split containers

backend/src/index.js

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import express from 'express';
 import cors from 'cors';
 import dotenv from 'dotenv';
 import path from 'path';
+import fs from 'fs';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
 import { initDB } from './db/index.js';
 import authRoutes from './routes/auth.js';
@@ -37,12 +38,24 @@ app.get('/api/health', (req, res) => {
 
 // Serve static frontend files (for production)
 const frontendPath = path.join(__dirname, '../../frontend/dist');
-app.use(express.static(frontendPath));
+const frontendExists = fs.existsSync(frontendPath);
 
-// Serve index.html for all non-API routes (SPA support)
-app.get('*', (req, res) => {
-  res.sendFile(path.join(frontendPath, 'index.html'));
-});
+if (frontendExists) {
+  app.use(express.static(frontendPath));
+
+  // Serve index.html for all non-API routes (SPA support)
+  app.get('*', (req, res) => {
+    res.sendFile(path.join(frontendPath, 'index.html'));
+  });
+} else {
+  console.log('ℹ️  Frontend dist not found - running in API-only mode (dev)');
+  app.get('*', (req, res) => {
+    res.json({ 
+      message: "What's The Point API - Frontend running separately",
+      frontend: "http://localhost:5173"
+    });
+  });
+}
 
 const PORT = process.env.PORT || 4000;