[Bug]: Docker build fails + Missing documentation for reverse proxy deployments

[eals2019]

Operating System

Linux

Run Mode

Docker

App Version

0.13.0

My notes

I enjoy self-hosting self-hosting open-source webapps like this, and I've started to get into the realm of creating my own web-apps using AI (hence why I wanted to host AutoMaker), although I am not a coder myself. The process of self-hosting this has been a little complex due to a few bugs I've encountered in the process, including this bug. Copilot has been able to help resolve the bug and concluded this was something worthy of a bug report. I hope this is valuable to you and not AI-generated slop. I'm willing to try to answer any questions you might have, but also realize I'm not a coder 😅

Bug Description

Docker deployment has two build-blocking issues and lacks documentation for deploying behind a reverse proxy (Cloudflare Tunnel, nginx, etc.).

Bug 1: Missing spec-parser COPY in Dockerfile

Steps to reproduce:

1. Clone repo
2. Run docker-compose build

Expected: Build succeeds
Actual: Build fails - npm can't find @automaker/spec-parser

Fix: Add to Dockerfile around line 31:
COPY libs/spec-parser/package*.json ./libs/spec-parser/

Bug 2: Missing zod dependency in UI

Steps to reproduce:

1. Build succeeds after Bug 1 fix
2. UI fails at runtime with missing zod module

Fix: Add "zod": "^3.23.8" to apps/ui/package.json dependencies

Documentation Gap: VITE_SERVER_URL for reverse proxy deployments

When deploying behind a reverse proxy where the UI and API are on different URLs, users need to:

1. Set VITE_SERVER_URL build arg to the public API URL (default: http://localhost:3008)
2. Set CORS_ORIGIN env var to the public UI URL (default: http://localhost:3007)
3. Rebuild the UI image when changing VITE_SERVER_URL (it's baked in at build time, not runtime)

Key insight not documented: VITE_SERVER_URL is a build-time variable. Changing it requires docker compose build --no-cache ui.

Suggested documentation additions

• Add VITE_SERVER_URL to the Docker Deployment section of README... The only way I was able to find this was by reviewing the DockerFile
• Note that it's build-time (not runtime configurable), so changes requires the container to be rebuilt
• Note that the web client needs to be able to communicate with the server URL, and that it does NOT communicate directly between containers, like other web apps do.
• Add example for reverse proxy / split-domain deployments
• Explain the VITE_SERVER_URL ↔ CORS_ORIGIN relationship

Checklist

• I have searched existing issues to ensure this bug hasn't been reported already
• I have provided all required information above