Environment Configuration Setup Guide

This guide explains how to set up the environment configuration for the Experimentation Platform.

Overview

The platform uses Pydantic Settings to manage environment-specific configuration. The setup includes:

  1. A base settings class with common configurations
  2. Environment-specific settings classes (development, testing, production)
  3. Environment file templates for different environments
  4. Logic to determine the current environment and load appropriate settings

Setup Steps

1. Create Environment Files

Create these files in the project root:

  • .env - Base environment variables (development)
  • .env.test - Testing environment variables
  • .env.prod - Production environment variables (for deployment)

You can use the provided templates as a starting point.

2. Environment Variables

The most important environment variables to configure:

Database Connection

POSTGRES_SERVER=localhost
POSTGRES_USER=postgres
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your_password
POSTGRES_DB=experimentation
POSTGRES_PORT=5432
POSTGRES_SCHEMA=experimentation

Redis Connection

REDIS_HOST=localhost
REDIS_PORT=6379
REDIS_PASSWORD=your_redis_password
REDIS_DB=0

Application Settings

PROJECT_NAME="Experimentation Platform"
ENVIRONMENT=development  # or testing, production
DEBUG=true              # set to false in production
LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG         # INFO, WARNING, ERROR in production

Security Settings

SECRET_KEY=your_secret_key  # Use a strong random string in production
BACKEND_CORS_ORIGINS=http://localhost:3000,http://localhost:8000

3. Environment Selection

The application determines which environment to use based on the ENVIRONMENT variable:

  • If not set, defaults to development
  • Valid values: development, testing, production

Set this in your shell, deployment configuration, or .env file:

# For development (default)
export ENVIRONMENT=development

# For testing
export ENVIRONMENT=testing

# For production
export ENVIRONMENT=production

4. Production Configuration

For production deployment:

  1. Never commit production credentials to version control
  2. Use a secure method to provide the .env.prod file or environment variables
  3. Ensure the following production values are properly set:
    • SECRET_KEY (generate a strong random string)
    • POSTGRES_PASSWORD (use a strong password)
    • REDIS_PASSWORD (if applicable)
    • FIRST_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD (for the admin user)
    • DEBUG=false
    • LOG_LEVEL=WARNING or ERROR

Accessing Settings in Code

The settings are accessible throughout the application by importing the settings instance:

from backend.app.core.config import settings

# Use settings
db_connection = settings.SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI
app_name = settings.PROJECT_NAME

Extending the Configuration

To add new configuration options:

  1. Add the new setting to the BaseAppSettings class in config.py
  2. Provide a default value
  3. Override in environment-specific classes if needed
  4. Update environment file templates with the new variable

Example:

# In config.py
class BaseAppSettings(BaseSettings):
    # ... existing settings
    
    # New setting
    CACHE_TTL_SECONDS: int = 300  # Default 5 minutes

Troubleshooting

  • If settings aren't loading correctly, check that your environment file exists and has the correct format
  • Verify environment variables are set correctly
  • Check file permissions on the .env files
  • Enable DEBUG mode to see more detailed logs
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