AuthScape

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Priority Order

Understanding configuration priority in AuthScape.

Configuration Priority Order

AuthScape loads configuration from multiple sources. Understanding the priority helps prevent unexpected behavior.

Default Priority (Lowest to Highest)

  1. appsettings.json - Base configuration
  2. appsettings.{Environment}.json - Environment-specific
  3. User Secrets - Development only
  4. Environment Variables - System/container level
  5. Command-line Arguments - Highest priority
  6. Azure Key Vault / AWS Secrets - When configured

Higher priority sources override lower priority sources.

Example

Given these configurations:

appsettings.json:

json
{
  "AppSettings": {
    "LogLevel": "Information",
    "MaxRetries": 3
  }
}

appsettings.Production.json:

json
{
  "AppSettings": {
    "LogLevel": "Warning"
  }
}

Environment Variable:

text
AppSettings__MaxRetries=5

Result in Production:

json
{
  "AppSettings": {
    "LogLevel": "Warning",    // From Production.json
    "MaxRetries": 5           // From Environment Variable
  }
}

How Loading Works

csharp
var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);


// Default loading order:
builder.Configuration
    .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json", optional: false)
    .AddJsonFile($"appsettings.{env}.json", optional: true)
    .AddUserSecrets<Program>(optional: true)  // Development only
    .AddEnvironmentVariables()
    .AddCommandLine(args);

Custom Priority

Override the default order:

csharp
builder.Configuration.Sources.Clear();


builder.Configuration
    .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json")
    .AddAzureKeyVault(...)  // Load early, can be overridden
    .AddEnvironmentVariables()
    .AddJsonFile($"appsettings.{env}.json");  // Load last, highest priority

Best Practices

  1. Base settings in appsettings.json - Non-sensitive defaults
  2. Environment overrides - Logging levels, feature flags
  3. Secrets in secure stores - API keys, connection strings
  4. Environment variables for containers - Dynamic configuration

Debugging Configuration

csharp
// Log all configuration sources
foreach (var source in builder.Configuration.Sources)
{
    Console.WriteLine(source.GetType().Name);
}


// Log specific value and source
var value = builder.Configuration["AppSettings:LogLevel"];
Console.WriteLine($"LogLevel = {value}");

Next Steps

  • Azure Key Vault
  • Environment Variables