[doc] Updated README and added CHANGELOG.md

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# CHANGELOG
### Version 0.5.0
* `nconf.stores.*` is now `nconf.*`
* `nconf.stores` now represents the set of nconf.* Store instances on the nconf object.
* Added `nconf.argv()`, `nconf.env()`, `nconf.file()`, `nconf.overrides()`, `nconf.defaults()`.
* `nconf.system` no longer exists. The `nconf.System` store has been broken into `nconf.Argv`, `nconf.Env` and `nconf.Literal`
* Fixed bugs in hierarchical configuration loading.

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Hierarchical node.js configuration with files, environment variables, command-line arguments, and atomic object merging.
## Getting started
## Example
Using nconf is easy; it is designed to be a simple key-value store with support for both local and remote storage. Keys are namespaced and delimited by `:`. Lets dive right into sample usage:
``` js
@ -10,9 +10,18 @@ Using nconf is easy; it is designed to be a simple key-value store with support
nconf = require('nconf');
//
// Setup nconf to use the 'file' store and set a couple of values;
// Setup nconf to use (in-order):
// 1. Command-line arguments
// 2. Environment variables
// 3. A file located at 'path/to/config.json'
//
nconf.argv()
.env()
.file({ file: 'path/to/config.json' });
//
// Set a few variables on `nconf`.
//
nconf.add('file', { file: 'path/to/your/config.json' });
nconf.set('database:host', '127.0.0.1');
nconf.set('database:port', 5984);
@ -20,7 +29,9 @@ Using nconf is easy; it is designed to be a simple key-value store with support
// Get the entire database object from nconf. This will output
// { host: '127.0.0.1', port: 5984 }
//
console.dir(nconf.get('database'));
console.log('foo: ' + nconf.get('foo'));
console.log('NODE_ENV: ' + nconf.get('NODE_ENV'));
console.log('database: ' + nconf.get('database'));
//
// Save the configuration object to disk
@ -32,14 +43,62 @@ Using nconf is easy; it is designed to be a simple key-value store with support
});
```
If you run the above script:
``` bash
$ NODE_ENV=production sample.js --foo bar
```
The output will be:
```
foo: bar
NODE_ENV: production
database: { host: '127.0.0.1', port: 5984 }
```
## Hierarchical configuration
Configuration management can get complicated very quickly for even trivial applications running in production. `nconf` addresses this problem by enabling you to setup a hierarchy for different sources of configuration with some sane defaults (in-order):
Configuration management can get complicated very quickly for even trivial applications running in production. `nconf` addresses this problem by enabling you to setup a hierarchy for different sources of configuration with no defaults. **The order in which you attach these configuration sources determines their priority in the hierarchy.** Lets take a look at the options available to you
1. Manually set overrides
2. Command-line arguments
3. Environment variables
4. Any additional user stores (in the order they were added)
1. **nconf.argv(options)** Loads `process.argv` using optimist. If `options` is supplied it is passed along to optimist.
2. **nconf.env(options)** Loads `process.env` into the hierarchy.
3. **nconf.file(options)** Loads the configuration data at options.file into the hierarchy.
4. **nconf.defaults(options)** Loads the data in options.store into the hierarchy.
5. **nconf.overrides(options)** Loads the data in options.store into the hierarchy.
A sane default for this could be:
``` js
var nconf = require('nconf');
//
// 1. any overrides
//
nconf.overrides({
'always': 'be this value'
});
//
// 2. `process.env`
// 3. `process.argv`
//
nconf.env().argv();
//
// 4. Values in `config.json`
//
nconf.file({ file: 'config.json' });
//
// 5. Any default values
//
nconf.defaults({
'if nothing else': 'use this value'
});
```
## API Documentation
The top-level of `nconf` is an instance of the `nconf.Provider` abstracts this all for you into a simple API.
@ -47,8 +106,8 @@ The top-level of `nconf` is an instance of the `nconf.Provider` abstracts this a
Adds a new store with the specified `name` and `options`. If `options.type` is not set, then `name` will be used instead:
``` js
nconf.add('user', { type: 'file', file: '/path/to/userconf.json' });
nconf.add('global', { type: 'file', file: '/path/to/globalconf.json' });
nconf.add('userconf', { type: 'file', file: '/path/to/userconf.json' });
```
### nconf.use(name, options)
@ -73,30 +132,6 @@ Removes the store with the specified `name.` The configuration stored at that le
nconf.remove('file');
```
## Working with Configuration
`nconf` will traverse the set of stores that you have setup in-order to ensure that the value in the store of the highest priority is used. For example to setup following sample configuration:
1. Command-line arguments
2. Environment variables
3. User configuration
3. Global configuration
``` js
var nconf = require('nconf');
//
// Read in command-line arugments and environment variables
//
nconf.argv = nconf.env = true;
//
// Setup the `user` store followed by the `global` store. Note that
// order is significant in these operations.
//
nconf.add('user', { file: 'path/to/user-config.json' });
nconf.add('global', { file: 'path/to/global-config.json' })
```
## Storage Engines
### Memory
@ -106,32 +141,40 @@ A simple in-memory storage engine that stores a nested JSON representation of th
nconf.use('memory');
```
### System
Based on the Memory store, but exposes hooks into manual overrides, command-line arguments, and environment variables (in that order of priority). Every instance of `nconf.Provider`, including the top-level `nconf` object itself already has a `System` store at the top-level, so configuring it only requires setting properties
### Argv
Responsible for loading the values parsed from `process.argv` by `optimist` into the configuration hierarchy.
``` js
//
// `nconf.get(awesome)` will always return true regardless of
// command-line arguments or environment variables.
// Can optionally also be an object literal to pass to `optimist`.
//
nconf.overrides = { awesome: true };
nconf.argv(options);
```
### Env
Responsible for loading the values parsed from `process.env` into the configuration hierarchy.
``` js
//
// Can also be an object literal to pass to `optimist`.
// Can optionally also be an Array of values to limit process.env to.
//
nconf.argv = true;
//
// Can also be an array of variable names to restrict loading to.
//
nconf.env = true;
nconf.env(['only', 'load', 'these', 'values', 'from', 'process.env']);
```
### Literal
Loads a given object literal into the configuration hierarchy. Both `nconf.defaults()` and `nconf.overrides()` use the Literal store.
``` js
nconf.defaults({
'some': 'default value'
});
```
### File
Based on the Memory store, but provides additional methods `.save()` and `.load()` which allow you to read your configuration to and from file. As with the Memory store, all method calls are synchronous with the exception of `.save()` and `.load()` which take callback functions. It is important to note that setting keys in the File engine will not be persisted to disk until a call to `.save()` is made.
``` js
nconf.use('file', { file: 'path/to/your/config.json' });
nconf.file({ file: 'path/to/your/config.json' });
```
The file store is also extensible for multiple file formats, defaulting to `JSON`. To use a custom format, simply pass a format object to the `.use()` method. This object must have `.parse()` and `.stringify()` methods just like the native `JSON` object.