feat(deployment): implement automated deployment scripts and enhance backend setup verification; add CORS fallback mechanism for form submissions

Author: sayak-sarkar

.github/workflows/deploy-backend.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+name: Deploy Backend to Google Apps Script
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [main, master]
+    paths: ['backend/**']
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      deploy_description:
+        description: 'Deployment description'
+        required: false
+        default: 'Automated deployment from GitHub Actions'
+
+jobs:
+  deploy:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    defaults:
+      run:
+        working-directory: ./backend
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout code
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Setup Node.js
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        with:
+          node-version: '18'
+          cache: 'npm'
+          cache-dependency-path: backend/package-lock.json
+
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: npm ci
+
+      - name: Install Google Apps Script CLI
+        run: npm install -g @google/clasp
+
+      - name: Create .clasprc.json
+        run: |
+          echo '${{ secrets.CLASPRC_JSON }}' > ~/.clasprc.json
+
+      - name: Setup environment variables
+        run: |
+          echo "CLASP_SCRIPT_ID=${{ secrets.CLASP_SCRIPT_ID }}" > .env
+          echo "DEPLOYMENT_DESCRIPTION=${{ github.event.inputs.deploy_description || 'Automated deployment from GitHub Actions' }}" >> .env
+          echo "DEPLOYMENT_VERSION_DESCRIPTION=Deploy from commit ${{ github.sha }}" >> .env
+
+      - name: Validate environment
+        run: |
+          if [ -z "${{ secrets.CLASP_SCRIPT_ID }}" ]; then
+            echo "Error: CLASP_SCRIPT_ID secret is not set"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          if [ -z "${{ secrets.CLASPRC_JSON }}" ]; then
+            echo "Error: CLASPRC_JSON secret is not set"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+      - name: Deploy to Google Apps Script
+        run: |
+          # Update .clasp.json with script ID
+          cat > .clasp.json << EOF
+          {
+            "scriptId": "${{ secrets.CLASP_SCRIPT_ID }}",
+            "rootDir": "",
+            "scriptExtensions": [".js", ".gs"],
+            "htmlExtensions": [".html"],
+            "jsonExtensions": [".json"],
+            "filePushOrder": [],
+            "skipSubdirectories": false
+          }
+          EOF
+
+          # Push code
+          clasp push --force
+
+          # Deploy
+          clasp deploy --description "${{ github.event.inputs.deploy_description || 'Automated deployment from GitHub Actions' }}"
+
+      - name: Clean up credentials
+        if: always()
+        run: |
+          rm -f ~/.clasprc.json
+          rm -f .env
+          rm -f .clasp.json

README.md

@@ -423,6 +423,48 @@ Google Apps Script execution logs via `cd backend && npm run logs` and Google Cl
 
 ---
 
+## 🔧 Recent Improvements
+
+### 📡 **CORS & Form Submission Fixes**
+
+Recently resolved CORS issues with Google Apps Script backend that were preventing form submissions:
+
+**Problem**: Contact forms and job applications were failing with CORS errors when submitting from localhost and production environments.
+
+**Solution Implemented**:
+- ✅ **Automatic Fallback Mechanism**: Forms now automatically retry with GET requests if POST fails due to CORS
+- ✅ **Enhanced Error Handling**: Better user feedback and error recovery
+- ✅ **Cross-Origin Compatibility**: Works from any domain (localhost, production, etc.)
+- ✅ **Robust Backend**: Updated Google Apps Script to handle both POST and GET submissions
+
+**Files Enhanced**:
+- `frontend/src/utils/api.ts` - Added fallback submission logic
+- `backend/thinkREDBot.js` - Enhanced CORS handling and GET request support
+
+### 🚀 **Secure Deployment Pipeline**
+
+Implemented comprehensive deployment automation:
+
+**Backend Deployment**:
+- ✅ **Multiple Deployment Methods**: Node.js script, Bash script, GitHub Actions
+- ✅ **Environment Management**: Secure configuration via `.env` files
+- ✅ **Automated CI/CD**: GitHub Actions workflow for hands-free deployment
+- ✅ **Security First**: No hardcoded credentials, proper secret management
+
+**Quick Backend Deployment**:
+```bash
+cd backend
+npm run setup     # First time only
+npm run deploy    # Deploy to Google Apps Script
+```
+
+**Frontend Deployment**:
+- ✅ **GitHub Pages**: Automatic deployment via GitHub Actions
+- ✅ **Hostinger**: Production deployment with custom domain
+- ✅ **Build Optimization**: Efficient bundling and asset optimization
+
+---
+
 ## 🤝 Contributing
 
 ### 🚀 **Getting Started**

backend/.env.example

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# Backend Environment Variables
+# Copy this file to .env and fill in your values
+
+# Google Apps Script Configuration
+CLASP_SCRIPT_ID=1lxhn-Siz6ThM7rWHveiEVE1HlyA7fimu4LMifyFLXbaXRmEbT5lVL78J
+
+# Deployment Configuration
+DEPLOYMENT_DESCRIPTION=Automated deployment from local development
+DEPLOYMENT_VERSION_DESCRIPTION=Contact form and job application backend
+
+# Security
+# Ensure this file is in .gitignore to keep credentials secure

backend/.gitignore

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+# Environment variables (contains sensitive information)
+.env
+
+# Clasp credentials
+.clasprc.json
+
+# Node modules
+node_modules/
+
+# Logs
+*.log
+npm-debug.log*
+
+# Runtime data
+pids
+*.pid
+*.seed
+
+# Coverage directory used by tools like istanbul
+coverage/
+
+# Dependency directories
+jspm_packages/
+
+# Optional npm cache directory
+.npm
+
+# Optional REPL history
+.node_repl_history
+
+# Output of 'npm pack'
+*.tgz
+
+# Yarn Integrity file
+.yarn-integrity
+
+# MacOS
+.DS_Store
+
+# Windows
+Thumbs.db
+ehthumbs.db
+Desktop.ini