Configuration

Configure the EduTec Backend for your environment

Application Configuration Overview

The EduTec Backend uses Spring Boot’s configuration system, with settings defined in application.properties located at src/main/resources/application.properties.

Default Configuration

The base application.properties file contains minimal configuration:

src/main/resources/application.properties

spring.application.name=edutec

Most configuration is currently using Spring Boot defaults. You’ll need to add database and other settings for production use.

Database Configuration

Development with H2 (In-Memory)

For quick development without MySQL setup, use H2 in-memory database. Add to application.properties:

# H2 Database Configuration
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:h2:mem:edutecdb
spring.datasource.driverClassName=org.h2.Driver
spring.datasource.username=sa
spring.datasource.password=

# JPA Configuration
spring.jpa.database-platform=org.hibernate.dialect.H2Dialect
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=create-drop
spring.jpa.show-sql=true

# H2 Console (Access at http://localhost:8080/h2-console)
spring.h2.console.enabled=true
spring.h2.console.path=/h2-console

Access the H2 console at http://localhost:8080/h2-console with JDBC URL jdbc:h2:mem:edutecdb and username sa.

Production with MySQL

For MySQL database connection, configure:

# MySQL Database Configuration
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/edutec?useSSL=false&serverTimezone=UTC
spring.datasource.username=your_mysql_username
spring.datasource.password=your_mysql_password
spring.datasource.driver-class-name=com.mysql.cj.jdbc.Driver

# JPA Configuration
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=update
spring.jpa.show-sql=true
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.dialect=org.hibernate.dialect.MySQL8Dialect
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.format_sql=true

DDL Auto Modes

The spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto property controls database schema generation:

Mode	Behavior	Use Case
create	Drop and recreate schema on startup	Initial development
create-drop	Create on startup, drop on shutdown	Testing
update	Update schema without data loss	Development
validate	Only validate schema, no changes	Production
none	No schema management	Production (with Flyway/Liquibase)

Never use create or create-drop in production as it will delete all data!

JWT Configuration

Current Implementation

The JWT secret key is currently hardcoded in JwtService.java:

src/main/java/com/tecmilenio/edutec/security/JwtService.java

private static final String SECRET_KEY = "12345678910111213141516171819200";

Security Risk: The JWT secret key is hardcoded in the source code. This should be moved to environment variables before deployment.

Recommended: Environment Variable Configuration

To properly secure the JWT secret, modify JwtService.java to read from configuration:

1. Add to application.properties:

# JWT Configuration
jwt.secret=${JWT_SECRET:defaultSecretKeyForDevelopmentOnly123456789}
jwt.expiration=36000000

2. Update JwtService.java to use @Value annotation:

@Value("${jwt.secret}")
private String secretKey;

@Value("${jwt.expiration}")
private long expirationTime;

3. Set environment variable:

Linux/Mac

export JWT_SECRET="your-secure-secret-key-at-least-256-bits"

Generate a secure random key: openssl rand -base64 32

Server Configuration

Configure the embedded Tomcat server:

# Server Configuration
server.port=8080
server.servlet.context-path=/api

# Logging
logging.level.root=INFO
logging.level.com.tecmilenio.edutec=DEBUG
logging.level.org.springframework.web=DEBUG
logging.level.org.hibernate.SQL=DEBUG

Spring Profiles

Use Spring profiles to manage different environments:

Create Profile-Specific Files

application-dev.properties (Development):

spring.datasource.url=jdbc:h2:mem:edutecdb
spring.h2.console.enabled=true
spring.jpa.show-sql=true
logging.level.com.tecmilenio.edutec=DEBUG

application-prod.properties (Production):

spring.datasource.url=jdbc:mysql://prod-db-server:3306/edutec
spring.datasource.username=${DB_USERNAME}
spring.datasource.password=${DB_PASSWORD}
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=validate
spring.jpa.show-sql=false
logging.level.root=WARN

Activate Profiles

Command Line

./mvnw spring-boot:run -Dspring-boot.run.profiles=dev

Mail Configuration (Optional)

The project includes Spring Mail. To enable email functionality:

# Mail Configuration
spring.mail.host=smtp.gmail.com
spring.mail.port=587
spring.mail.username=${MAIL_USERNAME}
spring.mail.password=${MAIL_PASSWORD}
spring.mail.properties.mail.smtp.auth=true
spring.mail.properties.mail.smtp.starttls.enable=true

Session Management

The project uses JDBC session management:

# Session Configuration
spring.session.store-type=jdbc
spring.session.jdbc.initialize-schema=always
spring.session.timeout=1800s

Complete Example Configuration

Here’s a complete application.properties for local development:

# Application
spring.application.name=edutec
spring.profiles.active=dev

# Server
server.port=8080

# H2 Database
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:h2:mem:edutecdb
spring.datasource.driverClassName=org.h2.Driver
spring.datasource.username=sa
spring.datasource.password=

# JPA/Hibernate
spring.jpa.database-platform=org.hibernate.dialect.H2Dialect
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=create-drop
spring.jpa.show-sql=true
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.format_sql=true

# H2 Console
spring.h2.console.enabled=true
spring.h2.console.path=/h2-console

# JWT
jwt.secret=${JWT_SECRET:defaultSecretKeyForDevelopmentOnly123456789}
jwt.expiration=36000000

# Session
spring.session.store-type=jdbc

# Logging
logging.level.root=INFO
logging.level.com.tecmilenio.edutec=DEBUG

Environment Variables Best Practices

1. Never commit secrets

   Use .gitignore to exclude files containing sensitive data:

   .env
   application-prod.properties
   **/application-local.properties
   
2. Use environment variables for sensitive data

   • Database passwords: ${DB_PASSWORD}
   • JWT secrets: ${JWT_SECRET}
   • API keys: ${API_KEY}
3. Document required variables

   Create a .env.example file with placeholder values:

   JWT_SECRET=your-secret-here
   DB_PASSWORD=your-password-here
   
4. Use different values per environment

   Development, staging, and production should have separate credentials.

Next Steps

Running Locally

Start the application with your configuration

API Reference

Explore available API endpoints