Environment Configuration

Overview

The Rhesis backend uses environment variables for configuration, allowing for different settings across development, testing, and production environments. This approach follows the 12-factor app methodology for configuration management.

Environment Variables Reference

For a complete list of all environment variables, their requirements, and descriptions, see the Environment Variables.

Environment Files

The application supports multiple environment files:

.env: Default environment file for local development
.env.docker: Environment configuration for Docker deployment
.env.test: Environment configuration for testing (not committed to version control)

Loading Environment Variables

Environment variables are loaded using the python-dotenv library:

python
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()  # Loads variables from .env file

Environment-Specific Configuration

The application can load different configuration based on the environment:

python
import os

# Determine environment
ENV = os.getenv("ENV", "development")

# Load environment-specific settings
if ENV == "production":
    # Production settings
    DEBUG = False
    LOG_LEVEL = "INFO"
elif ENV == "testing":
    # Testing settings
    DEBUG = True
    LOG_LEVEL = "DEBUG"
    # Use in-memory database
    SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URL = "sqlite:///:memory:"
else:
    # Development settings
    DEBUG = True
    LOG_LEVEL = "DEBUG"

Configuration Validation

The application validates critical configuration at startup:

python
def validate_config():
    """Validate that all required configuration is present."""
    required_vars = [
        "SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URL",
        "JWT_SECRET_KEY",
        "AUTH0_DOMAIN",
        "AUTH0_CLIENT_ID",
    ]

    missing = [var for var in required_vars if not os.getenv(var)]

    if missing:
        raise ValueError(f"Missing required environment variables: {', '.join(missing)}")

Docker Environment

When running in Docker, environment variables can be passed in several ways:

Through the environment section in docker-compose.yml
Using the --env-file flag with docker run
Setting individual variables with -e flags

Example Docker Compose configuration:

docker-compose.yml
services:
backend:
    build: ./apps/backend
    env_file:
      - ./apps/backend/.env.docker
    environment:
      - SQLALCHEMY_DB_HOST=postgres
      - LOG_LEVEL=INFO

Cloud Deployment

For cloud deployments, environment variables should be set using the cloud provider’s secrets or environment configuration:

Google Cloud: Secret Manager and environment variables in Cloud Run
AWS: Parameter Store/Secrets Manager and environment variables in ECS/Lambda
Azure: Key Vault and App Configuration

Security Best Practices

⚠️ Never commit sensitive values to version control
⚠️ Use different keys and secrets for dev, staging, and production
⚠️ Back up production keys securely
⚠️ Store in secure secret management systems (GCP Secret Manager, AWS Secrets Manager, etc.)
⚠️ Rotate secrets regularly
⚠️ Use environment-specific configurations for production

Sensitive Information

Sensitive information such as API keys and passwords should never be committed to version control. Instead:

Use placeholder values in .env.example
Document the required variables in the Environment Setup Guide
Use secrets management in production environments