Dependency Updates and Final Cleanup

Overview

After removing the channels apps and migrating the database, this document covers final cleanup tasks and updates to dependent code.

Phase 1: Update Remaining App Dependencies

1.1 Update Widgets App

File: widgets/models.py

Check for: References to channels

# If WidgetList is referenced by Channel model
# Ensure no orphaned widget lists remain

Action:

# Remove channel-specific widget functionality if it exists
# Keep general widget functionality for courses/podcasts

1.2 Update Course Catalog

File: course_catalog/models.py

Verify: No references to channels remain

grep -r "channels" course_catalog/ --include="*.py" | grep -v test

If any found, update or remove.

1.3 Update Interactions App

File: interactions/

Check: What this app tracks

ls -la interactions/
cat interactions/models.py | head -50

Action: If it tracks interactions with posts/comments, update or simplify.

Phase 2: Clean Up Imports

2.1 Find Remaining References 

# Search for any lingering imports
grep -r "from channels" --include="*.py" . | grep -v ".venv" | grep -v migrations | grep -v "docs/"

grep -r "import channels" --include="*.py" . | grep -v ".venv" | grep -v migrations | grep -v "docs/"

2.2 Update or Remove Each Reference

For each file found:

  1. Determine if it’s critical
  2. Either remove the import and dependent code
  3. Or update to use alternative approach

2.3 Check for Lazy References 

# Check for string-based references
grep -r "'channels\." --include="*.py" . | grep -v ".venv"
grep -r '"channels\.' --include="*.py" . | grep -v ".venv"

Phase 3: Update Settings and Configuration

3.1 Clean Up Settings

File: open_discussions/settings.py

Remove:

# Reddit-related settings
OPEN_DISCUSSIONS_REDDIT_URL = ...  # DELETE
OPEN_DISCUSSIONS_REDDIT_CLIENT_ID = ...  # DELETE
OPEN_DISCUSSIONS_REDDIT_SECRET = ...  # DELETE

# Akismet (if only for discussions)
AKISMET_API_KEY = ...  # DELETE
AKISMET_BLOG_URL = ...  # DELETE

# Any channel-specific feature flags
FEATURES = {
    # "CHANNELS_ENABLED": True,  # DELETE
}

3.2 Update Environment Variable Documentation

File: .env.example

Remove:

# OPEN_DISCUSSIONS_REDDIT_URL=
# OPEN_DISCUSSIONS_REDDIT_CLIENT_ID=
# OPEN_DISCUSSIONS_REDDIT_SECRET=
# AKISMET_API_KEY=
# AKISMET_BLOG_URL=

3.3 Update Docker Configuration

Files: docker-compose.yml, Dockerfile

Remove:

  • Any Reddit service configurations
  • Environment variables for Reddit
  • Any discussion-specific services

Phase 4: Update Celery Configuration

4.1 Verify Task Removal

File: open_discussions/celery.py

Check: Auto-discovery still works

# Ensure this doesn't fail with missing apps
app.autodiscover_tasks(lambda: settings.INSTALLED_APPS)

4.2 Update Periodic Tasks

File: open_discussions/settings_celery.py

Verify all discussion tasks removed:

CELERY_BEAT_SCHEDULE = {
    # Ensure no discussion-related tasks remain
    # Keep:
    "update-podcasts": {...},
    "update-courses": {...},
    # etc.
}

Phase 5: Update Templates

5.1 Find Email Templates 

find templates/ -name "*.html" -o -name "*.txt" | xargs grep -l "channel\|post\|comment" | grep -v discussion_removal

5.2 Update or Remove Templates

For each template:

  • Remove if purely for discussions
  • Update if it has mixed content
  • Keep if for preserved features

Common templates to check:

  • templates/mail/ - Email templates
  • templates/notifications/ - Notification templates

5.3 Update Admin Templates 

find templates/admin/ -name "*.html" | xargs grep -l "channel\|post\|comment"

Remove or update as needed.

Phase 6: Update Static Files

6.1 Remove Discussion Images 

# Check for channel/discussion-specific images
find static/ -name "*channel*" -o -name "*post*" -o -name "*comment*"

# Remove if no longer needed

6.2 Update CSS 

# Find discussion-specific styles
grep -r "\.channel\|\.post\|\.comment" static/css/ --include="*.css"

# Remove unused styles

Phase 7: Update Documentation

7.1 Update README.md

File: README.md

Remove sections:

  • Reddit setup instructions
  • Channel creation guides
  • Discussion moderation documentation

Update:

  • Feature list (remove discussions)
  • Architecture diagrams
  • Getting started guide

7.2 Update API Documentation

Files: docs/api/ or OpenAPI/Swagger specs

Remove:

  • /api/v0/channels/ endpoints
  • /api/v0/posts/ endpoints
  • /api/v0/comments/ endpoints
  • /api/v0/frontpage/ endpoint

Keep:

  • /api/v0/search/ (updated)
  • /api/v0/podcasts/
  • /api/v0/courses/

7.3 Update Developer Documentation

Files: docs/

Remove or archive:

  • Channel architecture docs
  • Reddit integration docs
  • Discussion API guides

Phase 8: Update Permissions

8.1 Review Django Permissions 

python manage.py shell

>>> from django.contrib.auth.models import Permission
>>> Permission.objects.filter(content_type__app_label='channels')
# Should return empty QuerySet after migration

8.2 Update Guardian Permissions

If using django-guardian for object-level permissions:

# Clean up any orphaned permissions
from guardian.models import UserObjectPermission, GroupObjectPermission

# These should be auto-cleaned by CASCADE, but verify
UserObjectPermission.objects.filter(content_type__app_label='channels').delete()
GroupObjectPermission.objects.filter(content_type__app_label='channels').delete()

8.3 Update Permission Checks in Code 

# Find permission checks
grep -r "can_.*channel\|can_.*post\|can_.*comment" --include="*.py" . | grep -v ".venv"

# Update or remove as needed

Phase 9: Update Logging and Monitoring

9.1 Update Logging Configuration

File: open_discussions/settings.py

Remove:

LOGGING = {
    'loggers': {
        # 'channels.api': {...},  # DELETE if exists
        # 'channels.tasks': {...},  # DELETE if exists
    }
}

9.2 Update Monitoring Dashboards

If you have monitoring (Datadog, New Relic, etc.):

  • Remove discussion-related metrics
  • Remove channel API endpoint monitors
  • Update alert thresholds
  • Archive historical discussion metrics

9.3 Update Error Tracking

In Sentry or similar:

  • Update project settings
  • Remove discussion-related error grouping
  • Archive old discussion errors

Phase 10: Update External Integrations

10.1 Update API Clients

If external services consume your API:

  • Notify them of endpoint removal
  • Provide migration timeline
  • Update API client libraries

10.2 Update Webhooks

If webhooks send discussion events:

  • Remove webhook endpoints
  • Update webhook configurations
  • Notify webhook consumers

Phase 11: Clean Up Test Infrastructure

11.1 Update Test Settings

File: conftest.py

Remove:

# Discussion-related fixtures
# @pytest.fixture
# def reddit_factories(...):
#     ...

11.2 Update Test Fixtures

File: fixtures/

Remove:

rm fixtures/reddit.py

Update: fixtures/common.py to remove Reddit mocking

11.3 Update Test Data 

# Remove discussion test data
find . -name "test_data" -type d | xargs grep -r "channel\|post\|comment"

11.4 Update CI/CD Pipeline

Files: .github/workflows/, .gitlab-ci.yml, etc.

Update:

  • Remove discussion-specific test jobs
  • Update test coverage thresholds
  • Remove Reddit service containers
  • Update environment variables

Phase 12: Verify Search Still Works

12.1 Test Search API 

# Test search for preserved types
curl "http://localhost:8000/api/v0/search/?q=test&type=podcast"
curl "http://localhost:8000/api/v0/search/?q=test&type=course"
curl "http://localhost:8000/api/v0/search/?q=test&type=video"

# Verify no errors for removed types
curl "http://localhost:8000/api/v0/search/?q=test&type=post"
# Should return empty or error gracefully

12.2 Rebuild Search Index 

# Recreate indices for preserved content
python manage.py recreate_index

# Verify index health
python manage.py search_index stats

12.3 Test Search UI

  • Search for podcasts ✓
  • Search for courses ✓
  • Search for videos ✓
  • Verify filters work ✓
  • Verify sorting works ✓

Phase 13: Performance Optimization

13.1 Database Query Optimization

With discussions removed, optimize remaining queries:

# Check slow queries
python manage.py shell

>>> from django.db import connection
>>> from django.test.utils import override_settings
>>> # Run typical operations and check query count

13.2 Remove Unused Database Indices 

-- Find indices on removed tables (already gone)
-- Add new indices for preserved features if needed

-- Example: Index podcast searches
CREATE INDEX idx_podcast_title ON course_catalog_podcast(title);

13.3 Update Caching 

# Remove discussion-related cache keys
# Update cache invalidation logic
# Optimize cache for preserved features

Phase 14: Update Analytics

14.1 Update Analytics Tracking

Remove tracking for:

  • Channel views
  • Post views/interactions
  • Comment interactions
  • Discussion creation

Keep tracking for:

  • Search queries
  • Podcast views
  • Course views
  • User sessions

14.2 Update Analytics Dashboards

  • Archive discussion metrics
  • Create new dashboards for preserved features
  • Update KPIs and goals

Phase 15: Security Audit

15.1 Review Exposed Endpoints 

# List all URL patterns
python manage.py show_urls

# Verify no discussion endpoints exposed

15.2 Update Security Policies

  • Remove channel-specific security rules
  • Update CORS settings if needed
  • Review rate limiting rules
  • Update CSP headers

15.3 Update OAuth/API Keys

  • Revoke Reddit API credentials
  • Remove from secrets management
  • Update API documentation

Final Verification Checklist

Before considering removal complete:

Code Quality

  • No references to removed apps in code
  • All imports resolve correctly
  • No deprecated code warnings
  • Code coverage acceptable for preserved features

Functionality

  • Search works for all preserved types
  • Podcasts browsable and viewable
  • Courses browsable and viewable
  • User profiles work
  • Authentication works
  • Admin interface functional

Database

  • All migrations applied
  • No orphaned tables
  • No orphaned data
  • Database optimized
  • Backups current

Testing

  • Unit tests pass
  • Integration tests pass
  • End-to-end tests pass
  • Performance tests acceptable

Documentation

  • README updated
  • API docs updated
  • Developer docs updated
  • Deployment docs updated

Operations

  • Monitoring updated
  • Logging cleaned up
  • Alerts updated
  • Runbooks updated

External

  • API consumers notified
  • Users notified
  • Stakeholders updated
  • Marketing materials updated

Maintenance Tasks

Weekly (First Month)

  • Monitor error logs
  • Check search functionality
  • Review user feedback
  • Monitor performance metrics

Monthly (First Quarter)

  • Review analytics
  • Audit database size
  • Check for issues
  • Update documentation as needed

Next Steps

Proceed to 06-verification-plan.md for comprehensive testing procedures.

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