retailer keys in env information?

Utilizing the Setting in Vapor 4

Similar to many in style server facet frameworks, your Vapor based mostly backend software can load a file referred to as .env. It’s potential to retailer key-value based mostly (secret) configuration values inside this file. If you run the app, one of many following file will likely be loaded, based mostly on the present surroundings:

• Manufacturing (.env)
• Growth (.env.growth)
• Testing (.env.testing)

If you execute your assessments the .env.testing file will likely be used. If you happen to begin the app utilizing the serve Vapor command you may also change the surroundings utilizing the --env or -e flag. The out there choices are manufacturing and growth, and the corresponding .env file will likely be loaded. It’s potential to create a customized surroundings, you possibly can learn extra about this within the official Vapor docs. The .env file normally comprises one key and worth per line, now the issue begins if you wish to retailer a multiline secret key within the file. So what can we do about this? 🤔

Base64 encoded secret keys

Sure, we will encode the key key utilizing a base64 encoding. No, I do not wish to copy my secrets and techniques into an on-line base64 encoder, as a result of there’s a fairly easy shell command that I can use.

echo "<my-secret-key>" | base64

If you happen to don’t love unix instructions, we will all the time put collectively a bit Swift script and use an extension on the String kind to encode keys. Simply save the snippet from beneath right into a base64.swift file, put your key into the important thing part, give the file some executable permission & run it utilizing the chmod o+x && ./base64.swift one-liner command and voilá…

#! /usr/bin/swift

import Basis

extension String {

    func base64Encoded() -> String? {
        return information(utilizing: .utf8)?.base64EncodedString()
    }
}

let key = """
    <my-secret-key-comes-here>
"""

print(key.base64Encoded()!)

You’ll be able to copy & paste the encoded worth of the key key into your individual .env.* file, change the asterix image along with your present surroundings after all, earlier than you do it. 🙈

//e.g. .env.growth
SECRET_KEY="<base64-encoded-secret-key>"

Now we simply need to decode this key by some means, earlier than we will begin utilizing it…

Decoding the key key

You’ll be able to implement a base64 decoder as a String extension with only a few traces of Swift code.

import Basis

extension String {

    func base64Decoded() -> String? {
        guard let information = Knowledge(base64Encoded: self) else { return nil }
        return String(information: information, encoding: .utf8)
    }
}

Now in my initiatives I like to increase the Setting object and place all my customized variables there as static constants, this fashion I can entry them in a extremely handy manner, plus if one thing goes unsuitable (normally once I do not re-create the .env file after a git reset or I haven’t got all of the variables current within the dotenv file) the app will crash due to the pressured unwraps, and I am going to know for positive that one thing is unsuitable with my surroundings. It is a crash for my very own security. 💥

import Vapor

extension Setting {
    static let secretKey = Self.get("SECRET_KEY")!.base64Decoded()!
}


Setting.secretKey

I believe this method may be very helpful. After all it’s best to place the .env.* sample into your .gitignore file, in any other case for those who place some secrets and techniques into the dotenv file and also you push that into the distant… effectively, everybody else will know your keys, passwords, and many others. You do not need that, proper? ⚠️

Be happy to make use of this technique when you need to implement a Sign up With Apple workflow, or a Apple Push Notification service (APNs). In these instances you may positively need to move one ore extra secret keys to your Vapor based mostly backend software. That is it for now, thanks for studying.