Environment Variables

Overview

Dashboard Dilemas uses environment variables for database credentials and can be extended with additional configuration options. The application also uses PHP constants defined in includes/config.php for runtime configuration.

Environment File

Creating .env File

Copy the example file to create your environment configuration:

cp .env.example .env

DB_HOST=localhost
DB_USER=root
DB_PASSWORD=
DB_NAME=wordpress_db

Variable Reference

Variable	Default	Description
`DB_HOST`	`localhost`	MySQL server hostname or IP address
`DB_USER`	`root`	Database username
`DB_PASSWORD`	(empty)	Database password
`DB_NAME`	`wordpress_db`	Database name

Never commit your .env file to version control. It should be listed in .gitignore.

PHP Configuration Constants

The includes/config.php file defines application-wide constants that complement environment variables.

Site Configuration

Automatic Site URL Detection

The application automatically detects the site URL based on the current environment:

includes/config.php

$_proto = (isset($_SERVER['HTTPS']) && $_SERVER['HTTPS'] !== 'off') ? 'https' : 'http';
$_host = $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] ?? 'localhost';
$_base = dirname(dirname($_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME'] ?? '/dashboard-dilemas'));
$_basePath = (str_ends_with($_base, 'dashboard-dilemas')) ? $_base : $_base . '/dashboard-dilemas';
define('SITE_URL', rtrim($_proto . '://' . $_host . $_basePath, '/'));

The site URL is automatically adjusted for both local development (/dashboard-dilemas) and production environments.

WordPress Integration

define('WP_SITE_URL', 'http://localhost:8888/dilemas');
define('WP_PATH', '/Users/benitogutierrez/GITBG/dilemas');

Update WP_PATH and WP_SITE_URL to match your WordPress installation path. These are required for email functionality using WordPress’s PHPMailer.

SMTP Configuration

Email server settings are defined as PHP constants:

includes/config.php

define('SMTP_HOST', ''); // e.g., smtp-relay.brevo.com
define('SMTP_USER', '');
define('SMTP_PASS', '');
define('SMTP_PORT', 587);
define('SMTP_SECURE', 'tls'); // 'tls' or 'ssl'
define('SMTP_FROM_EMAIL', '[email protected]');
define('SMTP_FROM_NAME', 'Dilemas Eticos');

Recommended SMTP providers: Brevo, SendGrid, or Gmail SMTP. See Email Configuration for details.

AI Integration

Gemini AI API key for enhanced features:

define('GEMINI_API_KEY', 'your_api_key_here');

Get your API key from Google AI Studio

Security Alert: The example file contains a placeholder API key. Replace it with your own key and never commit real credentials to version control.

Cron Job Configuration

For automated email reminders, configure a cron secret:

cron_email_reminders.php

define('CRON_SECRET', getenv('CRON_SECRET') ?: 'dilemas_cron_2024_secret');

Add this to your .env file:

.env

CRON_SECRET=your_secure_random_secret_here

Then set up your cron job:

# Run daily at 9:00 AM
0 9 * * * curl -s "https://yourdomain.com/dashboard-dilemas/cron_email_reminders.php?secret=your_secure_random_secret_here"

Configuration by Environment

Development Environment

DB_HOST=localhost
DB_USER=root
DB_PASSWORD=root
DB_NAME=dilemas_dev
CRON_SECRET=dev_secret_123

Production Environment

DB_HOST=localhost
DB_USER=dilemas_prod
DB_PASSWORD=strong_secure_password_here
DB_NAME=dilemas_production
CRON_SECRET=long_random_secure_string_here

Security Best Practices

File Permissions

Ensure .env file has restricted permissions:

chmod 600 .env
chown www-data:www-data .env

Gitignore Configuration

Always exclude sensitive files from version control:

.gitignore

.env
.env.local
.env.production
includes/config.php
dev/debug/*.log

Secret Generation

Generate strong secrets using:

# Generate random string for CRON_SECRET
openssl rand -base64 32

# Or use PHP
php -r "echo bin2hex(random_bytes(32));"

Database User Privileges

Use a dedicated database user with minimal privileges:

CREATE USER 'dilemas_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'secure_password';
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON dilemas.* TO 'dilemas_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Environment variables not loading

Problem: Database connection fails even with correct .env file.Solution: PHP doesn’t load .env files by default. You may need to:

Use a library like vlucas/phpdotenv
Manually load environment variables in your web server configuration
Set variables directly in PHP using putenv()

SMTP connection errors

Problem: Emails fail to send.Solution:

Verify SMTP credentials are correct
Check SMTP_PORT and SMTP_SECURE settings
Ensure firewall allows outbound connections on the SMTP port
Check error logs in dev/debug/error.log

WordPress path not found

Problem: Certificate emails fail with “WordPress not found” error.Solution: Update WP_PATH constant in includes/config.php to point to your actual WordPress installation directory.

Get Started

Core Features

Configuration

User Guides

Environment Variables

Overview

Environment File

Creating .env File