Debug: Add logging to diagnose Appwrite environment variable detection

[josiah-nelson]

Problem

Appwrite Sites is still timing out even after PR #112 (conditional start command).

Looking at the build logs, the postbuild script is running and copying files to .next/standalone/, which means the build is STILL creating standalone output. This indicates the environment variable detection is failing.

What This PR Does

Adds debug logging to next.config.ts to diagnose why environment detection isn't working:

console.log('[next.config.ts] Build-time environment check:');
console.log('  APPWRITE_SITE_API_ENDPOINT:', process.env.APPWRITE_SITE_API_ENDPOINT || 'NOT SET');
console.log('  APPWRITE_SITE_PROJECT_ID:', process.env.APPWRITE_SITE_PROJECT_ID || 'NOT SET');
console.log('  APPWRITE_ENDPOINT:', process.env.APPWRITE_ENDPOINT || 'NOT SET');
console.log('  APPWRITE_PROJECT_ID:', process.env.APPWRITE_PROJECT_ID || 'NOT SET');
console.log('  DEPLOYMENT_MODE:', process.env.DEPLOYMENT_MODE || 'NOT SET');
console.log('[next.config.ts] Detected deployment mode:', deploymentMode);
console.log('[next.config.ts] Will use output:', isAppwrite ? 'DEFAULT (no standalone)' : 'standalone');

Expected Output

When this builds on Appwrite Sites, we should see:

[next.config.ts] Build-time environment check:
  APPWRITE_SITE_API_ENDPOINT: https://...
  APPWRITE_SITE_PROJECT_ID: 69078b02001266c5d333
  ...
[next.config.ts] Detected deployment mode: appwrite
[next.config.ts] Will use output: DEFAULT (no standalone)

But if detection is failing, we'll see:

[next.config.ts] Build-time environment check:
  APPWRITE_SITE_API_ENDPOINT: NOT SET
  ...
[next.config.ts] Detected deployment mode: standalone
[next.config.ts] Will use output: standalone

Next Steps

1. Merge this PR
2. Check build logs for the debug output
3. Fix the actual root cause based on what we learn

This is purely diagnostic - no functionality changes.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[gemini-code-assist]

Summary of Changes

Hello @josiah-nelson, I'm Gemini Code Assist¹! I'm currently reviewing this pull request and will post my feedback shortly. In the meantime, here's a summary to help you and other reviewers quickly get up to speed!

This pull request introduces diagnostic logging to the next.config.ts file to investigate why Appwrite environment variable detection is failing, causing the build process to incorrectly generate standalone output instead of the default Appwrite-optimized output. The added logs will provide crucial visibility into the environment variables present during the build, helping to pinpoint the root cause of the misconfiguration. This is a purely diagnostic change with no functional impact on the application's behavior beyond the logging itself.

Highlights

• Diagnostic Logging: Added extensive console.log statements to frontend/next.config.ts to output critical environment variables (APPWRITE_SITE_API_ENDPOINT, APPWRITE_SITE_PROJECT_ID, APPWRITE_ENDPOINT, APPWRITE_PROJECT_ID, DEPLOYMENT_MODE) and the detected deployment mode during the build process. This is to diagnose why Appwrite environment variable detection is failing.
• Conditional Start Script: Modified the start script in frontend/package.json to conditionally execute node .next/standalone/server.js if the standalone server file exists, otherwise falling back to next start. This change was part of a previous PR (Fix: Make npm start command work for Appwrite Sites SSR deployment #112) but is included in this diff, ensuring the application starts correctly based on the build output.

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[gemini-code-assist]

Code Review

This pull request introduces debugging logs to next.config.ts to help diagnose an issue with environment variable detection in Appwrite Sites. The added logs will print the values of relevant environment variables during the build process. Additionally, the start script in package.json is updated to be more robust by checking for the existence of the standalone server file before trying to run it, with a fallback to next start.

My main feedback is regarding the newly added logging. While essential for debugging, it's important to ensure this temporary code is removed after the root cause is identified and fixed to keep the production build logs clean. I've left a specific comment with a suggestion on how to manage this.

[gemini-code-assist]

While these debug logs (and the ones on lines 47-48) are very helpful for diagnosing the current issue with environment variables, they should be removed once the problem is resolved. Leaving console.log statements in configuration files can lead to noisy build logs in production.

If you anticipate needing this for debugging in the future, consider wrapping all the diagnostic logging in a conditional check based on an environment variable:

if (process.env.DEBUG_CONFIG) {
  console.log('[next.config.ts] Build-time environment check:');
  console.log('  APPWRITE_SITE_API_ENDPOINT:', process.env.APPWRITE_SITE_API_ENDPOINT || 'NOT SET');
  // ... other logs ...
  console.log('[next.config.ts] Detected deployment mode:', deploymentMode);
  console.log('[next.config.ts] Will use output:', isAppwrite ? 'DEFAULT (no standalone)' : 'standalone');
}

This keeps the codebase clean while retaining the debugging utility when needed.