configuration

---
description: configuration patterns and conventions
globs: 
alwaysApply: true
---

# Configuration Patterns

- Use environment variables for external configuration
- Store environment variables in .env files for local development
- Use different environment files for different environments (local.env, dev.env, etc.)
- Always implement proper validation for configuration values
- Use sensible and thoughtfully set defaults for optional configuration
- Document required configuration values inline
- Use structured configuration objects
- Inject configuration as dependencies
- Implement proper error handling for missing or invalid configuration
- Use feature flags for conditional features
- Implement proper secrets management
- Don't hardcode configuration values
- Use configuration providers for different sources (env, files, etc.)
- Implement proper configuration reloading