Deploy Sparrow Reference Web App with Netlify

Owned by Victoria Lynn Hardy (Deactivated)
Last updated: Apr 25, 2022 by TJ VanToll
3 min read

First, fork the Sparrow Reference Web App repository using the button shown below.

From the Sparrow Reference Web App README in the repository in GitHub, there is a Deploying section. There is a Deploy with Netlify section with a green “Deploy with Netlify” button.

Pressing this button will open a Netlify page. It will ask to connect to GitHub.

GitHub will ask for your password. Enter it to give Netlify permission to access GitHub.

Now, the deployment configuration page will load. Enter all of the environment variables and a company name for the header. The Base URL is optional.

The site will automatically deploy.

When the deployment finishes you can find the URL of your new site in the upper-left-hand corner.

Troubleshooting a Netlify Deployment

If the Sparrow Reference Web App site indicates an internal error, this is most likely the result of a faulty environment variable. To edit the environment variables, click the Site Settings button with a gear in the upper-left-hand corner. This will load the Site Settings section.

Choose the “Build and Deploy” link in the menu.

Click the Environment link in the submenu and the “Edit Variables” button to edit the variables.

If any variables are missing or incorrect you can add or edit them here. Press the Save button when you’re finished.

Note: As of 2.2.22, the HUB_DEVICE_UID variable is missing from the Netlify deployment configuration form and must be added manually.

After you update an environment variable you must redeploy the site to see any changes. Go to the Deploys section in Netlify from the top menu and click the “Trigger Deploy” button at the right.

When the site finishes building, click the URL and check that it built correctly.

A Warning About Deploying Directly from Netlify:

If the developer deploys directly from Netlify without going through the special “Deploy on Netlify” button, the form with the environment variables will not appear, and the site will be built with no environment variables, which will of course cause it to error out. The user must then troubleshoot as shown above to set the environment variables manually.