After coding and testing a Node application, deploying it to real users becomes a priority. I’ve previously discussed how to do this quickly and easily with Heroku. However, one aspect that often causes headaches is configuration, especially for environment-specific variables like database connection strings or sensitive information.
The Configuration Object
I use a simple yet effective object to handle configurations, which I include in almost every project I deploy. Let’s dissect it:
// Configuration object
var config = {
local: {
mode: 'local',
port: 3000,
mongoUrl: 'localhost:27017/myApp_Dev',
user: { name: 'marcus', pass: 'koavote' }
},
staging: {
mode: 'staging',
port: 4000,
mongoUrl: 'localhost:27017/myApp_Test',
user: { name: 'marcus', pass: 'koavote' }
},
prod: {
mode: 'prod',
port: process.env.PORT || 5000,
mongoUrl: process.env.MONGOLAB_URI || 'localhost:27017/myApp_Prod',
user: { name: process.env.BASIC_USER || 'marcus', pass: process.env.BASIC_PASS || 'koavote' }
}
};
This object contains configurations for different environments: local, staging, and production. It also handles sensitive information using environment variables.
Testing Configuration
Ensuring the correctness of configurations is crucial. Here’s an example test suite for our configuration:
describe("Configuration", function() {
describe("Local Configuration", function() {
var config = require("./config")("local");
it("loads local configuration default", function(done) {
config.mode.should.equal("local");
done();
});
it("has all the valid properties", function(done) {
validateConfig(config);
done();
});
});
});
function validateConfig(config) {
// Validate configuration properties
}
Secrets, Heroku, and process.env
Using process.env allows storing sensitive data outside the code. For instance, Heroku’s Config Variables feature lets you configure such values securely. Here’s how you can set environment variables:
node -e 'process.env.MONGOLAB_URI = "mylocalconnectionstring"'
On Heroku, these variables can be managed under Settings. Remember not to reveal sensitive information publicly.
Conclusion
This simple configuration approach, coupled with knowledge of process.env and Heroku’s features, has proven invaluable in my projects. I typically use it across all applications. However, always ensure sensitive information remains secure and avoid storing secrets in code repositories.