Private Alpha Deployment
The hosted-alpha split across docs, app, auth, database, and file storage.
Deployment model
Orchard Tax keeps the docs app and the web app as separate Vercel projects. The docs app is the public marketing and knowledge base site; the web app stays behind the private alpha runway.
| Surface | Production target |
|---|---|
| Docs | docs.orchard.tax |
| App | app.orchard.tax |
| Root | orchard.tax public landing page from the docs project |
Private alpha baseline
- Clerk gates the app.
ORCHARD_ALLOWED_EMAILSlimits access after sign-in.- Neon Postgres owns structured production data.
- Private Vercel Blob owns uploaded and generated files.
ANTHROPIC_API_KEYis optional for local docs reading and development.
Boot rules
Use synthetic data and seeded fixtures for local development.
Keep the docs site navigable even when the extraction key is absent.
Do not allow real client data until the security checklist is complete.
Keep the deployment runbook current when the hosting split changes.
What this page is for
This is the page to read when someone asks, "What actually needs to exist before the first private alpha goes live?" The answer is small on purpose: auth, database, storage, docs, and a trusted demo path.