# NGIE-AI v1 Internal Release Go/No-Go Report

Validation date: July 7, 2026  
Release target: v1 Internal Production Release  
Scope: production readiness validation only  
Authentication: disabled by release decision  
Business logic changed during validation: no

## Final Recommendation

GO for Ubuntu + systemd + nginx internal production deployment.

NO-GO for Docker-based production deployment until Docker is installed and the images are built successfully in the target environment.

The recommended hosting option for v1 Internal Release is:

```text
Ubuntu Linux server + Node.js 22 + systemd services + nginx reverse proxy + Let's Encrypt SSL
```

Docker support exists, but Docker could not be locally verified on this workstation because the `docker` CLI is not installed.

## Passed Checks

| Check | Status | Evidence |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reviewed deployment checklist | Pass | `docs/DEPLOYMENT_CHECKLIST.md` exists and covers pre-deploy, validation, Ubuntu, health, SSL, CORS, rate limits, logs, GitHub Actions, smoke tests, rollback, and approval. |
| Reviewed production readiness audit | Pass | `reports/production-readiness-audit.md` exists and documents readiness, controls, limitations, and release recommendation. |
| Required environment variables listed | Pass | `.env.example` includes all required API and frontend environment variables. |
| Frontend production build | Pass | `npm run build` in `frontend/` completed successfully. |
| Platform API starts in production mode | Pass | API started locally with `NODE_ENV=production` on port `3198`. |
| API health check | Pass | `GET /health` returned `200`. |
| API readiness check | Pass | `GET /health/ready` returned `200`. |
| CORS allow-list configurable | Pass | Approved origin `https://admin.example.com` returned `200` with matching `access-control-allow-origin`. |
| Unapproved CORS origin rejected | Pass | Unapproved origin `https://evil.example.com` returned `403`. |
| Rate limiting enabled | Pass | Repeated requests returned `429 Too Many Requests`. |
| Production logs written | Pass | API wrote JSONL logs to `reports/logs/validation/platform-api.log`. |
| GitHub Actions workflow structure | Pass | Workflow includes `name`, `on`, `jobs`, `validate`, `deploy`, checkout, setup-node, tests, and service restart steps. |
| API tests | Pass | `npm run api:test`: 12 passed. |
| Module tests | Pass | `npm run modules:test`: 7 passed. |
| Workflow tests | Pass | `npm run workflow:test`: 3 passed. |
| Workflow validation | Pass | `npm run workflow:validate`: all workflows valid. |

## Failed or Unverified Checks

| Check | Status | Details |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Docker local build | Failed / environment unavailable | `docker version` failed because Docker is not installed or not available in this workstation shell. Docker files were not build-tested locally. |
| GitHub Actions full syntax validation with actionlint | Unverified | `ruby` and `python` were unavailable, and `actionlint` is not installed. A static structural workflow check passed, but a full Actions parser was not available locally. |

## Deployment Blockers

### Blocking for Docker deployment

- Docker is not installed locally, so Docker image build verification could not be completed.
- Before choosing Docker hosting, run:

```bash
docker version
docker build -f docker/api.Dockerfile -t ngie-ai-api:v1 .
docker build -f docker/frontend.Dockerfile -t ngie-ai-frontend:v1 .
cd docker
docker compose up --build -d
```

### Not blocking for recommended Ubuntu deployment

No blocking issues were found for the recommended Ubuntu + systemd + nginx deployment path, assuming the deployment server has:

- Node.js 22 or newer
- nginx
- certbot
- DNS records configured
- SSL certificates issued
- `.env` configured with real approved domains
- GitHub Actions secrets configured if automatic deployment is used

## Security Warnings

1. Authentication is disabled for v1 Internal Release.
   - This is intentional, but the deployment must remain internal and restricted to approved ecosystem domains.

2. CORS is not authentication.
   - CORS reduces browser-origin exposure but does not protect the API from direct server-to-server requests.

3. Rate limiting is in-memory.
   - This is acceptable for one internal server, but it resets on process restart and is not suitable for multi-server public deployment.

4. Logs may contain operational metadata.
   - Keep `reports/logs/*.log` out of Git and review log retention policies before broader production use.

5. GitHub Actions deployment requires secrets.
   - The workflow is structurally present, but deployment depends on correct GitHub environment and secret configuration.

6. Raw ChatGPT exports must not be deployed unless explicitly approved.
   - Existing `.gitignore` protections should remain in place.

## Recommended Hosting Option

Use the non-Docker Ubuntu path for v1 Internal Release:

```text
Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 LTS
Node.js 22 LTS
systemd services:
  - ngie-ai-api
  - ngie-ai-frontend
nginx reverse proxy
Let's Encrypt SSL
approved DNS names only
```

Why:

- This path does not depend on Docker being available.
- It matches the deployment guide and service examples.
- It gives straightforward operational visibility through `systemctl`, `journalctl`, nginx logs, and API JSONL logs.

## Required Before Launch

- [ ] Create production `.env` from `.env.example`.
- [ ] Replace example domains with real internal ecosystem domains.
- [ ] Configure DNS `A` records for frontend and API hostnames.
- [ ] Install SSL certificates with certbot.
- [ ] Install and enable systemd services.
- [ ] Verify:

```bash
curl -fsS http://127.0.0.1:3100/health/ready
curl -fsS http://127.0.0.1:3000/api/health
```

- [ ] Verify public HTTPS endpoints:

```bash
curl -fsS https://api.example.com/health/ready
curl -fsS https://admin.example.com/api/health
```

- [ ] Confirm internal owners accept the authentication-disabled release boundary.

## Go/No-Go Decision

GO for v1 Internal Release using Ubuntu + systemd + nginx.

Proceed only after DNS, SSL, environment variables, and deployment secrets are configured on the target server.

Do not choose Docker as the production hosting path until Docker build verification passes in the deployment environment.