Feat/docs

ENV_QUICK_REFERENCE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,241 @@
+# Environment Variables - Quick Reference
+
+**Fast access guide to environment variable configuration.**
+
+---
+
+## 🚀 Quick Start
+
+### Local Development
+```bash
+cp .env.example .env
+# Edit .env with localhost values
+npm run validate:env
+npm run start:dev
+```
+
+### Validate Any Time
+```bash
+npm run validate:env
+```
+
+### Full Documentation
+```bash
+cat ENV_VARS_DOCUMENTATION.md       # Complete reference
+cat ENV_SETUP_GUIDE.md              # Step-by-step guide
+cat ENV_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md   # What was built
+```
+
+---
+
+## 📋 Essential Variables (Must Set)
+
+```env
+# Database (REQUIRED)
+DATABASE_HOST=your-db-host
+DATABASE_PORT=5432
+DATABASE_USER=postgres
+DATABASE_PASSWORD=your-password
+DATABASE_NAME=teachlink
+
+# Redis (REQUIRED)
+REDIS_HOST=your-redis-host
+REDIS_PORT=6379
+
+# Secrets (REQUIRED - min 32 chars)
+JWT_SECRET=your-jwt-secret-min-32-chars
+JWT_REFRESH_SECRET=your-refresh-secret-min-32-chars
+ENCRYPTION_SECRET=0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef  # Exactly 32 chars
+SESSION_SECRET=your-session-secret-min-32-chars
+
+# Email (REQUIRED)
+SMTP_HOST=smtp.example.com
+SMTP_PORT=587
+SMTP_USER=user@example.com
+SMTP_PASS=password
+EMAIL_FROM=noreply@example.com
+
+# AWS (REQUIRED)
+AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-key
+AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-secret
+AWS_S3_BUCKET=your-bucket
+
+# Stripe (REQUIRED)
+STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_...
+STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET=whsec_...
+
+# SendGrid (REQUIRED)
+SENDGRID_API_KEY=your-api-key
+```
+
+---
+
+## 🔧 Common Configurations
+
+### Defaults (Most Optional Variables)
+```env
+NODE_ENV=development
+PORT=3000
+APP_URL=http://localhost:3000
+AWS_REGION=us-east-1
+BCRYPT_ROUNDS=10
+JWT_EXPIRES_IN=15m
+JWT_REFRESH_EXPIRES_IN=7d
+DATABASE_POOL_MAX=30
+DATABASE_POOL_MIN=5
+```
+
+### Production Adjustments
+```env
+NODE_ENV=production
+BCRYPT_ROUNDS=12
+CLUSTER_MODE=true
+DATABASE_POOL_MAX=50
+DATABASE_POOL_MIN=10
+METRICS_ENABLED=true
+```
+
+### High Traffic
+```env
+CLUSTER_MODE=true
+DATABASE_POOL_MAX=100
+ENABLE_CACHING=true
+ENABLE_RATE_LIMITING=true
+```
+
+---
+
+## ✅ Validation Rules
+
+| Variable | Type | Min | Max | Notes |
+|----------|------|-----|-----|-------|
+| PORT | Integer | 1 | 65535 | Application port |
+| DATABASE_PORT | Integer | 1 | 65535 | DB port |
+| REDIS_PORT | Integer | 1 | 65535 | Redis port |
+| SMTP_PORT | Integer | 1 | 65535 | SMTP port |
+| JWT_SECRET | String | 10 | - | 32+ for production |
+| ENCRYPTION_SECRET | String | 32 | 32 | Exactly 32 chars |
+| BCRYPT_ROUNDS | Integer | 4 | 15 | Hash rounds |
+| EMAIL_FROM | Email | - | - | Valid email format |
+| APP_URL | URL | - | - | Valid URL |
+| NODE_ENV | Enum | - | - | dev/prod/staging/test |
+
+---
+
+## 🐛 Common Issues & Fixes
+
+| Issue | Error | Fix |
+|-------|-------|-----|
+| Missing required var | `✗ DATABASE_HOST` | Set the variable in .env |
+| Invalid email | `Invalid email format` | Use proper email: user@domain.com |
+| Invalid port | `Must be >= 1 and <= 65535` | Use port in valid range |
+| Short secret | `Must be at least 32 chars` | Generate longer secret |
+| Not a number | `Invalid integer format` | Remove quotes, use number |
+
+---
+
+## 🔐 Security Checklist
+
+- [ ] Never commit .env files (add to .gitignore)
+- [ ] Use strong secrets (min 32 chars)
+- [ ] Rotate secrets regularly
+- [ ] Use different values per environment
+- [ ] Store production secrets in AWS Secrets Manager
+- [ ] Enable HTTPS (APP_URL=https://...)
+- [ ] Set NODE_ENV=production in production
+- [ ] Run validation before deployment
+
+---
+
+## 📂 Files Reference
+
+| File | Purpose | Size |
+|------|---------|------|
+| ENV_VARS_DOCUMENTATION.md | Complete reference | 40KB |
+| ENV_SETUP_GUIDE.md | Step-by-step guide | 15KB |
+| ENV_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md | What was built | 13KB |
+| .env.example | Configuration template | 25KB |
+| scripts/validate-env.js | Validation script | 13KB |
+
+---
+
+## 🎯 By Role
+
+### Developer
+1. Copy .env.example to .env
+2. Set localhost values
+3. Run `npm run validate:env`
+4. Start with `npm run start:dev`
+
+### DevOps Engineer
+1. Review ENV_VARS_DOCUMENTATION.md
+2. Configure for your environment
+3. Run validation in CI/CD
+4. Set up secrets management
+
+### SRE
+1. Study deployment examples
+2. Implement in Kubernetes
+3. Configure monitoring variables
+4. Set up alerts
+
+---
+
+## 💡 Tips
+
+- **Generate Random Secret:** `openssl rand -base64 32`
+- **Validate Production Setup:** `NODE_ENV=production npm run validate:env`
+- **See All Variables:** `npm run validate:env` (shows all)
+- **Quiet Mode:** Not implemented yet, but `npm run validate:env 2>/dev/null` hides warnings
+- **Custom Validation:** Edit `scripts/validate-env.js` for additional rules
+
+---
+
+## 🔗 Links
+
+- **Full Documentation:** ENV_VARS_DOCUMENTATION.md
+- **Setup Instructions:** ENV_SETUP_GUIDE.md
+- **Implementation Details:** ENV_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md
+- **Template File:** .env.example
+- **Validation Script:** scripts/validate-env.js
+
+---
+
+## 📞 Quick Help
+
+**Run validation:**
+```bash
+npm run validate:env
+```
+
+**See all variables:**
+```bash
+grep "^[A-Z_]" .env.example | wc -l
+```
+
+**Check documentation:**
+```bash
+grep "^### " ENV_VARS_DOCUMENTATION.md
+```
+
+**Generate 32-char secret:**
+```bash
+node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(16).toString('hex'))"
+```
+
+---
+
+## ✨ Summary
+
+✅ **108+ environment variables** fully documented
+✅ **Auto-validation** with detailed error messages  
+✅ **Deployment examples** for local/staging/production
+✅ **Security best practices** included
+✅ **Troubleshooting guide** for common issues
+
+**Total:** ~100KB of comprehensive documentation
+**Status:** Ready to use
+
+---
+
+**Last Updated:** June 24, 2026