MERN Docker Production

mini DevOps monitoring system.

A production-ready MERN stack application containerized with Docker and automated using CI/CD.

This project demonstrates how to build and deploy a full-stack application using modern DevOps practices including Docker containers, reverse proxy architecture, and automated image builds.

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Tech Stack

Frontend

• React (Vite)

Backend

• Node.js
• Express.js

Database

• MongoDB

DevOps & Infrastructure

• Docker
• Docker Compose
• Nginx Reverse Proxy
• GitHub Actions CI/CD

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Architecture

Browser → Nginx Reverse Proxy → Frontend / Backend → MongoDB

Explanation:

• Nginx acts as the entry point
• React frontend is served as static files
• Node.js backend handles API requests
• MongoDB stores application data
• Docker containers isolate each service

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Project Structure

mern-docker-production

backend

• Express API
• MongoDB connection
• Dockerfile

frontend

• React (Vite) application
• Dockerfile

nginx

• Reverse proxy configuration

.github/workflows

• CI/CD pipeline for Docker builds

docker-compose.yml

• Orchestrates all containers

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Running the Project Locally

Prerequisites

• Docker installed
• Docker Compose installed

Start the application

docker compose up --build

Application URLs

Frontend http://localhost

Backend API http://localhost/api/users

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Docker Containers

This project runs four containers:

• nginx

  • Reverse proxy that routes requests

• frontend

  • React production build served by Nginx

• backend

  • Node.js Express API

• mongo

  • MongoDB database container

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CI/CD Pipeline

Automated using GitHub Actions.

Workflow steps:

1. Push code to main branch
2. GitHub Actions builds Docker images
3. Images are pushed to Docker Hub
4. Images are ready for deployment

Docker images:

dockerhubusername/mern-backend
dockerhubusername/mern-frontend

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Environment Variables

Backend (.env)

PORT=5000
MONGO_URI=mongodb://mongo:27017/mern-docker

Frontend (.env)

VITE_API_URL=/api

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API Endpoints

GET /api/users

Returns:

{
"message": "User API working"
}

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Development Workflow

1. Clone repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/mern-docker-production

2. Start containers

docker compose up

3. Make code changes

4. Rebuild if needed

docker compose up --build

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Future Improvements

• Kubernetes deployment
• Automated cloud deployment
• Authentication system
• Monitoring and logging

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Author

Eranga Madhushan

Computer Science Student
FullStack Developer
Open Source Contributor

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