From 295e03feb495b93ccf208e6b6d1a295790c4c3fc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: domrichardson <100129001+domrichardson@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2026 10:58:36 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] fix: removed hardcoded api url

---
 .env.example                        | 2 --
 .gitea/workflows/build-and-push.yml | 2 --
 ENV_SETUP.md                        | 5 +----
 QUICKSTART.md                       | 2 +-
 devops/docker/Dockerfile            | 3 ---
 docker-compose.yml                  | 2 --
 frontend/.env.example               | 3 ---
 frontend/src/services/apiClient.js  | 4 +++-
 8 files changed, 5 insertions(+), 18 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 8f4df57..db01aa8 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -10,8 +10,6 @@ JWT_SECRET=your-super-secret-jwt-key-minimum-32-characters-change-in-production
 ENCRYPTION_KEY=A5CC60AB92FCA026F5477DC486555882
 FRONTEND_URL="http://localhost"
 
-VITE_API_BASE_URL="http://localhost"
-
 # Default Admin
 DEFAULT_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@notely.local
 DEFAULT_ADMIN_USERNAME=admin
diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/build-and-push.yml b/.gitea/workflows/build-and-push.yml
index 4999be6..2bb1fe0 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/build-and-push.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/build-and-push.yml
@@ -46,8 +46,6 @@ jobs:
                   context: .
                   file: ./devops/docker/Dockerfile
                   push: true
-                  build-args: |
-                      VITE_API_BASE_URL=${{ secrets.VITE_API_BASE_URL }}
                   tags: |
                       ${{ env.IMAGE_NAME }}:latest
                       ${{ env.IMAGE_NAME }}:${{ steps.vars.outputs.short_sha }}
diff --git a/ENV_SETUP.md b/ENV_SETUP.md
index 0a5e01f..db28e7f 100644
--- a/ENV_SETUP.md
+++ b/ENV_SETUP.md
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ Required or commonly used:
 - `JWT_SECRET`
 - `ENCRYPTION_KEY`
 - `FRONTEND_URL`
-- `VITE_API_BASE_URL`
 - `DEFAULT_ADMIN_EMAIL`
 - `DEFAULT_ADMIN_USERNAME`
 - `DEFAULT_ADMIN_PASSWORD`
@@ -41,7 +40,6 @@ Optional backend runtime values that Docker Compose will also pass through if pr
 - MongoDB container: `mongodb://admin:password@mongodb:27017/noteapp?authSource=admin`
 - Backend port: `8080`
 - Public frontend URL: `http://localhost`
-- Browser API base URL for container builds: `http://localhost`
 
 ## 2. `backend/.env`
 
@@ -107,13 +105,12 @@ cp .env.example .env
 
 ### Frontend Variables In `frontend/.env.example`
 
-- `VITE_API_BASE_URL`
 - `VITE_ENV`
 - `VITE_ENABLE_ANALYTICS`
 
 ### Variables Currently Relevant To The Frontend App
 
-- `VITE_API_BASE_URL`: used by the API client
+- API requests are sent to the current browser origin (same-origin runtime behavior)
 
 The other example values are safe to keep, but the current checked-in frontend code does not actively consume them.
 
diff --git a/QUICKSTART.md b/QUICKSTART.md
index 671fc70..abf6ced 100644
--- a/QUICKSTART.md
+++ b/QUICKSTART.md
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ Check `REDIS_ADDR`, `REDIS_PASSWORD`, and `REDIS_DB`. For local defaults, Redis
 Check:
 
 - backend is running on port `8080`
-- frontend `VITE_API_BASE_URL`
+- frontend and API are reachable through the same host/origin
 - Vite proxy settings in `frontend/vite.config.js`
 
 ### OAuth callback redirects to the wrong URL
diff --git a/devops/docker/Dockerfile b/devops/docker/Dockerfile
index 5140236..115f58b 100644
--- a/devops/docker/Dockerfile
+++ b/devops/docker/Dockerfile
@@ -3,9 +3,6 @@ FROM node:25-alpine AS frontend-builder
 
 WORKDIR /frontend
 
-ARG VITE_API_BASE_URL
-ENV VITE_API_BASE_URL=${VITE_API_BASE_URL}
-
 COPY frontend/package*.json ./
 RUN npm install
 
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index eee4ba8..fc849fe 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -36,8 +36,6 @@ services:
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: ./devops/docker/Dockerfile
-      args:
-        VITE_API_BASE_URL: ${VITE_API_BASE_URL}
     container_name: notely-app
     ports:
       - "${BACKEND_PORT}:${BACKEND_PORT}"
diff --git a/frontend/.env.example b/frontend/.env.example
index 388b0c8..657dc84 100644
--- a/frontend/.env.example
+++ b/frontend/.env.example
@@ -1,8 +1,5 @@
 # Frontend Environment Example
 
-# API Base URL (Backend server)
-VITE_API_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080
-
 # Environment
 VITE_ENV=development
 
diff --git a/frontend/src/services/apiClient.js b/frontend/src/services/apiClient.js
index 1ebde59..dfd80fa 100644
--- a/frontend/src/services/apiClient.js
+++ b/frontend/src/services/apiClient.js
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 import axios from "axios";
 import { useAuthStore } from "../stores/authStore";
 
+const runtimeOrigin = typeof window !== "undefined" ? window.location.origin : "";
+
 const apiClient = axios.create({
-    baseURL: import.meta.env.VITE_API_BASE_URL || "http://localhost:8080",
+    baseURL: runtimeOrigin,
     withCredentials: true,
 });