What is FastConfigs and why should you use it?

What is FastConfigs?

Fastconfigs is a chrome extension that makes it easy for developers to configure environment variables of applications hosted on popular hosting platforms like heroku, netlify and the likes.

Why was FastConfigs created?

A while ago I was working with one of my seniors and we needed to setup a CI/CD pipeline for an application that was deployed on heroku, we needed to create replicate the application, therefore we also needed to migrate all the environment variables, we had to manually copy and paste all the environment variable, they was about thirty five of them. That was when we decided to work on a tool that makes it easier to configure environment variables on popular hosting platforms.

Installation

The extension is not currently available on chrome store, so you have to install it manually by following the steps below.

1. Clone the respository by running git clone https://github.com/talibackend/fastconfigs.git.
2. Open 'chrome://extensions/' in your browser.
3. Click on "Load unpacked" button in the top bar.
4. Select the folder that you cloned earlier.
5. You can pin the extension to your browsers bar - optional.
6. Enjoy using fastconfigs.

How it works

• Fastconfigs does not store or process your environment variables on any server, all execution are done on the user's browser #####
• The extension requires that you are logged in to the platform on your browser before you try to configure the apps hosted on that platform. #####
• If you are not logged in to the platform, fastconfigs automatically opens the platforms login page in a new tab. #####
• After successful login you can configure the apps hosted on that platform seamlessly.

Supported Formats

1. JSON : Fastconfigs supports JSON files given that all keys and values are string, below is an example.

{
    "key" : "value",
    "hello" : "world",
    "BASE_URL" : "https://example.com/"
}

1. TEXT : It also supports text file with the .txt extension, every variable should be on seperate lines and keys/values should be seperated with =, below is an example.

key=value
hellow=world
BASE_URL=https://example.com/

1. ENV : All files with .env extension are also supported, the file should be in the proper env format, below is an example.

key=value
hellow=world
BASE_URL=https://example.com/

Supported Platforms

1. Heroku

2. Netlify

What is next?

1. We intend to keep integrating more hosting platforms, so we advice that you keep an eye on our repo.
2. We will also be adding more features in the coming weeks, one of this features is environment variable exportation.

We hope you enjoy using our cool tool ❤️❤️❤️!