Sample handover README · fullstack.sg

Template. This is the structure of a handover README. Square brackets are placeholders. It is not taken from a client project.

[Project name]

[One paragraph: what this application does, who uses it, and where it runs.]

Quick start

Code.bash

git clone [repository URL]
cd [project]
cp .env.example .env.local   # then fill in the values below
npm install
npm run dev                  # http://localhost:3000

Requirements: Node.js [version], [package manager and version], [database, if running locally].

Environment variables

Name	Purpose	Where to get it
`DATABASE_URL`	[Primary database]	[Hosting provider dashboard]
`[SERVICE]_API_KEY`	[What it's used for]	[Service dashboard → API keys]
`[SERVICE]_WEBHOOK_SECRET`	[Verifies incoming webhooks]	[Service dashboard → Webhooks]

Production values are stored in [hosting provider's environment settings]. Never commit them.

Accounts and ownership

Service	Purpose	Account owner	Notes
[Hosting]	[Deployments]	[Client]	[Plan, region]
[Database]	[Data]	[Client]	[Backups: frequency, retention]
[Email provider]	[Transactional email]	[Client]	[Sending domain verified]
[Payments]	[Checkout]	[Client]	[Test and live keys]
[Domain / DNS]	[Domain]	[Client]	[Registrar]

Deployment

Every pull request gets a preview deployment at [pattern].
Merging to main deploys to production.
Rollback: [how to promote the previous deployment].
Database migrations: [how and when they run].

Webhooks and scheduled jobs

Endpoint or job	Triggered by	What it does	If it fails
`/api/webhooks/[provider]`	[Provider event]	[Effect]	[Retries; where failures are listed]
[Nightly job]	[Schedule]	[Effect]	[Alert destination]

Monitoring

Errors: [tool] → alerts to [destination].
Uptime: [tool] checking [URLs].
Logs: [where to find them].

Common tasks

[Change availability rules / update prices / add an admin user]: [steps].
Replay a failed webhook: [steps].
Restore from backup: [steps; tested on (date)].

Known limitations

[Anything deliberately left out of scope, with a note on what it would take.]
[Technical debt worth knowing about.]

Suggested next steps

[Prioritised list of improvements, with rough effort.]

Contacts

[Who to ask about the product]
[Who to ask about hosting and accounts]