Utilizing Environment Variables for Configuration Management

{
  "title": "Utilizing Environment Variables for Configuration Management",
  "description": "Adopt best practices for using environment variables to keep configuration settings secure and adaptable.",
  "category": "JavaScript Cursor Rules",
  "rules": [
    {
      "name": "Use Environment Variables for Sensitive Information",
      "description": "Store sensitive data such as API keys, database credentials, and service endpoints in environment variables to keep them out of the codebase.",
      "examples": [
        {
          "before": "const apiKey = 'your_api_key_here';",
          "after": "const apiKey = process.env.API_KEY;"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Centralize Configuration Management",
      "description": "Create a dedicated configuration module that loads and validates environment variables, providing a single source of truth for configuration settings.",
      "examples": [
        {
          "before": "const dbUrl = process.env.DB_URL; const apiKey = process.env.API_KEY;",
          "after": "const config = require('./config'); const dbUrl = config.dbUrl; const apiKey = config.apiKey;"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Validate Environment Variables",
      "description": "Implement validation to ensure all required environment variables are set and correctly formatted, preventing runtime errors.",
      "examples": [
        {
          "before": "const dbUrl = process.env.DB_URL; if (!dbUrl) { throw new Error('DB_URL is required'); }",
          "after": "const config = require('./config'); // config module handles validation"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Use Descriptive Naming Conventions",
      "description": "Adopt clear and descriptive names for environment variables to enhance readability and maintainability.",
      "examples": [
        {
          "before": "const db = process.env.DB;",
          "after": "const databaseUrl = process.env.DATABASE_URL;"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Exclude .env Files from Version Control",
      "description": "Add .env files to .gitignore to prevent sensitive information from being committed to the repository.",
      "examples": [
        {
          "before": "DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:pass@localhost:5432/db",
          "after": "# .gitignore\n.env"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Document Required Environment Variables",
      "description": "Maintain documentation listing all required environment variables, their purpose, and acceptable values to assist developers and maintain consistency.",
      "examples": [
        {
          "before": "No documentation available.",
          "after": "| Variable Name | Description                   | Required | Default    |\n|---------------|-------------------------------|----------|------------|\n| DATABASE_URL  | The URL for the database      | Yes      |            |\n| API_KEY       | API key for third-party API   | Yes      |            |"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}