QuickStart

Getting Started⚓︎

This page describes getting up and running with the Envault service in a new project. As seen in the steps below, if you already have a project that is using Envault, you can skip the initial steps and get up and running faster!

The instructions here presume that you already have an Envault server URL and associated API key to use to make requests; if you do not have that, set that up first.

Create a config file⚓︎

To begin with, your project will need at least one envault config file to use the Envault service. All configuration files are YAML files with a .yml extension that live within a folder named envault at the root of your project.

The name of the file can be anything you like, and you can have as many files as you might like; for example, for different deployment scenarios, or to be able to easily swap between different variables or values.

Create a new configuration file using the Envault: Create New Config command from the Command Palette. This will create a new stub configuration file and open it for editing.

Set initial configuration⚓︎

The configuration that is created will look like the below (but note that there are settings that can be used to alter the default values of apiKeyName and url that are created):

# Envault to request keys from, and the API key to use to authenticate the
# request. The API key provided here specifies the name of an environment
# variable whose value is the actual API key to use.
apiKeyName: envault_dev_key
url: http://localhost:8787/

# The list of variable specifications to request from the server; each spec
# will produce some number of environment variables and values. See the
# Envault server documentation for more information.
vars: []
#  - spec1
#  - spec2

Edit the configuration to use the appropriate apiKeyname and url if they are not already correct; then, specify the variable sets that you would like to use for this configuration.

The template generates an empty list with [], but also includes an example of specifying a list of keys.

Activate a config⚓︎

If you did not choose to automatically activate the configuration when you created it, choose the Envault: Choose Active Config from the command palette and select the configuration file to activate it.

"Activating" the configuration file will cause it to be parsed and loaded, and will send off a request to the Envault server specified to collect the variables.

Once activated, saving edits to the file will cause it to be automatically reloaded, so that your changes take effect instantly. If you would rather have the refresh operation be manual, turn off the reload_config_on_save setting; you will need to use the Envault: Reload Config command to reload.

The chosen configuration for a project will be stored directly within the project information itself, and will be automatically selected and loaded for you the next time you open the project.

Edit a config⚓︎

At any point, if you would like to see the contents of the configuration file or make edits, you can easily open the file using the Envault: Open Current Config command, which will open the configuration that is currently activated within the window.

From here, you can make edits as needed, which are automatically applied unless you turned off the reload_config_on_save setting, in which case you will need to use the Envault: Reload Config command to manually reload your changes when you're ready.

Select a different config⚓︎

If you have created other configuration files, you can easily select between the various configuration files that are available by using the Envault: Choose Active Config command to switch between configurations.

Selecting a configuration will cause it to be reloaded and activated in the window, replacing any previously activated configuration (if any).

See defined env vars⚓︎

The keys in the configuration file each specify a set of environment variables and values that should be fetched down and applied to any external tasks launched from within the window.

The Envault: Show Variables command will pop up a list that shows you the full list of environment variables that are being set as a result of the configuration that is active in the window.

Launch tasks⚓︎

Once a configuration is activated in the window, the environment variables that it defines will be applied to any external task that is launched from within the window via a standard build system.

If you use the Terminus package, all terminals that you open in the window will also have the environment variables set as well.

Switch Projects⚓︎

When you open a project that already has one or more Envault configuration files in it, one of three things will happen:

1. If you had previously already opened this project, the Envault config file that was last active will immediately be loaded and applied, so that you can pick up right where you left off.

2. If you open a project for the first time that has a single Envault config file in it, the config file will be automatically loaded and applied, so that you can get working without taking any further steps.

3. If you open a project for the first time that has more than one Envault config file in it, you will be prompted to select the configuration to apply as if you had manually selected the Envault: Choose Active Config command.