.env
Configure notification channels and required features
The installation process can be found here.
Extra vastly configurations are required for the API to run.
At this point, the API can be run and consumed by a client, but we have no registered users or any notification channel setup. If your project does not require users in the system then you can skip this configuration but this will rarely be the case
About
The env file contains all globally used Vastly variables, it also defines Node.js development and production environment. Once Vastly setup is completed the provided data is saved in the .env file.
Below is a list of variables that Vastly automatically saves into the .env file during the installation process
1. DBSTRING - stores the MongoDB connection string provided during setup
2. DBUSER - stores the Database user provided during setup
3. DBPASSWORD - stores the Database password provided during setup
4. TOKENSECRETE - JWT secret provided during setup
5. TOKENDURATION - token lifeperiod provided during setup
6. COOKIEDURATION - Cookies lifeperiod provided during setup
6. INSTALLED - Set to true by the API if the setup process finalizes without an error
7. INSTALL_KEY - A uniquely generated id that marks a successful installation
Notification
Vastly is equipped with two notification systems, SMS and Emails. By default, only one channel can be used at a time, but this can also be easily configured.
Notifications are configured per your project requirements, if you require users to register using emails, then you will just need to configure the email channel.
Setup Emails
Vastly email system is built using NodeMailer and configured in an Email Class, read more about emails here
The Email channel is configured using the following variables.
1. EMAILUSER - SMTP email User
2. EMAILPASSWORD - SMTP email Password
3. EMAILHOST - SMTP email Host
4. EMAILPORT - SMTP email Port
5. EMAILPORT - Label of who has sent the email
Examples
Below are some configuration Examples for email
EMAILUSER=user@example.co.ke
EMAILPASSWORD=xxxxxxxxxxxx
EMAILHOST=mail.example.co.ke
EMAILPORT=9090
EMAILFROM=admin@example.co.ke
Development emails
In development mode Vastly will not send live emails and will instead use mailtrap.
To instantly send emails upon setup, then update the NODE_ENV variable to be production.
NODE_ENV=production
To configure a mailtrap account, navigate to a file located at utils\email.js from the root folder.
The configurations are set in a createTransport() method
email.js
----
createTransport() {
if (process.env.NODE_ENV == "development") {
return nodemailer.createTransport({
//XXX DEVELOPMENT EMAILS
host: "smtp.mailtrap.io",
port: 2525,
auth: {
user: "xxxxxxxxxxxx", // Get from your account dashboard
pass: "xxxxxxxxxxxx", // Get from your account dashboard
},
});
}
}
Setup SMS
Vastly SMS system is built using MessageBird and configured in an SMS Class, read more about SMS here
The SMS channel is configured using the following variable.
1. MESSAGE_BIRD_KEY - Live or Test API key from messagebird
Examples
Below is a configuration Example for SMS
MESSAGE_BIRD_KEY=uMVyVxxxxxxxxxxIempOfq4zQ
API errors that are handled by the error controller, are automatically emailed to the system admin or a set email address, if you don't use Emails then you will need to update or set how error notifications are sent to the admin, You can do so Here
User Management
By default Vastly has two user roles, the Admin and a user. Adding Roles and users can be done before the setup process here
Setting the default role a user is assigned during user registration is done using the following variable.
DEFAULT_REG_USER - Defines the role name a newly registred user gets
Default value:
DEFAULT_REG_USER=USER
Jest Unit Tests
Before initializing a test ensure to setup Jest correctly as explained here.
Vastly ships with 2 Jest unit tests for the Authentication REST api.
The unit tests are configured using the following variables.
JEST_DB - The database name Jest will use for authentication purposes
Jest database runs using the provided MongoDB connection string, the database is automatically deleted once tests are completed.
JEST_TESTING_MODE - Defines if testing is being done or not
The testing mode variable is crucial as it blocks all Vastly notification channels when carrying out the tests
Examples
JEST_DB=jestDB
JEST_TESTING_MODE=false
Payment Gateways
Vastly is shipped with 3 payment gateways.
You can configure any payment gateway you need, or none if you dont require any. More information is available in the Payment REST docs
Stripe
To use Stripe you will need to configure the following two variable
STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET - a stripe webhook secret
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY - a stripe API key
Examples
STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET=whsec_jvtexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxiToTgKg1
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_xxxx_51JMWK4CxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxromtdXwC4Fdmq5wgW000kGraBYO3
PayPal
To use PayPal you will need to configure the following three variable
PAYPAL_MODE - defines paypal environment
PAYPAL_SECRET_KEY - a PayPal API secret
PAYPAL_CLIENT_ID - a PayPal API ID
Examples
PAYPAL_MODE=sandbox
PAYPAL_SECRET_KEY=ENOh6iszB3_uxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxIWEl_QbUSktD6jlKPinGvLA
PAYPAL_CLIENT_ID=ATOz8QuA_5XyoDeaxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxBgNXpRlFMIRc-5swTT6F
PesaPal
To use PesaPal you will need to configure the following two variable
PESAPAL_CONSUMER_KEY - a PesaPal API key
PESAPAL_CONSUMER_SECRET - a PesaPal API secret
Examples
PESAPAL_CONSUMER_KEY=PxxxxxxxxxxxxVO1Wbx3d80j
PESAPAL_CONSUMER_SECRET=xF2txxxxxxxxxxxxxxe9KFGs=
More
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID
Used for google authentication, this enables user to register or login using their google account.
More information is available in Authentication REST docs
Example
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=390511252259-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxontent.com
NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED
Used to resolve Node.js self assigned security certificate
Read more Here
At this point all Important configuration are set. You can now start Vastly using node server.js or provided package.json scripts