Deployments

Overview

This document covers deployment processes for FSS websites, including automated FTP uploads and deployment workflows.

Automated FTP Deployment

SmartDebt Mission Page

Purpose: Automate uploading smartdebt-mission.html from local development to production website.

Setup: One-time configuration (already completed)

Location:

Core Tool: ftp_deploy.py - Parameterized FTP deployment utility
Wrapper: deploy_smartdebt_mission.py - Specific configuration for this page
Shortcut: Desktop shortcut “Upload SmartDebt Mission”

Usage:

Double-click the desktop shortcut
Script automatically uploads the file and displays confirmation
View results in PowerShell window (stays open)

Technical Details:

Source: D:\FSS\Websites\SDC.com\Mission\smartdebt-mission.html
FTP Path: /httpdocs/sdc/smartdebt-mission.html
Web URL: https://talbotstevens.com/sdc/smartdebt-mission.html
FTP Server: ftp.talbotstevens.com
Protocol: FTP via Python’s ftplib (binary mode)
Implementation: Python 3 (following global standards for system utilities)
Directory Handling: Auto-creates remote directories if needed

Important: The FTP server uses /httpdocs/ as the web root. Files must be uploaded to /httpdocs/<path> to be accessible at https://talbotstevens.com/<path>.

Features:

4-stage deployment process: Verify file → Test connection → Upload → Verify
Professional console output: Color-coded progress with clear status indicators
Comprehensive logging: All deployments logged to deployment-log.md
Persistent window: Window stays open to show results (press any key to close)
Error handling: Detailed error messages with timestamps
Deployment metrics: File size, duration, timestamps for each deployment
Validates source file exists before upload
Tests FTP connection before attempting upload
Uses passive FTP mode for firewall compatibility
Binary transfer mode for reliability

Deployment Logging

All deployment activities are automatically logged to maintain a complete audit trail.

Log file location: D:\FSS\Websites\utils\deployment-scripts\deployment.log

Logging Philosophy:

Success: One concise line (default expected outcome)
Failure: Detailed steps + bolded ERROR for debugging

Success Format:

[2025-12-11 14:42:08]: Deployed D:\FSS\Websites\SDC.com\Mission\smartdebt-mission.html to ftp.talbotstevens.com/sdc/smartdebt-mission.html

Failure Format:

[2025-12-11 14:50:23]: **ERROR** - Deployment failed: FTP permission error
Steps completed before failure:
  ✓ Source file validated: file.html (5000 bytes)
  ✓ Connected to ftp.talbotstevens.com
  ✓ Authentication successful
Error details: 550 Permission denied

Rationale:

Success is expected → minimal logging
Failure needs context → detailed diagnostic info
Bold ERROR makes failures stand out in logs

Implementation Notes

2025-12-11: Migrated from PowerShell to Python implementation

Python version: Requires Python 3.6+

Credential Management:

⚠️ CRITICAL SECURITY UPDATE (2025-12-11):

Credentials are never stored in source code. Instead:

Configuration File: .ftp_config.json
- Stored separately from script code
- Restricted file permissions (owner-only access on Windows)
- Excluded from version control via .gitignore
- Template provided: .ftp_config.json.template
Security Measures:
- ✅ Separate config file (not in source)
- ✅ Restrictive file permissions (Windows ACL)
- ✅ Git-ignored (never committed)
- ✅ Template for documentation
- ✅ Validation on script startup

Setup Process:

# Copy template
Copy-Item .ftp_config.json.template .ftp_config.json

# Edit with your credentials
notepad .ftp_config.json

# Permissions are automatically restricted

Future Enhancements:
- Environment variables for CI/CD
- Doppler or similar secret manager for team environments
- Windows Credential Manager integration

This follows professional world-class security standards.

Parameterized Deployment Tool

The core ftp_deploy.py tool is fully parameterized for maximum reusability.

Usage:

python ftp_deploy.py <source_file> <remote_path> [--verify] [--config CONFIG]

Examples:

# Deploy any file (remember /httpdocs/ root)
python ftp_deploy.py D:\path\to\file.html /httpdocs/folder/file.html

# With verification
python ftp_deploy.py file.html /httpdocs/docs/page.html --verify

# Different config
python ftp_deploy.py file.html /httpdocs/path/file.html --config custom_config.json

Arguments:

source_file: Local file path to upload
remote_path: Remote FTP destination (e.g., /sdc/file.html)
--verify: Verify upload by checking remote file size
--config: Config file path (default: .ftp_config.json)
--log: Log file path (default: deployment.log)

Deployment Script Template

The SmartDebt Mission script can be used as a template for other automated deployments.

To create a new deployment script:

Copy the existing script:

Copy-Item "D:\FSS\Websites\utils\deployment-scripts\upload_smartdebt_mission.py" `
          "D:\FSS\Websites\utils\deployment-scripts\upload_yourfile.py"

Edit the configuration section in main():

SOURCE_FILE = Path(r"D:\FSS\path\to\your-file.html")
FTP_PATH = "/httpdocs/folder/your-file.html"  # Note: /httpdocs/ is web root
FTP_URL = "https://talbotstevens.com/folder/your-file.html"

Create a desktop shortcut:

$WshShell = New-Object -ComObject WScript.Shell
$Shortcut = $WshShell.CreateShortcut("$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\Upload YourFile.lnk")
$Shortcut.TargetPath = "python"
$Shortcut.Arguments = "`"D:\FSS\Websites\utils\deployment-scripts\upload_yourfile.py`""
$Shortcut.IconLocation = "shell32.dll,16"
$Shortcut.Save()

Deployment Folder Structure

D:\FSS\Websites\utils\
└── deployment-scripts\
    ├── upload_smartdebt_mission.py
    ├── .ftp_config.json              # Credentials (git-ignored, restricted permissions)
    ├── .ftp_config.json.template     # Template for setup
    ├── .gitignore                    # Protects credentials from git
    ├── deployment-log.md
    ├── README.md
    └── [other deployment scripts]

Why this structure:

Centralized location for all website utilities
Separate from website content (not deployed)
Easy to version control if needed
Desktop shortcuts point to stable paths

Future Enhancements

Potential improvements:

Add batch deployment for multiple files
Integrate with git hooks for automatic deployment on commit
Add deployment logging/history
Create deployment dashboard or GUI
Add deployment notifications (email/Slack)
Implement rollback functionality

Troubleshooting

Script fails with “file not found”:

Verify source file path is correct
Check that file exists: Test-Path "D:\FSS\Websites\SDC.com\Mission\smartdebt-mission.html"

FTP connection fails:

Verify internet connection
Check FTP credentials: cmdkey /list:FTP_talbotstevens.com
Confirm FTP server is accessible: Test-NetConnection ftp.talbotstevens.com -Port 21

Permission denied errors:

Verify FTP user has write permissions to destination folder
Check Windows Firewall isn’t blocking outbound FTP

Script won’t run (execution policy):

Shortcut includes -ExecutionPolicy Bypass flag
If running manually: powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "path\to\script.ps1"

Security

See D:\FSS\Websites\utils\deployment-scripts\SECURITY.md for complete security documentation including:

Credential management best practices
Security checklist
Verification commands
Incident response procedures
Upgrade paths for enhanced security

Key Security Features:

✅ No credentials in source code
✅ Restrictive file permissions (Windows ACL)
✅ Git-ignored configuration
✅ Runtime validation
✅ Professional standards compliant

Background - Overview of FSS websites
Cloudflare - Cloudflare deployment process
Astro - Astro framework deployment considerations
SECURITY.md - Comprehensive security documentation

Last Updated: 2025-12-11