Deep-Package-Inspection/docs/log/2026-07-24-1015-adhoc-fix-middleware.md

Iteration Log - 2026-07-24-1015 - Restore Next.js Middleware Routing (Ad-hoc)

Request

The user reported an error/bug/crash ("This page couldn't load" screen) after logging in or loading the app on https://demoplace.my.id/.

Steps Taken

1. System Health Check (SSH):
   • Checked PM2 status: backone-backend, backone-frontend, and backone-proxy were online, though proxy had high restarts from previous configurations.
   • Checked proxy logs (logs/proxy-out.log): Connected successfully to MongoDB, schedulers active, deltas fetching successfully.
   • Checked frontend logs (logs/frontend-error.log): Found older chunk-mismatch warnings ("Failed to find Server Action...") and recurring Node 18 crypto warnings.
2. Root Cause Identification:
   • Analyzed previous changes which renamed src/middleware.ts to src/proxy.ts (exporting a proxy function) based on an experimental Next.js 16 deprecation warning.
   • Discovered that when using src/proxy.ts in Next.js, the production build (npm run build) generated an empty middleware-manifest.json ("middleware": {}), resulting in no server-side authentication checks or redirects.
3. TDD Setup:
   • Wrote a new TDD test: middleware_verification_test.js asserting that src/middleware.ts exists and exports the correct middleware function.
   • Ran node test/middleware_verification_test.js and confirmed it failed as expected.
4. Resolution:
   • Created middleware.ts with the proper middleware function and matches.
   • Deleted the obsolete src/proxy.ts file.
   • Ran local build npm run build and verified that middleware-manifest.json is now correctly populated with routing matches.
   • Ran the TDD test again; it passed successfully!
5. Deployment & Verification:
   • Deployed updates via SFTP using node scripts/deploy-sftp.js and reloaded PM2.
   • Verified that / correctly redirects to /login via remote command checks.
   • Ran integration tests test-remote-me.js and test-remote-summary.js to verify API data flows. Both returned 200 OK with valid data.

Current State

• The Next.js frontend has server-side routing restored via the correct middleware.ts setup.
• Authentication checks and redirects work correctly.
• Integration tests and API data fetches pass cleanly on production.

Considerations for Next Time

• Although Next.js 16 shows a warning recommending renaming middleware.ts to proxy.ts, Next.js's standalone compiler support for the proxy.ts convention is still experimental and can produce empty middleware manifests under certain configurations. Restoring the standard middleware.ts naming ensures production builds are stable.