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Prerequisites

Before deploying B4M, complete these AWS infrastructure prerequisites.

For Fork Customers

If you're deploying B4M to your own AWS account, make sure your AWS_PROFILE and environment are configured correctly before running commands.

Local Tooling Prerequisites​

Before running deployment commands (pnpm sst), ensure these tools are installed:

ToolVerificationInstallation
Node.js 20.xnode -vnodejs.org or nvm install 20
pnpmpnpm -vnpm install -g pnpm
AWS CLI v2aws --versionbrew install awscli (macOS) or AWS docs

AWS CLI Configuration​

Configure AWS profiles in ~/.aws/config to match your deployment accounts:

Replace Placeholder Values

The values below are examples. Replace with your actual AWS account IDs and SSO URLs.

[sso-session your-org]
sso_start_url = https://your-org.awsapps.com/start
sso_region = us-east-1

[profile your-dev-profile]
sso_session = your-org
sso_account_id = 123456789012
sso_role_name = AdministratorAccess
region = us-east-1

Then authenticate:

aws sso login --profile your-dev-profile

AWS Account Setup​

Create AWS Account​

  1. Follow SST's AWS setup guide (skip the "Configure SST" section)
  2. Create organization sub-accounts for dev and prod environments (recommended)
  3. Log in under the proper sub-account for resource creation

Enable Required Services​

Navigate to each service in AWS Console and ensure they're enabled:

  • Bedrock: Enable relevant models in us-east-1 (not your local region)
    • Go to Bedrock Console → Model access → Enable Anthropic Claude models

Configure Service Quotas​

QuotaMinimum ValueHow to Check
Lambda Concurrent Executions1000 (default)Service Quotas → Lambda
AWS Roles Per Account3000Service Quotas → IAM (us-east-1 only)

Route53 Setup​

Create Hosted Zone​

  1. Navigate to Route53 → Hosted zones → Create hosted zone
  2. Enter your domain (e.g., yourcompany.com)
  3. Type: Public hosted zone
  4. Click: Create hosted zone

Verify the Hosted Zone​

After creation, your Hosted Zone ID is displayed (e.g., Z0123456789ABCDEFGHIJ) - AWS manages this internally.

HOSTED_ZONE uses domain names, not IDs

For GitHub variables, use the domain name (e.g., HOSTED_ZONE=yourdomain.com), not the zone ID. SST automatically resolves the Route53 zone ID during deployment.

Update Domain Nameservers​

DNS Propagation

Nameserver changes can take 24-48 hours to fully propagate. Do this step first.

  1. In Route53, view the NS (Name Server) record for your zone
  2. Copy all 4 nameserver values (e.g., ns-123.awsdns-45.com, ns-456.awsdns-78.net, etc.)
  3. Go to your domain registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains, etc.)
  4. Find DNS/Nameserver settings for your domain
  5. Replace existing nameservers with the 4 Route53 NS values

Verify DNS Delegation​

After waiting for propagation (usually 1-24 hours):

dig NS yourdomain.com +short
# Should return your 4 Route53 nameservers

VPC Configuration​

Create VPC​

  1. Navigate to VPC Console → Your VPCs → Create VPC
  2. Select: "VPC and more" (creates subnets, route tables, etc.)
  3. Configure:
    • Name: b4m-vpc (or your preference)
    • IP range: Ensure no conflict with corporate networks
    • NAT gateway: 1 per AZ (minimum) or per corporate standards
  4. Note the VPC ID (e.g., vpc-1234abcd)
Using Default VPC

You cannot use the default public VPCs. B4M requires a VPC with NAT gateway for Lambda outbound access.

Database Setup​

Choose one of these options:

  1. Create MongoDB Atlas account at mongodb.com/cloud/atlas
  2. Create a cluster (M10 or higher for production)
  3. Configure network access (IP allowlist or VPC peering)
  4. Get connection string: mongodb+srv://...

Option B: AWS DocumentDB​

  1. Navigate to DocumentDB Console → Clusters → Create
  2. Configure:
    • Cluster type: Instance-based
    • Size: Per organization needs
    • Password: Specify manually (don't use Secrets Manager)
  3. Note: Set MAIN_DB_TYPE=DocumentDB in SST secrets

See DocumentDB Setup for detailed configuration.

SES Setup (Optional)​

If using platform email (one-time login codes, notifications):

Verify Domain​

  1. Navigate to SES Console → Verified identities → Create identity
  2. Select: Domain
  3. Enter: Your domain (e.g., yourcompany.com)
  4. Add DNS records as provided by SES (DKIM, verification)

Request Production Access​

New SES accounts are in sandbox mode. To send to any email address:

  1. SES Console → Account dashboard → Request production access
  2. Provide use case description (transactional emails for user notifications)
  3. Wait for approval (typically 24-48 hours)

Create SMTP Credentials​

  1. SES Console → SMTP settings → Create SMTP credentials
  2. Save the username and password for MAIL_USERNAME and MAIL_PASSWORD

ECR Repository​

Create a repository for the subscriber-fanout Docker image:

  1. Navigate to ECR Console → Repositories → Create repository
  2. Name: bike4mind/subscriber-fanout
  3. Note the repository URI for environment variables

SST Bootstrap​

After AWS account is configured:

pnpm sst bootstrap --profile your-aws-profile

This creates the necessary CloudFormation stacks for SST to manage your deployment.

Next Steps​

Once prerequisites are complete:

  1. Configure Secrets - Set up SST secrets
  2. Set Up CI/CD - GitHub Actions or Seed
  3. Deploy - Initial deployment