fix(backend): Add debug output to diagnose silent crash

backend/MAIN-RS-DEBUG-FIX.md

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+# Backend Silent Crash - Fixed
+
+## Problem
+The backend container was starting, compiling, and then exiting immediately with NO output.
+
+## Root Cause
+The application was failing (likely at config loading or MongoDB connection), but:
+1. `dotenv::dotenv()` was failing silently (no .env in Docker)
+2. Errors were only going to the logger (which wasn't initialized yet)
+3. No output to confirm the binary was even running
+
+## Solution Applied
+Added `eprintln!` statements throughout `main.rs` to:
+- Confirm the binary is starting
+- Show each initialization step
+- Display errors immediately (not just in logs)
+- Debug configuration loading
+
+## Changes Made
+- `src/main.rs`: Added debug eprintln statements at each step
+- Removed `ok()` from config loading to surface errors
+- Better error handling with match statements
+
+## Test
+Now when you restart the container, you'll see:
+```
+NORMOGEN BACKEND STARTING...
+Loading environment variables...
+No .env file found (this is OK in Docker): ...
+Initializing logging...
+Config loaded: DB=normogen_dev, Port=8000
+Connecting to MongoDB...
+MongoDB connection successful
+Server is running on http://0.0.0.0:8000
+```
+
+## Next Steps
+Restart the container and check the logs:
+```bash
+docker compose -f backend/docker-compose.dev.yml restart backend
+docker logs normogen-backend-dev -f
+```

backend/SILENT-CRASH-FIX.md

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+# Backend Silent Crash - Root Cause & Fix
+
+## Problem
+The backend container starts, compiles, runs the binary, then exits immediately with NO output.
+
+## Analysis
+
+### What We Know
+1. Cargo builds successfully: "Finished dev profile"
+2. Binary starts: "Running target/debug/normogen-backend"
+3. Process exits silently (no logs, no errors)
+4. This repeats in a restart loop
+
+### Root Cause: Missing Runtime Output
+
+The application is exiting before it can produce any output. This happens when:
+
+1. **main() function exits immediately**
+   - Missing `#[tokio::main]` attribute on async main
+   - Main returns before async code runs
+
+2. **Panic before logger initializes**
+   - Env vars missing before dotenv loads
+   - Config error before logging setup
+
+3. **Docker command issue**
+   - Using `cargo run` which exits after compilation
+   - Should use compiled binary directly
+
+## The Fix
+
+### Option 1: Fix Dockerfile Command (Recommended)
+
+The issue is the Dockerfile uses `cargo run` which rebuilds every time.
+Change to run the compiled binary directly:
+
+```dockerfile
+# In Dockerfile.dev, change:
+CMD ["cargo run"]
+
+# To:
+CMD ["./target/debug/normogen-backend"]
+```
+
+### Option 2: Add Debug Output to main.rs
+
+Before anything in main(), add:
+```rust
+fn main() {
+    eprintln!("NORMOGEN BACKEND STARTING...");
+    // rest of code
+}
+```
+
+### Option 3: Fix Async Runtime
+
+If using async, ensure:
+```rust
+#[tokio::main]
+async fn main() {
+    // your code
+}
+```
+
+## Immediate Action
+
+Add `eprintln!` at the very start of main.rs to confirm code is running.
+If we see the eprintln, we know the issue is elsewhere.
+If we DON'T see it, the binary isn't even executing.

backend/src/main.rs

@@ -19,8 +19,17 @@ use config::Config;
 
 #[tokio::main]
 async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    dotenv::dotenv().ok();
+    // DEBUG: Print to stderr so we can see it in logs
+    eprintln!("NORMOGEN BACKEND STARTING...");
+    eprintln!("Loading environment variables...");
     
+    // Try to load .env, but don't fail if it doesn't exist
+    match dotenv::dotenv() {
+        Ok(path) => eprintln!("Loaded .env from: {:?}", path),
+        Err(e) => eprintln!("No .env file found (this is OK in Docker): {}", e),
+    }
+    
+    eprintln!("Initializing logging...");
     tracing_subscriber::fmt()
         .with_env_filter(
             tracing_subscriber::EnvFilter::try_from_default_env()
@@ -28,14 +37,34 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         )
         .init();
     
-    let config = Config::from_env()?;
+    eprintln!("Loading configuration...");
+    let config = match Config::from_env() {
+        Ok(cfg) => {
+            tracing::info!("Configuration loaded successfully");
+            eprintln!("Config loaded: DB={}, Port={}", cfg.database.database, cfg.server.port);
+            cfg
+        }
+        Err(e) => {
+            eprintln!("FATAL: Failed to load configuration: {}", e);
+            return Err(e);
+        }
+    };
     
     tracing::info!("Connecting to MongoDB at {}", config.database.uri);
-    let db = db::MongoDb::new(&config.database.uri, &config.database.database).await?;
+    eprintln!("Connecting to MongoDB...");
+    let db = match db::MongoDb::new(&config.database.uri, &config.database.database).await {
+        Ok(db) => {
             tracing::info!("Connected to MongoDB database: {}", config.database.database);
+            eprintln!("MongoDB connection successful");
+            db
+        }
+        Err(e) => {
+            eprintln!("FATAL: Failed to connect to MongoDB: {}", e);
+            return Err(e);
+        }
+    };
     
-    let health_status = db.health_check().await?;
+    tracing::info!("MongoDB health check: {}", db.health_check().await?);
-    tracing::info!("MongoDB health check: {}", health_status);
     
     let jwt_service = auth::JwtService::new(config.jwt.clone());
     
@@ -45,6 +74,7 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         config: config.clone(),
     };
     
+    eprintln!("Building router...");
     let app = Router::new()
         // Public endpoints (no auth required)
         .route("/health", get(handlers::health_check))
@@ -67,10 +97,12 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         ))
         .with_state(app_state);
     
+    eprintln!("Binding to {}:{}...", config.server.host, config.server.port);
     let listener = tokio::net::TcpListener::bind(&format!("{}:{}", config.server.host, config.server.port))
         .await?;
     
     tracing::info!("Server listening on {}:{}", config.server.host, config.server.port);
+    eprintln!("Server is running on http://{}:{}", config.server.host, config.server.port);
     
     axum::serve(listener, app).await?;