Application Configuration

Complete guide to configuring environment variables and settings for both frontend and backend applications.

🔧 Overview

The application configuration is managed through Kubernetes ConfigMaps and Secrets, providing environment-specific settings for both the Laravel backend and Next.js frontend.

Configuration Architecture

Configuration Management:
├── Kubernetes ConfigMaps (Non-sensitive data)
├── Kubernetes Secrets (Sensitive data)
├── Environment-specific files
└── Runtime configuration

📂 Configuration Structure

File Organization

iac/config-maps/
├── backend.yaml.example      # Backend configuration template
├── frontend.yaml.example     # Frontend configuration template
├── backend.yaml              # Actual backend config (git-ignored)
├── frontend.yaml             # Actual frontend config (git-ignored)
└── README.md                 # Configuration instructions

🔐 Backend Configuration (Laravel)

Creating Backend Configuration

# Copy example file
cd iac/config-maps
cp backend.yaml.example backend.yaml

# Edit with your values
nano backend.yaml

Core Application Settings

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: backend-config
  namespace: production
data:
  # Application basics
  APP_NAME: "myproject"
  APP_ENV: "production"
  APP_KEY: "base64:YOUR_GENERATED_KEY"
  APP_DEBUG: "false"
  APP_TIMEZONE: "Europe/Berlin"
  APP_URL: "https://app.myproject.com"

Generating Application Key

# Generate Laravel application key
php artisan key:generate --show

# Or use OpenSSL
openssl rand -base64 32 | base64

Database Configuration

data:
  # Database connection
  DB_CONNECTION: "mysql"
  DB_HOST: "mariadb-service"
  DB_PORT: "3306"
  DB_DATABASE: "myproject"
  DB_USERNAME: "root"
  DB_PASSWORD: "YOUR_SECURE_PASSWORD"

Security Note: In production, move sensitive values to Kubernetes Secrets:

# Create secret for sensitive data
apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: backend-secrets
  namespace: production
type: Opaque
data:
  DB_PASSWORD: <base64-encoded-password>
  STRIPE_SECRET: <base64-encoded-stripe-secret>

Cache and Session Configuration

data:
  # Cache settings
  CACHE_STORE: "redis"
  SESSION_DRIVER: "redis"
  SESSION_LIFETIME: "2880"
  SESSION_ENCRYPT: "false"
  SESSION_DOMAIN: ".myproject.com"

  # Redis connection
  REDIS_CLIENT: "phpredis"
  REDIS_HOST: "redis-service"
  REDIS_PASSWORD: "null"
  REDIS_PORT: "6379"

Queue Configuration

data:
  # Queue settings
  QUEUE_CONNECTION: "redis"
  BROADCAST_CONNECTION: "reverb"

  # Queue processing
  QUEUE_FAILED_DRIVER: "database"

Email Configuration

data:
  # Email service (AWS SES)
  MAIL_MAILER: "smtp"
  MAIL_HOST: "email-smtp.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com"
  MAIL_PORT: "587"
  MAIL_USERNAME: "YOUR_SES_USERNAME"
  MAIL_PASSWORD: "YOUR_SES_PASSWORD"
  MAIL_ENCRYPTION: "tls"
  MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS: "[email protected]"
  MAIL_FROM_NAME: "myproject"

Storage Configuration

data:
  # File storage
  FILESYSTEM_DISK: "r2"

  # Cloudflare R2 or MinIO
  CLOUDFLARE_R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID: "YOUR_ACCESS_KEY"
  CLOUDFLARE_R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: "YOUR_SECRET_KEY"
  CLOUDFLARE_R2_BUCKET: "myproject-storage"
  CLOUDFLARE_R2_ENDPOINT: "https://ACCOUNT.r2.cloudflarestorage.com"
  CLOUDFLARE_R2_URL: "https://static.myproject.com"

Payment Configuration

data:
  # Stripe payment processing
  STRIPE_KEY: "pk_live_YOUR_PUBLISHABLE_KEY"
  STRIPE_SECRET: "sk_live_YOUR_SECRET_KEY"
  STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET: "whsec_YOUR_WEBHOOK_SECRET"

API Keys and Integrations

data:
  # Google Services
  GOOGLE_API_KEY: "YOUR_GOOGLE_API_KEY"

  # Twilio SMS
  TWILIO_SID: "YOUR_TWILIO_SID"
  TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN: "YOUR_TWILIO_TOKEN"
  TWILIO_FROM_NUMBER: "+1234567890"
  TWILIO_ENABLED: "true"

  # Exchange rates
  FXRATESAPI_TOKEN: "YOUR_FX_API_TOKEN"

WebSocket Configuration

data:
  # Laravel Reverb WebSocket
  REVERB_APP_ID: "935239"
  REVERB_APP_KEY: "YOUR_REVERB_KEY"
  REVERB_APP_SECRET: "YOUR_REVERB_SECRET"
  REVERB_HOST: "app.myproject.com"
  REVERB_PORT: "443"
  REVERB_SCHEME: "https"

🎨 Frontend Configuration (Next.js)

Creating Frontend Configuration

# Copy example file
cp frontend.yaml.example frontend.yaml

# Edit with your values
nano frontend.yaml

Core Frontend Settings

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: frontend-config
  namespace: production
data:
  # Application URLs
  NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL: "https://myproject.com"
  NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL: "https://app.myproject.com"

  # Environment
  NODE_ENV: "production"

API Integration

data:
  # Third-party APIs
  NEXT_PUBLIC_GOOGLE_API_KEY: "YOUR_GOOGLE_API_KEY"
  NEXT_PUBLIC_STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY: "pk_live_YOUR_STRIPE_KEY"

  # Analytics
  NEXT_PUBLIC_GA_MEASUREMENT_ID: "G-XXXXXXXXXX"

WebSocket Configuration

data:
  # WebSocket connection
  NEXT_PUBLIC_REVERB_HOST: "app.myproject.com"
  NEXT_PUBLIC_REVERB_APP_KEY: "YOUR_REVERB_KEY"
  NEXT_PUBLIC_REVERB_PORT: "443"
  NEXT_PUBLIC_REVERB_SCHEME: "https"

Feature Flags

data:
  # Feature toggles
  NEXT_PUBLIC_ENABLE_PWA: "true"
  NEXT_PUBLIC_ENABLE_ANALYTICS: "true"
  NEXT_PUBLIC_MAINTENANCE_MODE: "false"

🌍 Environment-Specific Configuration

Production Configuration

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: backend-config
  namespace: production
data:
  APP_ENV: "production"
  APP_DEBUG: "false"
  LOG_LEVEL: "error"
  # ... other production settings

Staging Configuration

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: backend-config
  namespace: staging
data:
  APP_ENV: "staging"
  APP_DEBUG: "true"
  LOG_LEVEL: "debug"
  # ... other staging settings

Development Configuration

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: backend-config
  namespace: development
data:
  APP_ENV: "local"
  APP_DEBUG: "true"
  LOG_LEVEL: "debug"
  # ... other development settings

🔒 Secrets Management

Creating Kubernetes Secrets

# Create secret from command line
kubectl create secret generic backend-secrets \
  --from-literal=DB_PASSWORD=your-secure-password \
  --from-literal=STRIPE_SECRET=sk_live_your_secret \
  --namespace=production

# Create secret from file
kubectl create secret generic backend-secrets \
  --from-file=.env.secrets \
  --namespace=production

Secret YAML Configuration

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: backend-secrets
  namespace: production
type: Opaque
data:
  DB_PASSWORD: <base64-encoded-value>
  STRIPE_SECRET: <base64-encoded-value>
  MAIL_PASSWORD: <base64-encoded-value>

Encoding Secrets

# Encode values for secrets
echo -n "your-password" | base64

# Decode for verification
echo "eW91ci1wYXNzd29yZA==" | base64 -d

🚀 Deployment Process

Step 1: Prepare Configuration

# Navigate to config directory
cd iac/config-maps

# Copy example files
cp backend.yaml.example backend.yaml
cp frontend.yaml.example frontend.yaml

# Edit configuration files
nano backend.yaml
nano frontend.yaml

Step 2: Validate Configuration

# Validate YAML syntax
kubectl apply --dry-run=client -f backend.yaml
kubectl apply --dry-run=client -f frontend.yaml

# Check for required fields
grep -E "(APP_KEY|DB_PASSWORD|STRIPE)" backend.yaml

Step 3: Apply Configuration

# Create namespace if it doesn't exist
kubectl create namespace production

# Apply configuration
kubectl apply -f backend.yaml
kubectl apply -f frontend.yaml

# Verify deployment
kubectl get configmaps -n production

Step 4: Update Applications

# Restart deployments to pick up new config
kubectl rollout restart deployment/backend-web -n production
kubectl rollout restart deployment/frontend -n production

🔧 Configuration Validation

Backend Configuration Check

# Check if config is loaded
kubectl exec -it deployment/backend-web -c php -n production -- \
  php artisan config:show

# Test database connection
kubectl exec -it deployment/backend-web -c php -n production -- \
  php artisan tinker --execute="DB::connection()->getPdo();"

# Test cache connection
kubectl exec -it deployment/backend-web -c php -n production -- \
  php artisan tinker --execute="Cache::put('test', 'value'); echo Cache::get('test');"

Frontend Configuration Check

# Check environment variables
kubectl exec -it deployment/frontend -n production -- \
  env | grep NEXT_PUBLIC

# Test application startup
kubectl logs deployment/frontend -n production

🔄 Configuration Updates

Hot Configuration Updates

# Update ConfigMap
kubectl patch configmap backend-config -n production \
  --patch='{"data":{"LOG_LEVEL":"info"}}'

# Rolling restart to apply changes
kubectl rollout restart deployment/backend-web -n production

Bulk Configuration Updates

# Edit ConfigMap directly
kubectl edit configmap backend-config -n production

# Apply updated configuration file
kubectl apply -f backend-updated.yaml

# Verify changes
kubectl get configmap backend-config -o yaml -n production

🚨 Troubleshooting Configuration

Common Configuration Issues

1. Missing Required Variables

# Check for missing environment variables
kubectl exec -it deployment/backend-web -c php -n production -- \
  php artisan config:show | grep -i null

# Verify ConfigMap content
kubectl describe configmap backend-config -n production

2. Invalid Configuration Values

# Test configuration
kubectl exec -it deployment/backend-web -c php -n production -- \
  php artisan config:cache

# Check application logs
kubectl logs deployment/backend-web -c php -n production | grep -i error

3. Database Connection Issues

# Test database connectivity
kubectl exec -it deployment/backend-web -c php -n production -- \
  php artisan migrate:status

# Check database host resolution
kubectl exec -it deployment/backend-web -c php -n production -- \
  nslookup mariadb-service

Configuration Debugging

# View all environment variables
kubectl exec -it deployment/backend-web -c php -n production -- env | sort

# Check specific configuration
kubectl exec -it deployment/backend-web -c php -n production -- \
  php -r "echo getenv('APP_KEY');"

# Validate JSON configuration
kubectl get configmap backend-config -o json -n production | jq .data

📋 Configuration Checklist

Pre-Deployment Checklist

Post-Deployment Verification

🔒 Security Best Practices

Configuration Security

Never commit sensitive data to version control
Use Kubernetes Secrets for sensitive values
Rotate credentials regularly
Audit configuration access with RBAC
Encrypt sensitive ConfigMaps when possible

Access Control

# RBAC for configuration access
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: Role
metadata:
  namespace: production
  name: config-reader
rules:
  - apiGroups: [""]
    resources: ["configmaps", "secrets"]
    verbs: ["get", "list"]

🔄 Configuration Backup

Backup Configuration

# Backup all ConfigMaps
kubectl get configmaps -n production -o yaml > backup-configmaps.yaml

# Backup specific configuration
kubectl get configmap backend-config -n production -o yaml > backup-backend-config.yaml

# Backup secrets (be careful with this)
kubectl get secrets -n production -o yaml > backup-secrets.yaml

Restore Configuration

# Restore from backup
kubectl apply -f backup-configmaps.yaml

# Verify restoration
kubectl get configmaps -n production

Backend Application - Laravel deployment details
Frontend Application - Next.js deployment details
Security Guide - Security best practices
AWS Configuration - Cloud service setup

Proper configuration is essential for secure and reliable application deployment.

Application Configuration

🔧 Overview

Configuration Architecture

📂 Configuration Structure

File Organization

🔐 Backend Configuration (Laravel)

Creating Backend Configuration

Core Application Settings

Generating Application Key

Database Configuration

Cache and Session Configuration

Queue Configuration

Email Configuration

Storage Configuration

Payment Configuration

API Keys and Integrations

WebSocket Configuration

🎨 Frontend Configuration (Next.js)

Creating Frontend Configuration

Core Frontend Settings

API Integration

WebSocket Configuration

Feature Flags

🌍 Environment-Specific Configuration

Production Configuration

Staging Configuration

Development Configuration

🔒 Secrets Management

Creating Kubernetes Secrets

Secret YAML Configuration

Encoding Secrets

🚀 Deployment Process

Step 1: Prepare Configuration

Step 2: Validate Configuration

Step 3: Apply Configuration

Step 4: Update Applications

🔧 Configuration Validation

Backend Configuration Check

Frontend Configuration Check

🔄 Configuration Updates

Hot Configuration Updates

Bulk Configuration Updates

🚨 Troubleshooting Configuration

Common Configuration Issues

1. Missing Required Variables

2. Invalid Configuration Values

3. Database Connection Issues

Configuration Debugging

📋 Configuration Checklist

Pre-Deployment Checklist

Post-Deployment Verification

🔒 Security Best Practices

Configuration Security

Access Control

🔄 Configuration Backup

Backup Configuration

Restore Configuration

🔗 Related Documentation