normogen/thoughts/CONFIG.md

Configuration Guide

This document explains all configuration files and environment variables for the Normogen project.

Backend Configuration

Environment Files

1. backend/.env.example (Primary Configuration Template)

This is the main environment configuration template for the backend service.

# MongoDB Configuration
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017
DATABASE_NAME=normogen

# JWT Configuration
JWT_SECRET=your-secret-key-here-change-in-production
JWT_ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRY_MINUTES=15
JWT_REFRESH_TOKEN_EXPIRY_DAYS=30

# Server Configuration
SERVER_HOST=127.0.0.1
SERVER_PORT=8000

How to use:

cd backend
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your values

2. backend/defaults.env

This file contains default values for development. It's sourced by docker-compose files.

MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017
DATABASE_NAME=normogen
JWT_SECRET=change-this-secret-in-production
SERVER_HOST=0.0.0.0
SERVER_PORT=8000

3. thoughts/env.example

This is a reference copy in the thoughts directory for documentation purposes.

Environment Variables

Required Variables

Variable	Description	Example	Default
MONGODB_URI	MongoDB connection string	mongodb://localhost:27017	-
DATABASE_NAME	MongoDB database name	normogen	-
JWT_SECRET	Secret key for JWT signing	Minimum 32 characters	-

Optional Variables

Variable	Description	Example	Default
SERVER_HOST	Server bind address	0.0.0.0	127.0.0.1
SERVER_PORT	Server port	8000	8000
JWT_ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRY_MINUTES	Access token lifetime	15	15
JWT_REFRESH_TOKEN_EXPIRY_DAYS	Refresh token lifetime	30	30

Docker Configuration

docker-compose.yml (Production)

Standard production deployment with MongoDB.

cd backend
docker compose up -d

Services:

• backend - Axum server on port 6000 (host)
• mongodb - MongoDB on port 27017

Resource Limits:

• CPU: 1000m (1 core)
• Memory: 1000Mi (1GB)

docker-compose.dev.yml (Development)

Development mode with hot reload and volume mounts.

cd backend
docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d

Features:

• Hot reload on code changes
• Source code mounted as volume
• Exposes server on port 8000

Local Development

Quick Start

# Clone repository
git clone <forgejo-url> normogen
cd normogen/backend

# Setup environment
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your configuration

# Install dependencies
cargo build

# Run server
cargo run

# Test
curl http://localhost:8000/health

Testing

# Unit tests
cargo test

# Integration tests
cargo test --test auth_tests

# Manual testing script
cd ..
./thoughts/test_auth.sh

Configuration Best Practices

JWT Secret

# Generate a secure JWT secret (minimum 32 characters)
openssl rand -base64 32

# Or use a passphrase-based secret
echo "your-secure-passphrase-32-chars-minimum" | base64

Security Requirements:

• Minimum 32 characters
• Use random, high-entropy values
• Never commit to git
• Rotate periodically in production
• Use different secrets for dev/staging/production

MongoDB Connection

# Local development
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017

# With authentication
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://username:password@localhost:27017

# Replica set
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://host1:27017,host2:27017,host3:27017/?replicaSet=myReplicaSet

# MongoDB Atlas (cloud)
MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://username:password@cluster.mongodb.net/mydb

Server Configuration

# Local development (localhost only)
SERVER_HOST=127.0.0.1
SERVER_PORT=8000

# Docker/Docker Compose (all interfaces)
SERVER_HOST=0.0.0.0
SERVER_PORT=8000

# Production (behind reverse proxy)
SERVER_HOST=127.0.0.1
SERVER_PORT=8000

Deployment Environments

Development

MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017
DATABASE_NAME=normogen_dev
JWT_SECRET=dev-secret-key-32-chars-minimum
SERVER_HOST=127.0.0.1
SERVER_PORT=8000

Staging

MONGODB_URI=mongodb://staging-mongo.internal:27017
DATABASE_NAME=normogen_staging
JWT_SECRET=<use-vault-or-secret-manager>
SERVER_HOST=0.0.0.0
SERVER_PORT=8000

Production

MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://<username>:<password>@prod-cluster.mongodb.net/normogen
DATABASE_NAME=normogen
JWT_SECRET=<use-vault-or-secret-manager>
SERVER_HOST=127.0.0.1
SERVER_PORT=8000

Troubleshooting

MongoDB Connection Issues

# Check if MongoDB is running
docker ps | grep mongo
# or
systemctl status mongod

# Test connection
mongosh "mongodb://localhost:27017"

JWT Errors

# Verify JWT_SECRET is set
echo $JWT_SECRET | wc -c  # Should be >= 32

# Check for special characters
# Some shells may require quotes
export JWT_SECRET="your-secret-with-special-chars-!@#$%"

Port Already in Use

# Check what's using port 8000
lsof -i :8000
# or
netstat -tulpn | grep 8000

# Kill the process
kill -9 <PID>

Security Checklist

Before deploying to production:

• Change JWT_SECRET to a strong, randomly generated value
• Enable MongoDB authentication
• Use TLS/SSL for MongoDB connections
• Set up firewall rules
• Configure reverse proxy (nginx/caddy)
• Enable HTTPS
• Set up log aggregation
• Configure monitoring and alerts
• Implement rate limiting
• Regular security updates

Additional Resources

• README.md - Project overview
• STATUS.md - Development progress
• encryption.md - Encryption implementation guide
• introduction.md - Project vision