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

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

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

3 answers

• 33votes

  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.

  RNanswered by Reeta Nandalmaintainer41,280 · 22 Mar 2023
• 11votes

  *** in that table is redaction by key name, not a marker that the value came from somewhere secret. Two flags to know:

  bashCopy

  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.

  VRanswered by Vikram Rajagopal1,240 · 23 Mar 2023
• 5votes

  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.

  HBanswered by Helle Borg352 · 2 Nov 2023