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Configuration Overview

Xec's configuration system provides a powerful, declarative way to define your infrastructure, automation tasks, and execution environments. Using a simple YAML format, you can describe complex workflows, manage multiple environments, and automate repetitive tasks across diverse infrastructure.

Philosophy​

Xec's configuration follows several key principles:

1. Declarative Over Imperative​

Define what you want to achieve, not how to achieve it. Xec handles the implementation details.

# Declarative: Define the desired state
tasks:
  deploy:
    description: Deploy application to production
    target: production-servers
    steps:
      - command: docker-compose up -d

2. Convention Over Configuration​

Sensible defaults minimize boilerplate while allowing customization when needed.

# Minimal configuration - uses conventions
targets:
  hosts:
    web-server:
      host: web.example.com
      # Port defaults to 22, username to current user

3. Composability​

Build complex configurations from simple, reusable components.

# Compose configurations through profiles
profiles:
  production:
    extends: base
    vars:
      environment: production
      replicas: 3

4. Progressive Disclosure​

Start simple, add complexity only when needed.

# Simple start
tasks:
  backup: rsync -av /data /backup

# Add complexity as needed
tasks:
  backup:
    description: Backup data with retention
    schedule: "0 2 * * *"
    steps:
      - command: rsync -av /data /backup/$(date +%Y%m%d)
      - command: find /backup -mtime +7 -delete

Configuration Hierarchy​

Xec loads and merges configurations from multiple sources in a specific order:

  1. Built-in Defaults - Xec's internal defaults
  2. Global Configuration - ~/.xec/config.yaml
  3. Project Configuration - .xec/config.yaml in project root
  4. Environment Variables - XEC_* prefixed variables
  5. Profile Configuration - Profile-specific overrides
  6. Command-line Arguments - Runtime overrides

Later sources override earlier ones, allowing flexible customization at different levels.

File Structure​

A typical Xec project configuration looks like:

.xec/
├── config.yaml           # Main configuration file
├── profiles/            # Environment-specific profiles
│   ├── dev.yaml
│   ├── staging.yaml
│   └── production.yaml
├── tasks/              # Task definitions (can be imported)
│   ├── deploy.yaml
│   └── maintenance.yaml
├── scripts/            # Custom scripts
│   └── health-check.js
└── commands/          # Custom commands
    └── backup.js

Key Concepts​

Targets​

Execution environments where commands run:

  • Local - Your development machine
  • SSH Hosts - Remote servers via SSH
  • Docker Containers - Containerized environments
  • Kubernetes Pods - Cloud-native workloads

Tasks​

Reusable automation workflows with:

  • Multi-step execution
  • Parameter support
  • Error handling
  • Conditional logic
  • Parallel execution

Profiles​

Environment-specific configurations:

  • Development settings
  • Staging configurations
  • Production parameters
  • Custom environments

Variables​

Dynamic values that can be:

  • Interpolated in strings
  • Shared across configurations
  • Overridden at different levels
  • Sourced from environment

Quick Start Example​

Here's a complete configuration showcasing key features:

# .xec/config.yaml
version: "1.0"
name: my-app
description: My application deployment configuration

# Global variables
vars:
  app_name: myapp
  version: "1.0.0"

# Define execution targets
targets:
  hosts:
    web:
      host: web.example.com
      username: deploy
    db:
      host: db.example.com
      username: admin

# Define reusable tasks
tasks:
  deploy:
    description: Deploy application
    target: web
    steps:
      - command: docker pull ${app_name}:${version}
      - command: docker stop ${app_name} || true
      - command: docker run -d --name ${app_name} ${app_name}:${version}
      
  backup:
    description: Backup database
    target: db
    command: pg_dump mydb > /backup/mydb-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

# Command defaults
commands:
  logs:
    tail: 100
    follow: true
    
# Environment profiles
profiles:
  production:
    vars:
      version: "stable"
    targets:
      hosts:
        web:
          host: prod-web.example.com

Configuration Validation​

Xec validates your configuration at multiple levels:

  1. Schema Validation - Structure and types
  2. Reference Validation - Target and task references
  3. Variable Validation - Variable interpolation
  4. Semantic Validation - Logical consistency

Run validation explicitly:

xec config validate

Best Practices​

1. Keep Secrets Secure​

Never store secrets directly in configuration files:

# Bad - exposed secret
password: "mysecretpass"

# Good - use secret management
password: ${secrets.db_password}

2. Use Version Control​

Track configuration changes:

git add .xec/config.yaml
git commit -m "Add production deployment configuration"

3. Organize by Environment​

Separate environment-specific settings:

# .xec/profiles/production.yaml
vars:
  replicas: 3
  debug: false
  
# .xec/profiles/development.yaml
vars:
  replicas: 1
  debug: true

4. Document Complex Tasks​

Add descriptions and comments:

tasks:
  complex-deployment:
    description: |
      Performs blue-green deployment with health checks.
      Requires: docker, nginx
      Duration: ~5 minutes
    steps:
      # Step 1: Health check
      - command: curl -f http://localhost/health
        name: "Verify current deployment"

5. Leverage Composition​

Build complex configurations from simple components:

# Base configuration
tasks:
  base-setup:
    steps:
      - command: apt-get update
      - command: apt-get install -y curl git

# Extended configuration
tasks:
  app-setup:
    steps:
      - task: base-setup
      - command: npm install

Next Steps​

See Also​