3.9 KiB
3.9 KiB
Product Context: Bitpoll Nix Flake
Why This Project Exists
Problem Statement
Bitpoll is a valuable Django-based web application for scheduling meetings and conducting polls, but it lacks proper packaging for the Nix ecosystem. NixOS users and organizations wanting to deploy Bitpoll face several challenges:
- Complex Manual Setup: Installing Bitpoll requires manual dependency management and configuration
- Reproducibility Issues: Traditional deployment methods don't guarantee consistent environments
- Security Concerns: Manual installations often lack proper security hardening
- Maintenance Overhead: Updates and system management become complex without proper packaging
Solution Approach
This Nix flake solves these problems by providing:
- Declarative Configuration: Everything defined in Nix expressions
- Reproducible Builds: Pinned dependencies ensure consistent deployments
- Security by Default: Proper user isolation and systemd hardening
- Easy Deployment: Single-command installation and updates
What Problems It Solves
For System Administrators
- Simplified Deployment: Deploy Bitpoll with a single NixOS configuration
- Consistent Environments: Development, staging, and production environments are identical
- Security Hardening: Built-in security measures without manual configuration
- Easy Updates: Atomic updates and rollbacks through NixOS
For Developers
- Development Environment: Instant development setup with
nix develop - Testing: Easy testing of different configurations
- Contribution: Clear packaging structure for contributing improvements
For Organizations
- Compliance: Reproducible deployments aid in compliance and auditing
- Reliability: Reduced deployment failures through declarative configuration
- Scalability: Easy replication across multiple servers
How It Should Work
User Experience Goals
Simple Installation
# Add to NixOS configuration
services.bitpoll.enable = true;
# Rebuild system
sudo nixos-rebuild switch
Flexible Configuration
services.bitpoll = {
enable = true;
port = 8080;
allowedHosts = [ "bitpoll.company.com" ];
secretKeyFile = "/etc/bitpoll/secret";
};
Development Workflow
# Clone and develop
git clone <repo>
nix develop
# Instant development environment ready
Expected Behavior
Production Deployment
- Service starts automatically on boot
- Proper logging through systemd
- Graceful handling of failures and restarts
- Secure file permissions and user isolation
- Database migrations run automatically
Development Environment
- All dependencies available immediately
- Django management commands work out of the box
- Hot reloading for development
- Easy testing of configuration changes
Data Management
- All data stored in
/var/lib/bitpoll - Proper backup and restore capabilities
- Database migrations handled automatically
- Static files served efficiently
Target Users
Primary Users
- NixOS System Administrators: Managing Bitpoll deployments
- DevOps Engineers: Implementing CI/CD for Bitpoll
- Organizations: Deploying internal polling/scheduling systems
Secondary Users
- Nix Package Maintainers: Contributing to the ecosystem
- Bitpoll Contributors: Testing and developing Bitpoll itself
- Security Teams: Auditing and hardening deployments
Success Metrics
Technical Metrics
- Zero-downtime deployments
- Sub-minute startup times
- Successful automatic migrations
- No security vulnerabilities in default configuration
User Experience Metrics
- Single-command deployment success
- Clear error messages for misconfigurations
- Comprehensive documentation coverage
- Active community adoption
Operational Metrics
- Reliable service uptime
- Efficient resource utilization
- Successful backup/restore operations
- Easy troubleshooting and debugging