)
    ↓
PostgreSQL (Data, PostGIS)
    ↓
File System (Uploads) / Cloudflare R2

Service Configuration

Systemd Service: sojorn-api.service Nginx Config: /etc/nginx/sites-available/sojorn-api Database: postgresql@15-main SSL: Let's Encrypt via Certbot

Files & References

Migration Artifacts

Planning Documents:

MIGRATION_PLAN.md - Initial planning and API mapping
BACKEND_MIGRATION_RUNBOOK.md - Step-by-step execution guide

Validation Reports:

MIGRATION_VALIDATION_REPORT.md - Final validation results
Performance benchmarks and test results