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🛠️ Incident Recovery & Rollback — Gecian Hub

Purpose

This document outlines the procedures to follow when an incident occurs, such as service outages, data corruption, or failed deployments. It also defines the rollback and recovery steps to ensure the platform remains functional and contributors can safely resume work.

The goal is to minimize downtime, protect user data, and maintain trust in a volunteer-run student project.

1. Incident Types

Type Description Example
Deployment Failure Issues after new code pushes Broken UI, backend API errors
Database Issues Corruption, accidental deletion, or schema mismatch Neon database downtime, lost tables
Hosting/Infrastructure Problems with Netlify, CI/CD, or server downtime Failed deploy, site not loading
Security Incident Unauthorized access, vulnerability exploit Compromised Firebase auth, dependency vulnerability
Data Loss IndexedDB corruption or deletion User settings or flags reset
Service Misbehavior Bugs causing repeated errors Infinite loading, form submission failures

2. General Response Guidelines

  1. Stay Calm and Assess

  2. Identify what happened, when, and how widespread the issue is.

  3. Do not make hasty changes without understanding the problem.

  4. Notify the Core Team

  5. Inform the Lead, Tech Lead, and relevant role owners immediately.

  6. Use GitHub Discussions, email, or WhatsApp channel for communication.

  7. Document Everything

  8. Record time of incident, symptoms, affected systems, and immediate actions.

  9. This documentation is crucial for post-mortem analysis.

  10. Determine Impact Scope

  11. Who or what is affected: users, contributors, or specific services?

  12. Prioritize actions based on severity and urgency.

3. Rollback Strategy

When a deployment or system change causes failure:

  1. Use Git Version Control

  2. Roll back to the last known stable commit in GitHub.

  3. Ensure PR merges are reviewed before re-deploying.

  4. CI/CD Reversion

  5. If using GitHub Actions + Netlify, redeploy previous working version.

  6. Confirm the rollback site functions correctly before notifying users.

  7. Database Rollback

  8. Restore Neon database from the most recent backup.

  9. Only apply rollback if data loss or corruption is detected.

  10. Verify that restoration scripts do not override unrelated production data.

  11. Frontend Storage Recovery

  12. IndexedDB resets may affect client devices.

  13. Users may need to clear cache or reload the app.
  14. Provide clear instructions for affected users.

4. Recovery Steps

  1. Stabilize the System

  2. Stop any ongoing changes that may worsen the problem.

  3. Disable non-essential services if necessary to reduce load.

  4. Deploy Stable Version

  5. Use Netlify rollback options or redeploy stable commit from GitHub.

  6. Confirm key workflows (login, form submission, analytics) are functional.

  7. Validate Data Integrity

  8. Ensure Neon database and Firebase authentication remain consistent.

  9. Check logs for errors or anomalies.

  10. Notify Stakeholders

  11. Inform contributors, admins, and potentially users that the incident has been addressed.

  12. Include root cause summary if known.

  13. Document & Review

  14. Complete a post-incident report in GitHub Issues or internal docs.

  15. Identify areas for preventive measures.

5. Preventive Measures

  • Frequent Backups

  • Schedule Neon backups at least daily.

  • Store backups in versioned and accessible locations.

  • Test Deployments

  • Use staging branches in GitHub before production merges.

  • Encourage team contributors to review changes carefully.

  • Monitoring & Alerts

  • Use Google Analytics and GitHub logs to detect abnormal behavior.

  • Set alerts for high error rates or failed CI/CD pipelines.

  • Security Updates

  • Dependabot and Snyk must be monitored regularly.

  • Apply patches before deployment to reduce incident risks.

  • Clear Documentation

  • Maintain updated runbooks for all team members.

  • Include step-by-step rollback and recovery instructions.

6. Critical Notes for Contributors

  • Responsibility: Each contributor is accountable for their changes. Missteps affecting production are not automatically fixed by maintainers.
  • Communication: Notify Leads immediately if unsure about rollback procedures.
  • Testing: Always test locally or in staging before deploying to production.
  • Succession Awareness: In case the leadership changes, successors must have access to rollback procedures and backups.