diff --git a/.env b/.env
deleted file mode 100644
index f9a97d63..00000000
--- a/.env
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,104 +0,0 @@
-# =============================================================================
-# ENVIRONMENT CONFIGURATION
-# =============================================================================
-DEBUG=True
-
-# =============================================================================
-# PROJECT INFORMATION
-# =============================================================================
-PROJECT_NAME=Wizamart - Multi-Vendor Marketplace Platform
-DESCRIPTION=Multi-tenants multi-themes ecommerce application
-VERSION=2.2.0
-
-# =============================================================================
-# DATABASE CONFIGURATION
-# =============================================================================
-# For development (SQLite)
-DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///./wizamart.db
-
-# For production (PostgreSQL)
-# DATABASE_URL=postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/wizamart_db
-
-# =============================================================================
-# ADMIN INITIALIZATION
-# =============================================================================
-# These are used by init_production.py to create the platform admin
-# ⚠️  CHANGE THESE IN PRODUCTION!
-ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@wizamart.com
-ADMIN_USERNAME=admin
-ADMIN_PASSWORD=admin123
-ADMIN_FIRST_NAME=Platform
-ADMIN_LAST_NAME=Administrator
-
-# =============================================================================
-# JWT CONFIGURATION
-# =============================================================================
-JWT_SECRET_KEY=your-super-secret-jwt-key-change-in-production
-JWT_EXPIRE_HOURS=24
-JWT_EXPIRE_MINUTES=30
-
-# =============================================================================
-# API SERVER
-# =============================================================================
-API_HOST=0.0.0.0
-API_PORT=8000
-
-# =============================================================================
-# DOCUMENTATION
-# =============================================================================
-# Development
-DOCUMENTATION_URL=http://localhost:8001
-# Staging
-# DOCUMENTATION_URL=https://staging-docs.wizamart.com
-# Production
-# DOCUMENTATION_URL=https://docs.wizamart.com
-
-# =============================================================================
-# RATE LIMITING
-# =============================================================================
-RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED=True
-RATE_LIMIT_REQUESTS=100
-RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW=3600
-
-# =============================================================================
-# LOGGING
-# =============================================================================
-LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG
-LOG_FILE=logs/app.log
-
-# =============================================================================
-# PLATFORM DOMAIN CONFIGURATION
-# =============================================================================
-# Your main platform domain
-PLATFORM_DOMAIN=wizamart.com
-
-# Custom domain features
-# Enable/disable custom domains
-ALLOW_CUSTOM_DOMAINS=True
-# Require DNS verification
-REQUIRE_DOMAIN_VERIFICATION=True
-
-# SSL/TLS configuration
- # "letsencrypt" or "cloudflare", "manual"
-SSL_PROVIDER=letsencrypt
-# Set to True if using automated SSL
-AUTO_PROVISION_SSL=False
-
-# DNS verification
-DNS_VERIFICATION_PREFIX=_wizamart-verify
-DNS_VERIFICATION_TTL=3600
-
-# =============================================================================
-# PLATFORM LIMITS
-# =============================================================================
-MAX_VENDORS_PER_USER=5
-MAX_TEAM_MEMBERS_PER_VENDOR=50
-INVITATION_EXPIRY_DAYS=7
-
-# =============================================================================
-# DEMO/SEED DATA CONFIGURATION (Development only)
-# =============================================================================
-SEED_DEMO_VENDORS=3
-SEED_CUSTOMERS_PER_VENDOR=15
-SEED_PRODUCTS_PER_VENDOR=20
-SEED_ORDERS_PER_VENDOR=10
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docs/deployment/gitlab.md b/docs/deployment/gitlab.md
index e69de29b..e4144e83 100644
--- a/docs/deployment/gitlab.md
+++ b/docs/deployment/gitlab.md
@@ -0,0 +1,400 @@
+# GitLab CI/CD Deployment Guide
+
+This document describes how to deploy the Wizamart platform to a **DigitalOcean Droplet** using **bare-metal systemd + Nginx**, with automated deployments from **GitLab CI/CD**.
+
+---
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- DigitalOcean Droplet (Ubuntu 22.04+ recommended)
+- Domain name pointing to your server
+- GitLab repository with CI/CD enabled
+- SSH key pair for deployment
+
+---
+
+## 1. Server Folder Structure
+
+The application will be deployed to:
+
+```
+/var/www/wizamart/
+├── app/                    # FastAPI application
+├── static/
+│   ├── admin/
+│   ├── vendor/
+│   ├── shop/
+│   └── shared/
+├── templates/
+├── alembic/                # Database migrations
+├── .venv/                  # Python virtual environment
+├── .env                    # Environment variables (created manually)
+└── pyproject.toml
+```
+
+---
+
+## 2. Server Setup
+
+### Create Deploy User (Recommended)
+
+```bash
+sudo adduser deploy --disabled-password
+sudo usermod -aG sudo deploy
+sudo mkdir -p /var/www/wizamart
+sudo chown -R deploy:deploy /var/www/wizamart
+```
+
+### Install System Dependencies
+
+```bash
+sudo apt update
+sudo apt install -y python3.11 python3.11-venv python3-pip \
+    build-essential libpq-dev nginx postgresql postgresql-contrib \
+    nodejs npm certbot python3-certbot-nginx
+```
+
+### Install uv (Python Package Manager)
+
+```bash
+curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
+source ~/.bashrc
+```
+
+---
+
+## 3. Database Setup (PostgreSQL)
+
+```bash
+# Create database and user
+sudo -u postgres psql << EOF
+CREATE USER wizamart WITH PASSWORD 'your_secure_password';
+CREATE DATABASE wizamart OWNER wizamart;
+GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE wizamart TO wizamart;
+EOF
+```
+
+---
+
+## 4. systemd Service
+
+Create `/etc/systemd/system/wizamart.service`:
+
+```ini
+[Unit]
+Description=Wizamart FastAPI Application
+After=network.target postgresql.service
+
+[Service]
+User=deploy
+Group=deploy
+WorkingDirectory=/var/www/wizamart
+Environment="PATH=/var/www/wizamart/.venv/bin"
+EnvironmentFile=/var/www/wizamart/.env
+ExecStart=/var/www/wizamart/.venv/bin/uvicorn app.main:app --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8000 --workers 4
+Restart=always
+RestartSec=5
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
+```
+
+Enable the service:
+
+```bash
+sudo systemctl daemon-reload
+sudo systemctl enable wizamart
+```
+
+---
+
+## 5. Nginx Configuration
+
+Create `/etc/nginx/sites-available/wizamart`:
+
+```nginx
+server {
+    listen 80;
+    server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;
+
+    # Static files
+    location /static/ {
+        alias /var/www/wizamart/static/;
+        expires 30d;
+        add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
+    }
+
+    # Media/uploads
+    location /uploads/ {
+        alias /var/www/wizamart/uploads/;
+        expires 7d;
+    }
+
+    # Proxy to FastAPI
+    location / {
+        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
+        proxy_set_header Host $host;
+        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
+        proxy_read_timeout 300;
+        proxy_connect_timeout 300;
+    }
+}
+```
+
+Enable the site:
+
+```bash
+sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/wizamart /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
+sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default  # Remove default site
+sudo nginx -t
+sudo systemctl restart nginx
+```
+
+---
+
+## 6. HTTPS with Let's Encrypt
+
+```bash
+sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com
+```
+
+Certbot will automatically configure HTTPS and set up auto-renewal.
+
+---
+
+## 7. Firewall Configuration
+
+```bash
+sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
+sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
+sudo ufw enable
+```
+
+---
+
+## 8. GitLab CI/CD Pipeline
+
+Create `.gitlab-ci.yml` in your project root:
+
+```yaml
+stages:
+  - test
+  - build
+  - deploy
+
+variables:
+  PIP_CACHE_DIR: "$CI_PROJECT_DIR/.cache/pip"
+  UV_CACHE_DIR: "$CI_PROJECT_DIR/.cache/uv"
+
+# Test stage
+test:
+  stage: test
+  image: python:3.11
+  before_script:
+    - pip install uv
+    - uv venv
+    - source .venv/bin/activate
+    - uv pip install -r requirements.txt
+  script:
+    - python -m pytest tests/ -v --tb=short
+  only:
+    - merge_requests
+    - main
+
+# Build Tailwind CSS
+build:
+  stage: build
+  image: node:20
+  script:
+    - npm install
+    - npx tailwindcss -i ./static/src/input.css -o ./static/dist/output.css --minify
+  artifacts:
+    paths:
+      - static/dist/
+    expire_in: 1 week
+  only:
+    - main
+
+# Deploy to production
+deploy:
+  stage: deploy
+  image: alpine:latest
+  before_script:
+    - apk add --no-cache openssh-client rsync
+    - mkdir -p ~/.ssh
+    - echo "$SSH_PRIVATE_KEY" | tr -d '\r' > ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
+    - chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
+    - ssh-keyscan -H $SERVER_HOST >> ~/.ssh/known_hosts
+  script:
+    # Sync files to server (excluding sensitive files)
+    - rsync -avz --delete
+        --exclude='.git'
+        --exclude='.env'
+        --exclude='*.pyc'
+        --exclude='__pycache__'
+        --exclude='.pytest_cache'
+        --exclude='htmlcov'
+        --exclude='*.db'
+        ./ $SERVER_USER@$SERVER_HOST:$SERVER_PATH/
+
+    # Install dependencies and run migrations
+    - ssh $SERVER_USER@$SERVER_HOST "
+        cd $SERVER_PATH &&
+        ~/.cargo/bin/uv venv --python 3.11 &&
+        source .venv/bin/activate &&
+        ~/.cargo/bin/uv pip install -r requirements.txt &&
+        python -m alembic upgrade head
+      "
+
+    # Restart the service
+    - ssh $SERVER_USER@$SERVER_HOST "sudo systemctl restart wizamart"
+
+    # Verify deployment
+    - ssh $SERVER_USER@$SERVER_HOST "sudo systemctl status wizamart --no-pager"
+  only:
+    - main
+  environment:
+    name: production
+    url: https://yourdomain.com
+```
+
+---
+
+## 9. GitLab CI/CD Variables
+
+Configure these in **Settings > CI/CD > Variables**:
+
+| Variable | Description | Example |
+|----------|-------------|---------|
+| `SSH_PRIVATE_KEY` | Private key for server access | `-----BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY-----...` |
+| `SERVER_USER` | SSH user on server | `deploy` |
+| `SERVER_HOST` | Server IP or hostname | `203.0.113.50` |
+| `SERVER_PATH` | Application directory | `/var/www/wizamart` |
+
+Mark `SSH_PRIVATE_KEY` as **Protected** and **Masked**.
+
+---
+
+## 10. Environment Variables
+
+Create `/var/www/wizamart/.env` on the server:
+
+```bash
+# Application
+APP_ENV=production
+DEBUG=false
+SECRET_KEY=your-super-secret-key-change-this
+
+# Database
+DATABASE_URL=postgresql://wizamart:password@localhost:5432/wizamart
+
+# Stripe (if using billing)
+STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_live_...
+STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET=whsec_...
+
+# Email
+SMTP_HOST=smtp.your-provider.com
+SMTP_PORT=587
+SMTP_USER=your-email@domain.com
+SMTP_PASSWORD=your-smtp-password
+EMAILS_FROM=noreply@yourdomain.com
+
+# Letzshop Integration (if applicable)
+LETZSHOP_API_URL=https://api.letzshop.lu
+```
+
+Secure the file:
+
+```bash
+chmod 600 /var/www/wizamart/.env
+```
+
+---
+
+## 11. Deployment Flow
+
+1. Developer pushes to `main` branch
+2. GitLab runs tests
+3. GitLab builds Tailwind CSS
+4. GitLab syncs files to server via rsync
+5. Server installs/updates Python dependencies
+6. Alembic runs database migrations
+7. systemd restarts the FastAPI service
+8. Nginx serves the application over HTTPS
+
+---
+
+## 12. Maintenance Commands
+
+```bash
+# View application logs
+sudo journalctl -u wizamart -f
+
+# Restart application
+sudo systemctl restart wizamart
+
+# Check application status
+sudo systemctl status wizamart
+
+# Run migrations manually
+cd /var/www/wizamart
+source .venv/bin/activate
+python -m alembic upgrade head
+
+# Rollback migration
+python -m alembic downgrade -1
+```
+
+---
+
+## 13. Security Recommendations
+
+- [ ] Use a non-root deploy user (as shown above)
+- [ ] Enable fail2ban for SSH protection
+- [ ] Configure PostgreSQL to only allow local connections
+- [ ] Set up automated backups for the database
+- [ ] Enable log rotation
+- [ ] Consider using Docker for isolation
+- [ ] Set up monitoring (e.g., Prometheus + Grafana)
+- [ ] Configure rate limiting in Nginx
+
+---
+
+## 14. Troubleshooting
+
+### Application won't start
+
+```bash
+# Check logs
+sudo journalctl -u wizamart -n 100
+
+# Verify environment file
+cat /var/www/wizamart/.env
+
+# Test manually
+cd /var/www/wizamart
+source .venv/bin/activate
+uvicorn app.main:app --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8000
+```
+
+### Database connection issues
+
+```bash
+# Test PostgreSQL connection
+psql -U wizamart -h localhost -d wizamart
+
+# Check PostgreSQL status
+sudo systemctl status postgresql
+```
+
+### Nginx errors
+
+```bash
+# Test configuration
+sudo nginx -t
+
+# Check error logs
+sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log
+```
diff --git a/mkdocs.yml b/mkdocs.yml
index a782f989..75691c83 100644
--- a/mkdocs.yml
+++ b/mkdocs.yml
@@ -178,6 +178,7 @@ nav:
       - Overview: deployment/index.md
       - Docker: deployment/docker.md
       - Production: deployment/production.md
+      - GitLab CI/CD: deployment/gitlab.md
       - Environment Variables: deployment/environment.md
       - Stripe Integration: deployment/stripe-integration.md