Add more env vars to drive the MasterContainer: full config of borg backup, list of optional containers, domain name

[gggeek]

It would be nice to have support for more env vars, which, when passed to the MC, would decide all (or at least most of) the configuration which is currently done via the MC web interface.

When those settings are defined via env vars, the MC web interface could show the corresponding values with any option to edit them grayed out, and a small notice "can not be changed, set via configuration"

Advantages:

• easier to know how the platform is set up, make sure the settings are properly backed up, enforce the desired settings (atm it is not documented where those settings are stored, after being set)
• easier to change the settings (when running AIO in a Compose setup)
• more uniform configuration method - atm some things can be set via env vars, some via the web interface
• ideally (long term goal), be able to start an AIO instance fully-configured, without having to go to its admin web page even once
• can drive more of the long tasks necessary "startup" not from a webpage interface but from cli/background processes, which are less prone to accidental disruption (eg. the user pressing the browser stop button or closing the current page)

Are there any known technical issues preventing this to be implemented?

[szaimen]

HI, I am not sure about this idea. Generally I agree it is always a good idea to make things easier to use, however obviously this comes with added complexity and maintenance cost and increases the complexity of the AIO interface even more imho. This was the main reason why we have some options in the compose file and some available via the AIO interace. The main idea was that the necessary options are configurable via the AIo interface directly. More edgy ones are configurable via the compose file. I hope this makes sense!

[gggeek]

I know there is a point above which the code managing the injection of env vars into secrets and config becomes a huge liability. Been there, done that ;-)

However, I think that the advantages I mentioned above, esp. the ability of starting an AIO instance fully-configured with no need for access to the GUI, outweigh the downsides - at last for the current situation.
As far as I know (and I might be way off here), besides the backup config and the list of containers, there are not many other options which can be set via the MC GUI (the timezone?), so the task would not be sisyphean...

[gggeek]

A request for making automated deployment possible: #920 (reply in thread)