Vapor CLI

Overview While Laravel Vapor provides vanity URLs for every environment, moving to production requires a professional custom domain. Attaching a real domain involves more than just a DNS update; it requires a coordinated effort between the Vapor UI, your domain registrar, and your `vapor.yml` configuration. This process ensures your serverless infrastructure routes traffic correctly while maintaining secure, encrypted connections for your users. Prerequisites Before starting, ensure you have the following: * A Laravel project already initialized with Vapor. * The Vapor CLI installed locally. * Access to your domain registrar's DNS management panel (e.g., Namecheap or GoDaddy). * An active AWS account linked to your Vapor dashboard. Key Libraries & Tools * **Laravel Vapor**: A serverless deployment platform for Laravel powered by AWS Lambda. * **Vapor CLI**: The command-line interface used to trigger deployments and manage environment configurations. * **AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)**: Handles SSL/TLS certificates to enable HTTPS. * **Route 53**: The AWS DNS service that Vapor interacts with when managing your records. Code Walkthrough To link your domain, you must first register it within the Vapor UI under **Resources > Domains**. Once added, you need to update your project's configuration file. Update vapor.yml Open your `vapor.yml` file and add the `domain` key to your specific environment (usually production). ```yaml id: 12345 name: my-app environments: production: memory: 1024 domain: phpcast.dev ``` Deployment Command After saving your configuration, push the changes to your environment using the CLI. ```bash vapor deploy production ``` Syntax Notes The `domain` key in `vapor.yml` expects a string representing the root domain or a subdomain. Vapor uses this key to determine which CloudFront distribution or API Gateway to associate with the incoming requests. Always ensure the indentation matches the YAML standard, as a misplaced space under the environment block will cause deployment errors. The SSL Certificate Gotcha A common hurdle during deployment is the SSL certificate requirement. Even if your application lives in a region like `eu-central-1`, AWS requires a certificate in the `us-east-1` (N. Virginia) region for global edge services like CloudFront. You must manually request this via the Vapor UI's "Certificates" section for your domain, specifically selecting `us-east-1` to avoid deployment failures. Tips & Best Practices * **Delegate DNS**: Let Vapor manage your DNS by pointing your registrar's Name Servers to the four values provided by Vapor. This automates record creation for SSL validation and deployments. * **Pre-issue Certificates**: Request your SSL certificates in the Vapor UI before running your first deployment to prevent the CLI from hanging or erroring out. * **Check Propagation**: DNS changes can take time. If your site doesn't load immediately after a successful deployment, use a tool like `dig` or an online DNS checker to verify propagation.