Update examples to serverless format

[NathanFlurry]

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[claude]

Pull Request Review: Update Examples to Serverless Format

Overview

This PR implements a comprehensive migration of all examples from a development-focused structure to a production-ready serverless deployment format. The changes affect 228 files with ~2,355 additions and ~1,072 deletions.

Summary of Changes

Architectural Changes

1. Directory Restructuring: Frontend and backend code separated into distinct directories

   • src/frontend/ → frontend/
   • src/backend/ → src/

2. Server API Changes: Migration from registry.start() to export default registry.serve()

   • Enables serverless deployment patterns
   • Better integration with platforms like Vercel, Cloudflare Workers, etc.

3. Build System: Introduction of production build tooling

   • Added tsup for backend bundling
   • Separated build scripts: build:backend, build:frontend, build
   • Added srvx for unified server development and static file serving

4. Dependency Management: Changed from workspace references to wildcard versions

   • "rivetkit": "workspace:*" → "rivetkit": "*"
   • "@rivetkit/react": "workspace:*" → "@rivetkit/react": "*"

5. Client Configuration: Updated to use dynamic origin detection

   • Hardcoded URLs like http://localhost:6420 → ${window.location.origin}/api/rivet
   • Enables deployment to any domain without code changes

6. Vite Configuration: Enhanced with proxy and build output settings

   • Added proxy configuration for /api/rivet/ → http://localhost:3000
   • Configured build output to dist/ directory
   • Changed root from src/frontend to frontend

Positive Aspects

✅ Consistent Pattern: All examples follow the same architectural pattern
✅ Production Ready: Build system properly configured for deployment
✅ Developer Experience: Maintained dev workflow with hot reload via srvx
✅ Type Safety: Preserved TypeScript configuration and type checking
✅ Deployment Flexibility: Dynamic origin detection enables multi-environment deployment

Issues and Concerns

🔴 Critical Issues

1. Vite Build Output Path Mismatch

Location: Multiple vite.config.ts files
Issue: The vite build outputs to dist/, but the start script references ../frontend/dist

// vite.config.ts
build: {
  outDir: "dist",  // Outputs to frontend/dist
}

// package.json
"start": "srvx --static=../frontend/dist dist/server.js"

The relative path ../frontend/dist is incorrect. When running from the example root, it should be frontend/dist.

Impact: Production deployments will fail to serve static assets

Recommendation: Update the start script:

"start": "srvx --static=frontend/dist dist/server.js"

This issue appears in most examples with frontend directories.

2. Inconsistent Static Path References

Location: Various package.json files
Issue: Some examples use --static=../frontend/dist while at least one uses --static=dist

Examples:

• actor-actions: --static=../frontend/dist ❌
• ai-and-user-generated-actors-freestyle: --static=dist (no frontend directory) ✅

Recommendation: Standardize based on directory structure:

• Examples with frontend/ directory: --static=frontend/dist
• Examples without separate frontend: --static=dist

⚠️ Medium Priority Issues

3. Removed E2E Test Without Replacement

Location: examples/chat-room/test-e2e.ts
Issue: The file was deleted (45 lines removed) with no replacement test

Impact: Loss of end-to-end test coverage for chat room example

Recommendation:

• Either restore the E2E test adapted to the new structure
• Or document why it was removed if intentional

4. Dependency Version Change Strategy

Issue: Changed from workspace dependencies to wildcard versions (*)

// Before
"rivetkit": "workspace:*"

// After
"rivetkit": "*"

Concerns:

• Examples may inadvertently pull different versions from npm
• In a monorepo, examples should typically use workspace protocol
• Wildcard * can lead to unpredictable behavior if examples are tested independently

Recommendation:

• If examples are intended to be published separately, this is correct
• If examples remain in-tree for development, use "workspace:*" to ensure they test against local changes
• Consider documenting the strategy in CLAUDE.md

5. TypeScript Configuration Duplication

Location: New tsconfig.build.json files
Issue: Many examples now have both tsconfig.json and tsconfig.build.json

// tsconfig.build.json
{
  "extends": "./tsconfig.json",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "noEmit": false,
    "outDir": "dist",
    "rootDir": "src"
  },
  "include": ["src/**/*"]
}

Observation: This pattern is correct for separating development type-checking from build output, but:

• Ensure tsup is using this config or doesn't conflict with it
• Consider if this adds unnecessary complexity vs. configuring tsup directly

💡 Minor/Stylistic Issues

6. Script Ordering in package.json

Issue: Script order varies between examples

Some have:

"dev:backend": "...",
"dev:frontend": "...",
"dev": "..."

Others have:

"dev": "...",
"dev:backend": "...",
"dev:frontend": "..."

Recommendation: Standardize to a logical order (e.g., specific scripts before composite scripts)

7. Missing Build Steps in Some Examples

Location: Several examples
Issue: Some package.json files don't have all three build scripts

Recommendation: Ensure all examples with frontend have:

"build:frontend": "vite build",
"build:backend": "tsup",
"build": "npm run build:backend && npm run build:frontend"

Security Considerations

✅ No obvious security issues identified
✅ Dynamic origin detection is secure (uses window.location.origin)
✅ Proxy configuration properly scoped to /api/rivet/

Performance Considerations

✅ tsup bundling will improve cold start times
✅ Static asset serving via srvx is appropriate
✅ No obvious performance regressions

Testing Recommendations

Before merging:

1. Test Production Builds: For several examples, run:

   npm run build
   npm run start

   Verify static assets are served correctly

2. Test Development Mode: Verify hot reload works:

   npm run dev

3. Test Proxy Configuration: Ensure API calls route correctly in dev mode

4. Check All Examples: With 228 changed files, spot-check diverse examples:

   • Simple examples (e.g., actor-actions)
   • Complex examples (e.g., ai-agent)
   • Different frameworks (e.g., hono-bun, express, cloudflare-workers)

Recommendations Summary

Required Before Merge:

1. ✅ Fix the static path references in start scripts (../frontend/dist → frontend/dist)
2. ⚠️ Verify and test the build/serve flow for at least 3-5 representative examples

Consider Before Merge:

3. 🤔 Restore or document removal of chat-room/test-e2e.ts
4. 🤔 Document dependency version strategy for examples
5. 🤔 Standardize script ordering in package.json files

Nice to Have:

6. 📝 Update CLAUDE.md with the new example structure and build patterns
7. 📝 Add a migration guide for users updating their own projects

Conclusion

This is a well-structured refactoring that modernizes the example architecture for production deployment. The main concern is the static path mismatch in the production serve command, which will cause deployment failures. Once that's corrected and tested, this should be ready to merge.

The change represents good engineering practice by separating concerns and providing proper build tooling, but needs careful testing due to the large scope of changes across all examples.

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Reviewed by: Claude Code
Review Date: 2026-01-09

[NathanFlurry]

• chore(rivetkit): update cloudflare workers and nextjs to latest #3803
• chore(examples): update examples to standardized format #3799
• chore(example): update examples to use srvx #3790
• chore(examples): add node server dependency #3788
• Update examples to serverless format #3785 👈 (View in Graphite)
• main

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Merge activity

• Jan 9, 9:23 PM UTC: NathanFlurry added this pull request to the Graphite merge queue.
• Jan 9, 9:23 PM UTC: CI is running for this pull request on a draft pull request (#3804) due to your merge queue CI optimization settings.
• Jan 9, 9:24 PM UTC: Merged by the Graphite merge queue via draft PR: #3804.