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Portfolio Hub API uses a combination of environment variables and Spring Boot application properties for configuration. This guide covers all available configuration options.

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Configuration Overview

The application uses application.properties as the base configuration file, with environment variables for sensitive and environment-specific values.
All sensitive credentials (database passwords, API keys, tokens) should be provided via environment variables, never hardcoded in configuration files.

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Core Application Properties

The base configuration is defined in src/main/resources/application.properties: 
spring.application.name=portfolio
server.port=8080

# JPA Configuration
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=validate
spring.jpa.open-in-view=false
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.format_sql=true

# Flyway Configuration
spring.flyway.baseline-on-migrate=true
spring.flyway.enabled=true
spring.flyway.locations=classpath:db/migration

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Key Settings Explained

  • spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=validate - Hibernate will validate the schema against entities but won’t modify it. Flyway handles all schema changes.
  • spring.jpa.open-in-view=false - Disables OSIV (Open Session in View) for better performance and to avoid lazy loading issues.
  • spring.flyway.baseline-on-migrate=true - Allows Flyway to work with existing databases.

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Environment Variables

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Database Configuration

Configure MySQL connection settings: 
# MySQL Host
export MYSQL_HOST=localhost

# MySQL Port (defaults to 3306 if not set)
export MYSQL_PORT=3306

# Database Name
export MYSQL_DATABASE=studiostkoh.portafolio

# Database Credentials
export MYSQL_USER=your_username
export MYSQL_PASSWORD=your_secure_password
These variables are used in the DataSource configuration: 
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:mysql://${MYSQL_HOST}:${MYSQL_PORT:3306}/${MYSQL_DATABASE}?useSSL=false&allowPublicKeyRetrieval=true&serverTimezone=UTC
spring.datasource.username=${MYSQL_USER}
spring.datasource.password=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
The connection string includes useSSL=false for local development. In production, enable SSL and configure proper certificates.

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JWT Security Configuration

Configure JSON Web Token authentication: 
# JWT Secret Key (minimum 256 bits)
export JWT_TOKEN=your_very_long_secret_key_at_least_256_bits

# Token Expiration Time (in minutes)
export JWT_EXPIRATION_TIME=60
Used in application properties: 
application.security.jwt.secret-key=${JWT_TOKEN}
application.security.jwt.expiration=${JWT_EXPIRATION_TIME}
Generate a secure JWT secret key:
openssl rand -base64 64
The key should be at least 256 bits (32 bytes) for HS256 algorithm.

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CORS Configuration

Configure allowed origins for Cross-Origin Resource Sharing: 
# Single origin
export CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:3000

# Multiple origins (comma-separated)
export CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:3000,https://yourdomain.com
Referenced in: 
application.security.cors.allowed-origins=${CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS}

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Google Drive Configuration

Portfolio Hub API integrates with Google Drive for file uploads (avatars, resumes, project covers, etc.).

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OAuth 2.0 Credentials

# OAuth Client ID from Google Cloud Console
export DRIVE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id.apps.googleusercontent.com

# OAuth Client Secret
export DRIVE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret

# Refresh Token (obtained through OAuth flow)
export DRIVE_OAUTH_REFRESH_TOKEN=your_refresh_token
Used in application properties: 
google.drive.oauth.client-id=${DRIVE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID}
google.drive.oauth.client-secret=${DRIVE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET}
google.drive.oauth.refresh-token=${DRIVE_OAUTH_REFRESH_TOKEN}
1

Create Google Cloud Project

  1. Go to Google Cloud Console
  2. Create a new project or select existing one
  3. Enable Google Drive API
2

Create OAuth 2.0 Credentials

  1. Navigate to APIs & Services → Credentials
  2. Create OAuth 2.0 Client ID
  3. Choose “Desktop app” as application type
  4. Download the credentials JSON
3

Generate Refresh Token

Use the OAuth 2.0 Playground or a custom script to obtain a refresh token with https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.file scope.

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Google Drive Folder IDs

Configure folder IDs for organizing uploaded files: 
# Folder for user avatar images
export DRIVE_FOLDER_USER_AVATARS=folder_id_here

# Folder for user resume PDFs
export DRIVE_FOLDER_USER_RESUMES=folder_id_here

# Folder for project cover images
export DRIVE_FOLDER_PROJECTS_COVER=folder_id_here

# Folder for skill icons
export DRIVE_FOLDER_SKILLS_ICON=folder_id_here

# Folder for certificate files
export DRIVE_FOLDER_CERTIFICATES=folder_id_here
Mapped in application properties: 
google.drive.folders.user-avatars=${DRIVE_FOLDER_USER_AVATARS}
google.drive.folders.user-resumes=${DRIVE_FOLDER_USER_RESUMES}
google.drive.folders.projects-cover=${DRIVE_FOLDER_PROJECTS_COVER}
google.drive.folders.skills-icon=${DRIVE_FOLDER_SKILLS_ICON}
google.drive.folders.certificates=${DRIVE_FOLDER_CERTIFICATES}
  1. Open Google Drive in your browser
  2. Navigate to the folder
  3. The folder ID is in the URL: 
    https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/FOLDER_ID_HERE
  4. Copy the FOLDER_ID_HERE part

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Email/SMTP Configuration

Configure email sending for contact forms and notifications: 
# SMTP Server Host
export SMTP_HOST=smtp.gmail.com

# SMTP Server Port
export SMTP_PORT=587

# Email Address
export GMAIL_APP_EMAIL=your.email@gmail.com

# App Password (not your regular Gmail password)
export GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD=your_app_password
Used in application properties: 
spring.mail.host=${SMTP_HOST}
spring.mail.port=${SMTP_PORT}
spring.mail.username=${GMAIL_APP_EMAIL}
spring.mail.password=${GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD}

# JavaMail Properties
spring.mail.properties.mail.smtp.auth=true
spring.mail.properties.mail.smtp.starttls.enable=true
  1. Enable 2-Factor Authentication on your Google Account
  2. Go to Google Account Settings
  3. Navigate to Security → 2-Step Verification → App passwords
  4. Generate a new app password for “Mail”
  5. Use this 16-character password as GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD
Never use your regular Gmail password. Always use an App Password.

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Configuration Examples

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Local Development

Create a .env file in your project root: 
# Database
MYSQL_HOST=localhost
MYSQL_PORT=3306
MYSQL_DATABASE=studiostkoh.portafolio
MYSQL_USER=portfolio_dev
MYSQL_PASSWORD=dev_password_123

# JWT
JWT_TOKEN=dev_secret_key_change_in_production_min_256_bits
JWT_EXPIRATION_TIME=60

# CORS
CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:3000,http://localhost:5173

# Google Drive (Optional for dev)
DRIVE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID=
DRIVE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET=
DRIVE_OAUTH_REFRESH_TOKEN=
DRIVE_FOLDER_USER_AVATARS=
DRIVE_FOLDER_USER_RESUMES=
DRIVE_FOLDER_PROJECTS_COVER=
DRIVE_FOLDER_SKILLS_ICON=
DRIVE_FOLDER_CERTIFICATES=

# Email (Optional for dev)
SMTP_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
SMTP_PORT=587
GMAIL_APP_EMAIL=
GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD=
Load environment variables: 
# Using direnv (recommended)
echo 'dotenv' > .envrc
direnv allow

# Or manually source
source .env

# Or use with Maven
./mvnw spring-boot:run

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Production

# In docker-compose.yml or Dockerfile
environment:
  - MYSQL_HOST=production-db.example.com
  - MYSQL_PORT=3306
  - MYSQL_DATABASE=portfolio_prod
  - MYSQL_USER=${DB_USER}
  - MYSQL_PASSWORD=${DB_PASSWORD}
  - JWT_TOKEN=${JWT_SECRET}
  - JWT_EXPIRATION_TIME=30
  - CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=https://yourdomain.com

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Configuration Validation

Portfolio Hub API will fail to start if required environment variables are missing. Check the startup logs for configuration errors: 
./mvnw spring-boot:run
Look for: 
✓ Database connection established
✓ Flyway migrations completed successfully
✓ JWT configuration loaded
✓ Application started on port 8080

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Advanced Configuration

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Custom Server Port

Override the default port (8080): 
export SERVER_PORT=9090
Or via command line: 
./mvnw spring-boot:run -Dspring-boot.run.arguments=--server.port=9090

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Database Connection Pool

For production, you may want to configure HikariCP (default connection pool): 
spring.datasource.hikari.maximum-pool-size=10
spring.datasource.hikari.minimum-idle=5
spring.datasource.hikari.connection-timeout=30000
spring.datasource.hikari.idle-timeout=600000
spring.datasource.hikari.max-lifetime=1800000

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Logging Configuration

Adjust logging levels: 
logging.level.root=INFO
logging.level.studios.tkoh.portfolio=DEBUG
logging.level.org.springframework.security=DEBUG
logging.level.org.hibernate.SQL=DEBUG

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Security Best Practices

Follow these security guidelines for production deployments:
  1. Never commit secrets - Use environment variables or secret management services
  2. Rotate JWT secrets regularly - Update JWT_TOKEN periodically
  3. Use strong passwords - Minimum 32 characters for JWT secret
  4. Enable SSL for MySQL - Configure SSL certificates for database connections
  5. Limit CORS origins - Only allow trusted domains
  6. Use app passwords - Never use regular Gmail passwords for SMTP
  7. Secure Google Drive - Limit OAuth scope to drive.file only
  8. Environment isolation - Use different credentials for dev/staging/production

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Configuration Checklist

Before running Portfolio Hub API, verify:
  • MySQL database is running and accessible
  • Database schema studiostkoh.portafolio exists
  • All required environment variables are set
  • JWT secret is at least 256 bits
  • CORS origins match your frontend URL(s)
  • Google Drive OAuth credentials are valid (if using file uploads)
  • Gmail App Password is configured (if using email features)
  • Flyway can connect and run migrations

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Next Steps

Database Setup

Learn about MySQL schema and Flyway migrations

Authentication

Set up JWT authentication and create users

File Uploads

Configure Google Drive integration

API Reference

Explore all available endpoints

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