configuration-generator

Configuration Generator

Generate configuration files for applications, services, and infrastructure across various formats and frameworks.

Quick Start

Use Built-in Templates

Access ready-to-use configuration templates from assets:

# Docker Compose
cat assets/docker-compose.yml

# Kubernetes
cat assets/kubernetes-deployment.yaml

# GitHub Actions
cat assets/github-actions-workflow.yml

Generate Custom Configuration

Specify your requirements to get tailored configuration files.

Common Configuration Types

Application Configurations

Package Managers

Node.js (package.json)

{
  "name": "my-app",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node index.js",
    "dev": "nodemon index.js",
    "test": "jest",
    "build": "tsc"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "express": "^4.18.0"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "typescript": "^5.0.0",
    "jest": "^29.0.0"
  }
}

Python (requirements.txt)

django==4.2.0
djangorestframework==3.14.0
psycopg2-binary==2.9.5
pytest==7.3.0
black==23.3.0

See [app_configs.md](references/app_configs.md) for:

• Package managers (npm, pip, cargo)
• Build tools (TypeScript, Webpack, Vite)
• Linters/formatters (ESLint, Prettier, Black)
• Testing frameworks (Jest, pytest)
• Environment files (.env, .editorconfig, .gitignore)

Build Configurations

TypeScript (tsconfig.json)

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2022",
    "module": "commonjs",
    "outDir": "./dist",
    "rootDir": "./src",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true
  },
  "include": ["src/**/*"],
  "exclude": ["node_modules", "dist"]
}

Infrastructure Configurations

Docker

Dockerfile (Multi-stage)

FROM node:18-alpine as builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci
COPY . .
RUN npm run build

FROM node:18-alpine
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=builder /app/dist ./dist
COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules ./node_modules
USER node
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["node", "dist/index.js"]

Docker Compose - See assets/docker-compose.yml:

• Multi-service setup (web, database, cache)
• Environment variable configuration
• Volume management
• Network configuration

Kubernetes

Deployment Configuration - See assets/kubernetes-deployment.yaml:

• Deployment with replicas
• ConfigMap and Secret management
• Service and Ingress configuration
• Health probes
• Resource limits

Example Deployment:

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: web-app
spec:
  replicas: 3
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: web-app
  template:
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: web
        image: myapp:latest
        ports:
        - containerPort: 8000
        resources:
          requests:
            memory: "256Mi"
            cpu: "250m"
          limits:
            memory: "512Mi"
            cpu: "500m"

See [infra_configs.md](references/infra_configs.md) for:

• Docker and Kubernetes
• Terraform (AWS, GCP, Azure)
• CI/CD pipelines
• Web servers (Nginx, Apache)

CI/CD Pipelines

GitHub Actions - See assets/github-actions-workflow.yml:

• Test, build, and deploy workflow
• Service containers (PostgreSQL, Redis)
• Docker image building
• Deployment automation

Example Workflow:

name: CI/CD Pipeline

on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - uses: actions/setup-python@v4
        with:
          python-version: '3.11'
      - run: pip install -r requirements.txt
      - run: pytest

Configuration Decision Tree

What type of configuration do you need?

├─ Application Config
│  ├─ Package manager? → package.json, requirements.txt, Cargo.toml
│  ├─ Build tool? → tsconfig.json, webpack.config.js, vite.config.ts
│  ├─ Linter/formatter? → .eslintrc, .prettierrc, pyproject.toml
│  └─ Environment? → .env, .editorconfig, .gitignore
│
├─ Container/Orchestration
│  ├─ Docker? → Dockerfile, docker-compose.yml
│  └─ Kubernetes? → deployment.yaml, service.yaml, ingress.yaml
│
├─ Infrastructure as Code
│  ├─ Terraform? → main.tf, variables.tf, outputs.tf
│  └─ CloudFormation? → template.yaml
│
├─ CI/CD
│  ├─ GitHub Actions? → .github/workflows/ci.yml
│  ├─ GitLab CI? → .gitlab-ci.yml
│  └─ CircleCI? → .circleci/config.yml
│
└─ Web Server
   ├─ Nginx? → nginx.conf
   └─ Apache? → httpd.conf, .htaccess

Generation Approaches

Approach 1: Template-Based

Use pre-built templates from assets/:

When to use:

• Standard setups
• Quick prototyping
• Learning/reference

How:

1. Identify needed template
2. Copy from assets
3. Customize variables
4. Deploy

Example:

# Copy Docker Compose template
cp assets/docker-compose.yml ./

# Edit environment variables
# Deploy
docker-compose up -d

Approach 2: Requirements-Based Generation

Generate from scratch based on specific needs:

When to use:

• Custom requirements
• Complex setups
• Specific tech stack

How:

1. Specify requirements
2. Choose tech stack
3. Define constraints
4. Generate configuration

Example Request: "Generate a GitHub Actions workflow for a Python Django app with PostgreSQL, Redis, and deployment to AWS ECS"

Generated Output: Custom workflow with:

• Python 3.11 setup
• PostgreSQL and Redis services
• Django test suite
• Docker image build
• AWS ECS deployment

Approach 3: Hybrid

Combine templates with customization:

When to use:

• Partially standard setup
• Template needs modification
• Best practices + customization

How:

1. Start with template
2. Identify customization points
3. Modify specific sections
4. Validate configuration

Best Practices

1. Use Environment Variables

Separate configuration from code:

Application:

# settings.py
import os

DATABASE_URL = os.getenv('DATABASE_URL')
SECRET_KEY = os.getenv('SECRET_KEY')
DEBUG = os.getenv('DEBUG', 'False') == 'True'

.env file:

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://localhost/mydb
SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key
DEBUG=true

2. Version Control Best Practices

Do commit:

• .env.example (template)
• Configuration templates
• Development configs

Don't commit:

• .env (secrets)
• .env.local (local overrides)
• Production credentials

.gitignore:

.env
.env.local
.env.*.local

3. Validate Configurations

Check syntax before deploying:

# Docker Compose
docker-compose config

# Kubernetes
kubectl apply --dry-run=client -f deployment.yaml

# Terraform
terraform validate

# YAML syntax
yamllint config.yml

4. Document Configuration

Add comments explaining purpose:

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  web:
    # Application server - handles HTTP requests
    image: myapp:latest
    ports:
      # Expose on port 8000 for development
      - "8000:8000"
    environment:
      # Database connection string
      - DATABASE_URL=${DATABASE_URL}

5. Use Sensible Defaults

Provide defaults for optional values:

# Kubernetes ConfigMap
apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: app-config
data:
  # Default to info level logging
  LOG_LEVEL: "info"
  # Default connection pool size
  DB_POOL_SIZE: "10"

Common Patterns

Multi-Environment Configuration

Development:

# docker-compose.dev.yml
services:
  web:
    build: .
    volumes:
      - ./app:/app  # Hot reload
    environment:
      - DEBUG=true

Production:

# docker-compose.prod.yml
services:
  web:
    image: registry/myapp:latest
    environment:
      - DEBUG=false
    deploy:
      replicas: 3

Secret Management

Kubernetes Secrets:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: app-secrets
type: Opaque
stringData:
  database-url: "postgresql://..."
  api-key: "secret-key"

Docker Compose (with env file):

services:
  web:
    env_file:
      - .env.production

Health Checks

Docker Compose:

services:
  web:
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:8000/health"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 40s

Kubernetes:

livenessProbe:
  httpGet:
    path: /health
    port: 8000
  initialDelaySeconds: 30
  periodSeconds: 10
readinessProbe:
  httpGet:
    path: /ready
    port: 8000
  initialDelaySeconds: 5
  periodSeconds: 5

Complete Example

Request: "Create complete configuration for a Python FastAPI application with PostgreSQL and Redis, using Docker Compose for development and Kubernetes for production"

Generated Configurations:

1. Dockerfile
2. docker-compose.yml (development)
3. requirements.txt
4. kubernetes/deployment.yaml (production)
5. .env.example
6. .github/workflows/deploy.yml

These files work together to provide:

• Local development environment
• CI/CD pipeline
• Production deployment
• Secret management
• Health monitoring

Troubleshooting

Configuration Validation Errors

YAML syntax errors:

# Check YAML syntax
python -c "import yaml; yaml.safe_load(open('config.yml'))"

# Or use yamllint
yamllint config.yml

Docker Compose issues:

# Validate and view resolved config
docker-compose config

# Check for errors
docker-compose config --quiet

Environment Variable Issues

Missing variables:

# List all required variables
grep -o '\${[^}]*}' docker-compose.yml

# Check if variable is set
echo $DATABASE_URL

Port Conflicts

Find process using port:

# Linux/macOS
lsof -i :8000

# Windows
netstat -ano | findstr :8000

Reference Materials

Application Configs

See [app_configs.md](references/app_configs.md) for complete templates:

• Package managers (package.json, requirements.txt, Pipfile, Cargo.toml)
• Build tools (tsconfig.json, webpack.config.js, vite.config.ts)
• Linters and formatters (.eslintrc, .prettierrc, .flake8, pyproject.toml)
• Testing frameworks (jest.config.js, pytest.ini)
• Environment files (.env.example, .editorconfig, .gitignore)

Infrastructure Configs

See [infra_configs.md](references/infra_configs.md) for:

• Docker (Dockerfile multi-stage, docker-compose.yml, .dockerignore)
• Kubernetes (Deployment, Service, Ingress, ConfigMap, Secret, HPA)
• Terraform (AWS, GCP, Azure infrastructure)
• CI/CD (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, CircleCI)
• Web servers (Nginx, Apache configuration)