[4.5] Add dependency health check system for better development experience

[underscorekadji]

Problem

Currently, when external dependencies like Redis (Docker) are unavailable, the application fails silently during room creation, leading to a poor developer experience. Users encounter cryptic errors without clear indication of what services are missing.

Proposed Solution

Implement a comprehensive dependency health check system to detect and gracefully handle service unavailability.

Implementation Plan

1. Enhanced Health Check API

• Extend existing /api/health endpoint
• Add Redis connection validation
• Add Socket.IO server status check
• Return detailed status for each dependency
• Include response times and error details

2. Application Startup Health Checks

• Add Next.js middleware/startup hook for dependency validation
• Block room creation when critical services are unavailable
• Implement graceful degradation for non-critical features
• Add service dependency timeout configuration

3. Client-Side Error Handling

• Intercept room creation errors with proper error classification
• Display informative error messages to users
• Implement retry mechanism with exponential backoff
• Add service status indicator in UI

4. Development Experience Improvements

• Auto-start Docker Compose services with npm run dev
• Add console warnings for unavailable services
• Create troubleshooting documentation
• Add service status dashboard for developers

5. Monitoring & Real-time Alerts

• Implement periodic background health checks
• Show real-time connection status to users
• Auto-reconnection for Redis/Socket.IO
• Service recovery notifications

6. Fallback Strategies

• In-memory storage fallback for development without Redis
• Local room state as backup
• Operation queuing during temporary service unavailability
• Data persistence recovery mechanisms

Acceptance Criteria

• Clear error messages when dependencies are unavailable
• Automatic service detection on application start
• Graceful handling of service interruptions
• Developer-friendly setup with minimal configuration
• Real-time status updates in the UI
• Comprehensive health check endpoint

Priority

Medium - Improves developer experience and production reliability

Labels

enhancement, developer-experience, infrastructure