Pandatech.PandaVaultClient

Secure configuration retrieval client for PandaVault service integration in .NET 8+ applications with automatic configuration injection and validation.

Installation

dotnet add package Pandatech.PandaVaultClient

Quick Start

1. Set Environment Variables

export PANDAVAULT_URL="https://vault.yourcompany.com"
export PANDAVAULT_SECRET="your-vault-secret"

Or in appsettings.json (not recommended for secrets):

{
  "PANDAVAULT_URL": "https://vault.yourcompany.com",
  "PANDAVAULT_SECRET": "your-vault-secret"
}

2. Register in Program.cs

using PandaVaultClient.Extensions;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Fetch and apply PandaVault configurations
builder.AddPandaVault();

var app = builder.Build();
app.Run();

3. Use Configurations

Direct access:

var rabbitMqHost = builder.Configuration["RabbitMQSettings:HostName"];

Strongly-typed options:

public class RabbitMQSettings
{
    public required string HostName { get; set; }
    public required string ExchangeName { get; set; }
}

// Register
builder.Services.Configure<RabbitMQSettings>(
    builder.Configuration.GetSection("RabbitMQSettings"));

// Inject
public class MyService
{
    private readonly RabbitMQSettings _settings;
    
    public MyService(IOptions<RabbitMQSettings> options)
    {
        _settings = options.Value;
    }
}

Features

✅ Automatic configuration retrieval - Fetches configs from PandaVault on startup
✅ Environment variable authentication - Secure secret management
✅ Configuration validation - Ensures required configs are set
✅ IConfiguration integration - Works with Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration
✅ Startup failure on missing configs - Prevents runtime errors

Required Configuration Validation

Mark configurations as required by setting their value to "**" in your local appsettings.json:

{
  "DatabaseConnection": "**",
  "RabbitMQSettings:HostName": "**"
}

If PandaVault doesn't provide these configurations, the application will not start and throws:

InvalidOperationException: Configuration key 'DatabaseConnection' is not configured in the PandaVault.

How It Works

1. Reads environment variables (PANDAVAULT_URL, PANDAVAULT_SECRET)
2. Validates URL and secret
3. Fetches configurations via HTTP GET to /api/v1/vault-configs
4. Merges into IConfiguration - PandaVault configs override appsettings.json
5. Validates required configs - Ensures no "**" placeholders remain

API Endpoint

PandaVault must expose:

GET /api/v1/vault-configs
Headers:
  secret: {PANDAVAULT_SECRET}

Response:
[
  { "key": "DatabaseConnection", "value": "Server=..." },
  { "key": "RabbitMQSettings:HostName", "value": "rabbitmq.local" }
]

Error Handling

Missing environment variables:

ArgumentNullException: PANDAVAULT_URL environment variable is not set

Invalid URL:

ArgumentNullException: PANDAVAULT_URL is not valid. Url: {url}

HTTP errors:

HttpRequestException: Failed to fetch configurations. Status Code: 401

Wrong secret:

Console: The secret is wrong or there is no configurations set
Returns: Empty list (application continues with local config)

Security Considerations

⚠️ Do not hardcode secrets - Always use environment variables
⚠️ Use HTTPS - PandaVault URL should use https:// (http:// is allowed but not recommended)
⚠️ Rotate secrets regularly - Update PANDAVAULT_SECRET periodically
⚠️ Validate configurations - Use the "**" pattern for critical configs

Advanced Usage

Manual Configuration Fetch

var configs = await PandaVaultHttpClient.FetchConfigurationsAsync();

foreach (var config in configs)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"{config.Key} = {config.Value}");
}

Custom Configuration Processing

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Fetch configs manually
var vaultConfigs = await PandaVaultHttpClient.FetchConfigurationsAsync();

// Apply with custom logic
foreach (var config in vaultConfigs)
{
    if (config.Key.StartsWith("Secrets:"))
    {
        // Handle secrets differently
        builder.Configuration[config.Key] = DecryptValue(config.Value);
    }
    else
    {
        builder.Configuration[config.Key] = config.Value;
    }
}

Troubleshooting

Issue: Application starts but configurations are not applied
Solution: Ensure AddPandaVault() is called before accessing configurations

Issue: The secret is wrong or there is no configurations set
Solution: Verify PANDAVAULT_SECRET matches the vault's expected secret

Issue: Configuration key 'X' is not configured in the PandaVault
Solution: Either add the config to PandaVault or remove the "**" placeholder

License

MIT