config show --explain says envYaml for a value that came out of .env.staging

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bash

sdods config show -p demo-shop -e staging --explain

text

path                              layer    value
env.api.baseUrl                   envYaml  https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com
env.ui.baseUrl                    envYaml  https://www.saucedemo.com
env.vars.standardPassword         envYaml  ***
project.screenshots.onlyOnFailure envYaml  false
project.screenshots.policy.@smoke project  scenario
runtime.retries                   defaults 0

The documented layer names include dotenv, but standardPassword is only in the yaml as a ${VAR} and its actual value comes from .env.staging. Why does the row say envYaml and not dotenv?

config cli

asked by Renata Kohl

3 answers

Because the column answers "which layer owns this path", and the dotenv layer does not own paths — it supplies variables.
The two things happen in a fixed order. First every layer merges and the winning layer is recorded per leaf. Then, once the tree is final, ${VAR} references inside those values are substituted. The string ${DEMO_SHOP_PASSWORD} was written by envs/staging.yaml, so the leaf belongs to envYaml; the dotenv layer changed what that string reads as, not who put it there.
That is also why a value substituted from the shell shows envYaml and not processEnv, while SDODS_UI_BASE_URL — which writes a path directly rather than filling in a reference — really does show processEnv.
For the variable side of the picture, the plain config show prints the dotenv files it read, and sdods doctor -p demo-shop reports whether each reference resolves.
answered by Reeta NandalSDODS team
*** in that table is redaction by key name, not a marker that the value came from somewhere secret. Two flags to know:
bash
```
sdods config show -p demo-shop -e staging --explain --show-secrets
sdods --json config show -p demo-shop -e staging --explain
```
The first prints them; the second gives you the same rows as JSON, which is far easier to diff between two environments than the table.
answered by Vikram Rajagopal
Late, but for anyone diffing environments: pipe the JSON form through a sort on path and compare local against staging. Ninety per cent of "works on my machine" turns out to be one row where the layer differs, not the value.
answered by Helle Borg

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config show --explain says envYaml for a value that came out of .env.staging

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