Building a Production-Ready Fullstack App with React, .NET Core, and PostgreSQL: From Scratch to Deployment

Introduction

Creating a production-ready fullstack application requires more than just writing code that works. It’s about making thoughtful architectural choices, optimizing for scalability, and ensuring that each layer — frontend, backend, and database — is robust and maintainable.

In this article, I’ll walk you through how to structure, develop, and deploy a fullstack application using React (frontend), .NET Core (backend), and PostgreSQL (database). Whether you're starting from scratch or refactoring an existing project, this guide outlines the key decisions and practices that help take your app from dev to prod with confidence.

1. Project Structure Overview

To keep things maintainable and scalable, we’ll follow a modular structure with Clean Architecture principles:

/app
  /client     → React frontend (Vite or CRA)
  /server     → .NET Core API with Clean Architecture
  /db         → PostgreSQL migrations and seed scripts
  /infra      → Docker, nginx, deployment configs

2. Setting Up the Backend (.NET Core)

We’ll build a layered .NET Core API using Clean Architecture and MediatR.

Technologies

• ASP.NET Core Web API

• EF Core + PostgreSQL

• MediatR for CQRS

• AutoMapper for DTO mapping

• FluentValidation for request validation

Setup Snippet

dotnet new webapi -n Server
cd Server
dotnet add package Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore
dotnet add package Npgsql.EntityFrameworkCore.PostgreSQL
dotnet add package MediatR.Extensions.Microsoft.DependencyInjection
dotnet add package AutoMapper.Extensions.Microsoft.DependencyInjection

🧠 Architecture Layers

• Domain: Core business logic, entities, enums, interfaces

• Application: Use cases, commands, queries, validators

• Infrastructure: DB context, third-party services (e.g., email, storage)

• API: Controllers, configuration, middlewares

3. Setting Up the Frontend (React)

We'll use React (with Vite or CRA) and a solid folder structure that supports growth.

Technologies

• React + Hooks

• React Router (App Router Style)

• React Query or Axios for data fetching

• Sass or Tailwind for styling (based on your preference)

Suggested Structure

/src
  /components
  /pages
  /services        → API calls
  /hooks
  /contexts
  /styles

Example API call (React Query)

import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query';
import axios from 'axios';
const fetchUsers = () => axios.get('/api/users').then(res => res.data);
export const useUsers = () => useQuery(['users'], fetchUsers);

4. PostgreSQL Setup

Use PostgreSQL for reliable and scalable relational data storage.

🛠 Basic setup with Docker


docker-compose.yml

services:
db:
image: postgres
environment:
POSTGRES_USER: admin
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
POSTGRES_DB: appdb
ports:
- "5432:5432"

Connection in.NET

"ConnectionStrings": {
  "Default": "Host=localhost;Port=5432;Database=appdb;Username=admin;Password=password"
}

5. Running the App Locally with Docker Compose

You can orchestrate the frontend, backend, and database together:

services:
  api:
    build: ./server
    ports:
      - "5000:80"
    depends_on:
      - db
  client:
    build: ./client
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    depends_on:
      - api
  db:
    image: postgres
    ...

Add CORS, env vars, and reverse proxying (with Nginx) as needed.

6. Deployment Strategy

Choose any of the following platforms:

• Frontend: Vercel, Netlify, or Azure Static Web Apps

• Backend: Azure App Service, Railway, Render, or ECS (Docker)

• DB: Supabase, Neon, or managed PostgreSQL on Railway/Azure/AWS

📦 CI/CD Tips

• Use GitHub Actions to build/test/deploy your frontend and backend

• Add .env.production files for environment separation

• Monitor logs using services like Serilog + Seq

7. Final Thoughts and Takeaways

By combining React, .NET Core, and PostgreSQL with Clean Architecture and Docker, you’re setting up your fullstack app for long-term success.

Key principles to remember:

• Keep a clean separation of concerns across layers

• Use proven patterns like CQRS and DTO mapping

• Containerize early for consistent local and prod environments

• Keep an eye on logging, validation, and automated testing