tfm_ainventory/.planning/phases/07-config-consolidation/07-CONTEXT.md

Phase 7: Config Consolidation - Context

Gathered: 2026-04-23 Status: Ready for planning Source: User Requirements

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Phase Boundary

Consolidate all application configuration files into a centralized config/ folder in the project root. This includes backend configurations, frontend configurations, deployment settings, and network configurations. Update all deployment scripts, application startup procedures, and backend/frontend code to load configurations from this centralized location.

Scope:

• Create and establish config/ folder as the single source of truth for all application configuration
• Migrate existing configuration files (inventory.env and variants) to config folder with meaningful names
• Update all scripts (deploy.sh, run_standalone.sh, etc.) to reference the new config location
• Refactor backend config_loader.py and config_manager.py to read from config folder
• Update frontend environment loading if applicable
• Verify and clean up root directory scripts that are no longer needed
• Ensure Docker deployment, standalone deployment, and development all work correctly with new structure

Deliverables:

• config/ folder with structured configuration files
• Updated backend configuration loading mechanism
• Updated deployment scripts
• Updated startup procedures (Docker and standalone)
• Documentation of configuration structure in README/DEPLOYMENT.md

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Implementation Decisions

Configuration Structure

• Create config/ folder in project root as the central location for all configurations
• Use meaningful filenames: backend.env, frontend.env, network.env, docker.env (for docker-compose)
• Keep backward compatibility: Support both old (inventory.env) and new (config/backend.env) paths during transition
• Environment variable precedence: System env vars > Docker build args > config/backend.env > defaults in code

Backend Loading

• Update backend/config_loader.py to look for configs in config/backend.env first
• If not found, fall back to inventory.env (backward compatibility)
• If neither exists, use system environment variables
• Log which config source is being used for debugging

Deployment Scripts

• deploy.sh: Source environment from config/network.env or config/docker.env instead of inventory.env
• run_standalone.sh: Source configuration from config/backend.env and config/network.env
• Docker Compose: Updated to reference config/docker.env
• Scripts should create symlinks or validate that config folder exists before running

Cleanup Actions

• Remove or archive inventory.env templates after migration
• Audit root directory scripts for redundancy
• Update .gitignore to ensure config/ folder structure is tracked (if needed)

Documentation Updates

• Update DEPLOYMENT.md with new config folder structure
• Update README.md with configuration setup instructions
• Add config/README.md explaining each config file's purpose

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Specific Ideas

1. Config Files to Create:

   • config/backend.env — Backend-specific variables (database, AI keys, auth settings)
   • config/frontend.env — Frontend-specific variables (API endpoints, feature flags)
   • config/network.env — Network/deployment variables (ports, SSL, server IPs)
   • config/docker.env — Docker-specific overrides (for docker-compose.yml)
   • config/README.md — Documentation of all configuration files

2. Scripts to Update:

   • deploy.sh — Update to source from config/ folder
   • run_standalone.sh — Update network config loading
   • export_prod.sh — Ensure it uses new config structure
   • install_service.sh — Update systemd service to reference new config paths
   • __push_ALL_to_remote.sh — Review for config-related updates

3. Backend Changes:

   • backend/config_loader.py — Update load order: config/backend.env > inventory.env > env vars
   • backend/config_manager.py — Update to read/write from config/backend.env
   • backend/entrypoint.sh — Source from config/ instead of root level

4. Testing Requirements:

   • Docker deployment with new config structure
   • Standalone deployment with new config structure
   • Environment variable override behavior still works
   • Backward compatibility: old inventory.env still loads if config/ doesn't exist

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Deferred Ideas

• Dynamic config hot-reload without restart (future optimization)
• Config validation framework (future enhancement)
• Encrypted sensitive values in config files (future security enhancement)
• Web UI for configuration management (future feature)

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Phase: 7-config-consolidation
Context gathered: 2026-04-23 from user requirements