Lethela
AI-supported delivery platform for food, groceries, and township-first commerce in South Africa.
Run locally
npm install
npm run dev
Open http://localhost:3000.
Required environment variables
Copy .env.example to .env.local and fill values you need.
Core:
NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URLNEXTAUTH_URLNEXTAUTH_SECRETVENDOR_SESSION_SECRETRIDER_CONSOLE_SECRETADMIN_APPROVAL_KEYCRON_SECRETBANK_DATA_ENCRYPTION_KEYDATABASE_URL
Production launch controls:
NEXT_PUBLIC_MARKETPLACE_LAUNCH_MODE — prelaunch, pilot, or publicEMAIL_VERIFICATION_REQUIRED — enable only after existing accounts and the email channel are verifiedDATABASE_RESTORE_TESTED_ATPRIVATE_STORAGE_VERIFIED_ATREFUND_FLOW_TESTED_AT
The public homepage remains in pre-launch or pilot mode until real approved inventory and the configured operating thresholds are available. Public mode must not be used to bypass the owner launch-readiness checks.
SEO + marketing:
NEXT_PUBLIC_GOOGLE_SITE_VERIFICATIONNEXT_PUBLIC_BING_SITE_VERIFICATIONNEXT_PUBLIC_FACEBOOK_DOMAIN_VERIFICATIONNEXT_PUBLIC_GA4_ID (optional)NEXT_PUBLIC_GTM_ID (optional; preferred over GA4 direct script)NEXT_PUBLIC_META_PIXEL_ID (optional)
SEO / AEO / GEO stack included
- Canonical metadata + Open Graph + Twitter cards
- Dynamic
robots.txt via src/app/robots.ts
- Dynamic
sitemap.xml via src/app/sitemap.ts (includes active vendor pages)
- JSON-LD schema:
OrganizationWebSite + SearchActionFoodDeliveryService
FAQPage (home/about/faq content)- vendor
FoodEstablishment + menu ItemList
- Internal search page at
/search
- GEO helper file at
/llms.txt via src/app/llms.txt/route.ts
- Google Merchant feed at
/feeds/google-merchant.xml
Connect Google and marketing systems
- Deploy with
NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL set to your live domain.
- In Google Search Console:
- add your domain property,
- set
NEXT_PUBLIC_GOOGLE_SITE_VERIFICATION,
- submit
https://<your-domain>/sitemap.xml.
- In Bing Webmaster Tools:
- set
NEXT_PUBLIC_BING_SITE_VERIFICATION,
- submit the same sitemap URL.
- For GA4/GTM:
- set
NEXT_PUBLIC_GTM_ID (recommended) or NEXT_PUBLIC_GA4_ID.
- For Meta Pixel:
- set
NEXT_PUBLIC_META_PIXEL_ID.
Quality checks
npm audit --omit=dev --audit-level=high
npm test
npm run check:security-env
npm run typecheck
npm run lint
npm run format:check
npm run build
Operating readiness
Use /admin/launch-checklist after deployment to verify the controlled pilot and public marketing gates. The owner runbook is in docs/OPERATIONS_RUNBOOK.md.
Public launch additionally requires real approved vendors, products and riders; a controlled Ozow payment and delivery; a refund test; private-storage verification; and a successful provider-side database restore drill.
