fix: lazy DB init to prevent ECONNREFUSED on Vercel when DATABASE_URL is unset

[Copilot]

lib/comment-config.js had a top-level await ensureDbTables(), so Next.js evaluated it at build/module-load time. Without DATABASE_URL, postgres() defaults to localhost:5432 → ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:5432 on Vercel.

Changes

• lib/db.js — guard connection creation: sql/db are null when DATABASE_URL is absent; ensureDbTables() is a no-op in that case
• lib/comment-config.js — remove top-level await ensureDbTables(); module no longer touches the DB on import
• app/api/comments/[[...comment]]/route.js — call ensureDbTables() lazily inside withParams on each request; returns 503 if DB init fails

// Before: runs at module load → crashes build on Vercel without DATABASE_URL
await ensureDbTables()

// After: deferred to request time, fails gracefully
async function withParams(handler, req, ctx) {
  try {
    await ensureDbTables()
  } catch (e) {
    return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Database unavailable' }, { status: 503 })
  }
  // ...
}

The app now deploys without DATABASE_URL; comments return 503 until a real DB is wired up.

[vercel]

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Project	Deployment	Actions	Updated (UTC)
notionic	Ready	Preview, Comment	Apr 20, 2026 7:56am