go-to-production

name	go-to-production
description	Pre-deploy checklist for CopilotKit v2 apps — persistent AgentRunner (not InMemory) behind horizontal scaling, CORS, showDevConsole off, debug off, credentials:'include' for cookie auth, env-sourced secrets on edge runtimes, publicApiKey / licenseToken, dev-only-prop audit (agents__unsafe_dev_only, selfManagedAgents). Pointer skill — does NOT teach auth, rate-limit, or observability (those are server- framework concerns wired via the middleware skill). Load before any first production deploy of a CopilotKit v2 app.
type	lifecycle
library	copilotkit
library_version	1.56.2
requires	["copilotkit/runtime","copilotkit/react-core","copilotkit/debug-and-troubleshoot"]
sources	["CopilotKit/CopilotKit:packages/react-core/src/v2/providers/CopilotKitProvider.tsx","CopilotKit/CopilotKit:packages/core/src/core/core.ts","CopilotKit/CopilotKit:examples/v2/runtime/node/src/index.ts","CopilotKit/CopilotKit:examples/v2/runtime/cf-workers/src/index.ts","CopilotKit/CopilotKit:docs/snippets/shared/troubleshooting/error-debugging.mdx","CopilotKit/CopilotKit:docs/snippets/shared/troubleshooting/debug-mode.mdx"]

CopilotKit v2 — Go-Live Checklist

Run through each section before deploying. This is a pointer skill — each check delegates to the skill that owns the detail.

Persistent Runner Checks

Check: runner is NOT InMemoryAgentRunner under horizontal scale

Expected:

import { CopilotRuntime } from "@copilotkit/runtime/v2";
import { SqliteAgentRunner } from "@copilotkit/sqlite-runner";

new CopilotRuntime({
  agents,
  runner: new SqliteAgentRunner({ dbPath: "/var/data/threads.db" }),
});

Fail condition: runtime uses the default InMemoryAgentRunner (or passes one explicitly) while the deployment has more than one replica or any restart-surviving requirement. Fix: switch to SqliteAgentRunner (single-host durable) or CopilotKitIntelligence (multi-host durable). See copilotkit/runtime → references/agent-runners.md.

Check: Intelligence mode points at cloud URLs if enabled

Expected:

// Node / server runtime — `env` here is Node's `process.env`:
new CopilotRuntime({
  agents,
  intelligence: {
    apiUrl: "https://api.cloud.copilotkit.ai",
    wsUrl: "wss://api.cloud.copilotkit.ai",
    licenseToken: process.env.COPILOTKIT_LICENSE_TOKEN,
  },
});

Fail condition: apiUrl points to a self-hosted URL — Intelligence is not self-hostable. Fix: use Cloud URLs or downgrade to SqliteAgentRunner for on-prem durability. See copilotkit/runtime → references/intelligence-mode.md.

CORS Checks

Check: cross-origin deployments enable CORS on the fetch handler

Expected:

const handler = createCopilotRuntimeHandler({
  runtime,
  basePath: "/api/copilotkit",
  cors: true,
});

Fail condition: frontend and runtime are on different origins, and cors is not enabled (or is not equivalently handled by a reverse proxy / CDN). Fix: set cors: true on createCopilotRuntimeHandler, or handle CORS at the proxy layer. See copilotkit/runtime → references/setup-endpoint.md.

Debug Checks

Check: showDevConsole is off in production

Expected:

<CopilotKitProvider runtimeUrl="/api/copilotkit" showDevConsole="auto" />

Fail condition: showDevConsole={true} hardcoded — internal error details render to end users. Fix: use "auto" (the default), or gate on NODE_ENV.

Check: debug prop is off (or dev-only)

Expected:

<CopilotKitProvider
  runtimeUrl="/api/copilotkit"
  debug={process.env.NODE_ENV !== "production"}
/>

Fail condition: debug={{ events: true, lifecycle: true, verbose: true }} shipped to prod — large log volume and verbose logs can include PII payloads. Fix: gate debug on environment, or omit it entirely.

Check: runtime debug is off

Expected:

new CopilotRuntime({
  agents,
  debug: process.env.NODE_ENV !== "production",
});

Fail condition: debug: true or { verbose: true } shipped — Pino logs expand in volume and may include tool-call payloads. Fix: gate on environment. See copilotkit/debug-and-troubleshoot.

Credentials / Auth Checks

Check: cookie-based auth sets credentials:'include'

Expected:

<CopilotKitProvider
  runtimeUrl="https://api.myapp.com/copilotkit"
  credentials="include"
/>

Fail condition: cross-origin runtime with cookie-session auth, no credentials="include" — browsers strip cookies and /info plus the SSE stream go unauthenticated. Fix: add credentials="include", and set CORS on the runtime to allow credentials. See copilotkit/react-core → references/provider-setup.md.

Check: auth / rate-limit / observability wired through middleware

Expected:

new CopilotRuntime({
  agents,
  hooks: {
    onBeforeHandler: async ({ request }) => {
      const session = await getSession(request);
      if (!session) return new Response("Unauthorized", { status: 401 });
    },
  },
});

Fail condition: ad-hoc auth checks inside tool handlers instead of hook / middleware. Fix: centralize auth in hooks.onBeforeHandler or beforeRequestMiddleware. CopilotKit does NOT ship auth, rate-limit, or observability — use your server framework's tooling. See copilotkit/runtime → references/middleware.md.

License Checks

Check: publicApiKey is env-sourced, not hardcoded

Expected:

<CopilotKitProvider publicApiKey={import.meta.env.VITE_CPK_PUBLIC_API_KEY} />

Fail condition: key inlined as a string literal in committed source. Fix: read from build-time env (VITE_*, NEXT_PUBLIC_*, etc.) and inject via CI. publicLicenseKey is also accepted as an alias (publicApiKey ?? publicLicenseKey); prefer publicApiKey for consistency with the HTTP header (X-CopilotCloud-Public-Api-Key) and Cloud dashboard label.

Check: runtime licenseToken is env-sourced

Expected (Node / server runtime):

new CopilotRuntime({
  agents,
  licenseToken: process.env.COPILOTKIT_LICENSE_TOKEN,
});

On Cloudflare Workers, env here refers to the Worker binding argument passed to fetch(request, env) — not a module-global.

Fail condition: license token hardcoded in source or absent in prod. Fix: inject via environment variable. See copilotkit/runtime → references/setup-endpoint.md.

Env-Sourced Secrets Checks

Check: edge runtimes use env binding, not process.env

Expected (Cloudflare Workers — runtime hoisted to module scope, lazy init):

import {
  CopilotRuntime,
  createCopilotRuntimeHandler,
  BuiltInAgent,
} from "@copilotkit/runtime/v2";

interface Env {
  OPENAI_API_KEY: string;
}

let cachedHandler: ((r: Request) => Response | Promise<Response>) | null = null;

function getHandler(env: Env) {
  if (cachedHandler) return cachedHandler;
  const runtime = new CopilotRuntime({
    agents: {
      // Thread env.OPENAI_API_KEY explicitly — `process.env` is undefined on
      // Workers, so BuiltInAgent's env-var fallback never fires.
      default: new BuiltInAgent({
        model: "openai/gpt-4o",
        apiKey: env.OPENAI_API_KEY,
      }),
    },
  });
  cachedHandler = createCopilotRuntimeHandler({
    runtime,
    basePath: "/api/copilotkit",
    cors: true,
  });
  return cachedHandler;
}

export default {
  fetch(request: Request, env: Env) {
    return getHandler(env)(request);
  },
};

Fail condition: Workers / Vercel Edge code reads process.env.* — those runtimes don't expose it. Also: constructing new CopilotRuntime(...) inside fetch(request, env) on every request wastes CPU and drops in-memory runner state. Fix: use the platform's env argument (Workers env, Vercel Edge request.env), and hoist the runtime + handler to module scope. Workers isolates reuse module globals across requests (in-isolate only — for cross-isolate durability pair with SqliteAgentRunner or Intelligence). See copilotkit/0-to-working-chat.

Dev-Only-Prop Audit

Check: no agents__unsafe_dev_only in shipped client code

Expected:

<CopilotKitProvider runtimeUrl="/api/copilotkit" />
// or
<CopilotKitProvider publicApiKey="ck_pub_..." />

Fail condition: any agents__unsafe_dev_only={{ ... }} prop in shipped client code — registers agents in the browser and leaks credentials. Fix: move agent construction to the server (runtime) or use publicApiKey (Cloud). See copilotkit/spa-without-runtime.

Check: no selfManagedAgents in shipped client code

Fail condition: any selfManagedAgents={{ ... }} prop. It's an alias of agents__unsafe_dev_only — same leak. Fix: same as above.

Check: publicApiKey / publicLicenseKey are env-sourced and consistent

Both props are supported — publicApiKey is canonical and wins when both are set (resolvedPublicKey = publicApiKey ?? publicLicenseKey). Prefer publicApiKey in new code. The only fail condition here is a hardcoded string literal — see "Check: publicApiKey is env-sourced, not hardcoded" above. See copilotkit/v1-to-v2-migration for v1 → v2 rename details.

Common Production Mistakes

CRITICAL InMemoryAgentRunner behind horizontal scaling

Wrong:

// Kubernetes 3 replicas, default runner
new CopilotRuntime({ agents });

Correct:

new CopilotRuntime({
  agents,
  runner: new SqliteAgentRunner({ dbPath: "/var/data/threads.db" }),
});

Thread state is per-instance in InMemory; the load balancer may send a follow-up request to a different replica → agent_thread_locked on one replica and empty state on another.

Source: packages/runtime/src/v2/runtime/runner/in-memory.ts; packages/core/src/core/core.ts:96

CRITICAL showDevConsole=true in prod

Wrong:

<CopilotKitProvider showDevConsole={true} />

Correct:

<CopilotKitProvider showDevConsole="auto" />

Exposes internal error details (stack traces, troubleshooting links) to end users.

Source: docs/snippets/shared/troubleshooting/error-debugging.mdx:22-24

HIGH shipping debug:{verbose:true} in prod

Wrong:

<CopilotKitProvider debug={{ events: true, lifecycle: true, verbose: true }} />

Correct:

<CopilotKitProvider debug={process.env.NODE_ENV !== "production"} />

verbose expands event payloads into logs — can include PII. Large log volume as a secondary concern.

Source: docs/snippets/shared/troubleshooting/debug-mode.mdx:145-149

HIGH forgetting credentials:'include' with cookie auth

Wrong:

<CopilotKitProvider runtimeUrl="https://api.myapp.com/copilotkit" />

Correct:

<CopilotKitProvider
  runtimeUrl="https://api.myapp.com/copilotkit"
  credentials="include"
/>

Cross-origin browsers strip cookies by default; /info and SSE stream go unauthenticated.

Source: packages/react-core/src/v2/providers/CopilotKitProvider.tsx:118-120

HIGH process.env secrets on Cloudflare Workers

Wrong:

const agent = new BuiltInAgent({ apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY });

Correct: see copilotkit/0-to-working-chat (Cloudflare branch) — use the env binding argument.

Source: examples/v2/runtime/cf-workers/src/index.ts:7-17

Pre-Deploy Summary

• Runner is persistent (SQLite or Intelligence) for >1 replica
• CORS enabled (or proxied) on cross-origin runtime
• showDevConsole is "auto" (or omitted)
• debug on provider and runtime is off or dev-gated
• credentials="include" set if runtime is cross-origin and uses cookies
• Auth / rate-limit / observability wired via hooks or middleware
• publicApiKey / licenseToken sourced from env vars (not hardcoded)
• Edge runtimes read secrets from env binding, not process.env
• Cloudflare Workers: runtime + handler hoisted to module scope, not re-created per-request
• agents__unsafe_dev_only and selfManagedAgents absent from bundle
• Error codes handled: agent_thread_locked, runtime_info_fetch_failed, agent_run_failed (see copilotkit/debug-and-troubleshoot)