env-config-management

Replace all sensitive credentials with environment variable placeholders using ${VAR_NAME} syntax in application-*.yml files, then store actual values in .env.local (which should be gitignored). This separation prevents accidental exposure of secrets to version control while keeping configuration externalized and environment-specific.

Use Spring profiles with application-local.yml, application-test.yml, and application-prod.yml files paired with corresponding .env files for each environment. Define common variables in .env.common and environment-specific overrides in .env.local, ensuring DRY principles and preventing silent configuration failures.

Enforce fail-fast configuration by disallowing default values in Spring profiles, requiring all variables to use ${VAR} syntax, and validating SQS endpoints and queue names against architecture documentation. Missing or misconfigured variables will cause immediate startup errors rather than silent failures in production.

Yes. Apply ${VAR} placeholder syntax across all services in .env.* and application-*.yml files, validate port configurations, separate secrets into .env.local, and verify SQS endpoint references match your AWS architecture. This works consistently across local development, acceptance testing, and production scenarios.

Default values mask configuration errors and allow services to start with incorrect or missing settings, causing runtime failures. Fail-fast configuration with placeholder-only syntax ensures missing environment variables are caught immediately at startup, preventing deployment errors and production incidents.

Use .env.common for non-sensitive, shared variables across environments (gittracked), and .env.local for secrets and machine-specific overrides (gitignored). This enforces strict secret separation while maintaining DRY principles by keeping redundant configuration in one place.