Switch to Railway Nixpacks to avoid Docker registry issues

- Remove Dockerfile usage to avoid registry timeouts
- Use Railway's native Nixpacks builder instead
- Add nixpacks.toml configuration
- Update build scripts for Nixpacks deployment
- Backup original Dockerfile for future use
- This completely avoids Docker Hub connectivity issues

Ready for immediate Railway deployment\!

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: alanops

DEPLOY-NIXPACKS.md

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+# Railway Deployment with Nixpacks
+
+This version uses Railway's native Nixpacks builder instead of Docker to avoid registry timeout issues.
+
+## How It Works
+
+1. **Nixpacks Builder**: Railway's native builder (no Docker registry required)
+2. **Frontend Build**: Next.js builds to static files
+3. **Backend Build**: TypeScript compiles to JavaScript  
+4. **Demo Mode**: Runs without Docker scenarios initially
+
+## Deployment Steps
+
+1. **Push to GitHub** (already done)
+2. **Deploy to Railway**:
+   - Connect your GitHub repo
+   - Railway will auto-detect and use Nixpacks
+   - No environment variables needed
+3. **Access**: Visit your Railway URL
+
+## What Works
+
+✅ **Frontend**: Full Next.js application  
+✅ **Backend**: WebSocket server for future scenarios  
+✅ **Demo Mode**: Shows friendly message for scenarios  
+✅ **Fast Build**: No Docker registry downloads  
+
+## Adding Docker Later
+
+When you need full scenario support:
+1. Rename `Dockerfile.backup` to `Dockerfile`
+2. Update `railway.toml` to use `dockerfile` builder
+3. Deploy to a Docker-enabled platform (or wait for Railway Docker support)
+
+## Benefits
+
+- **No registry timeouts** 
+- **Faster builds**
+- **Railway's optimized Node.js environment**
+- **Perfect for demos and frontend showcasing**
+
+This gets your platform live immediately! 🚀

Dockerfile Dockerfile.backupDockerfile renamed to Dockerfile.backup

@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+[phases.build]
+cmds = [
+    "npm ci",
+    "npm run build"
+]
+
+[phases.start]
+cmd = "npm run railway:start"
+
+[variables]
+NODE_ENV = "production"

nixpacks.toml

@@ -4,15 +4,16 @@
   "description": "DevOps Learning Platform - Learn by Fixing Broken Things",
   "scripts": {
     "dev": "next dev",
-    "build": "next build && npm run build:server",
+    "build": "next build && npm run build:server && npm run setup:public",
     "build:server": "cd src/server && npm install && npm run build",
+    "setup:public": "mkdir -p src/server/public && cp -r out/* src/server/public/",
     "start": "next start",
     "start:server": "cd src/server && npm start",
     "export": "next export",
     "lint": "next lint",
     "test": "jest",
     "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit",
-    "railway:start": "cd src/server && node dist/index.js"
+    "railway:start": "npm run build && cd src/server && node dist/index.js"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@radix-ui/react-dialog": "^1.0.5",

package.json

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 [build]
-  builder = "dockerfile"
-  dockerfilePath = "Dockerfile"
+  builder = "nixpacks"
 
 [deploy]
-  startCommand = "node index.js"
+  startCommand = "npm run railway:start"
   healthcheckPath = "/health"