Skip to main content

Local Workspace (datadir)

Your Quonfig workspace is a git repo of JSON files: one file per flag, config, segment and log level. Any Quonfig SDK can read a local copy of that repo instead of connecting to Quonfig. That local copy is called a datadir.

A datadir is the complete workspace, not a snapshot of one environment. When you point an SDK at it you also choose which environment to evaluate, so the same checkout serves your test, development and production rules.

Use a datadir when you want:

  • Offline development: work without a network connection. See Offline Mode.
  • Reproducible tests and CI: run against a known, committed configuration instead of whatever is live today.
  • Builds that shouldn't call Quonfig: Docker builds, assets:precompile, and other steps where you don't want an SDK key in the build.

Get a local copy​

Pull your workspace with the Quonfig CLI:

qfg pull --dir ./my-config
# clones your workspace config files to ./my-config

./my-config is a regular git checkout. Re-run qfg pull to update it. You can commit it into your app's repo (or your Docker build context) so CI uses exactly the configuration you checked in.

Point an SDK at it​

Backend SDKs read the datadir straight from disk. Set the SDK's datadir option (WithDataDir in Go; see your SDK's page for the exact spelling) and choose an environment. The Ruby and Python SDKs can also read both from environment variables:

QUONFIG_DIR=./my-config QUONFIG_ENVIRONMENT=test bundle exec rspec

In datadir mode the SDK loads everything from the local files. It doesn't contact the Quonfig servers or open a streaming connection. Open Source / Fully Local has the setup for each SDK, including auto-reload when files change.

Frontend SDKs (browser, React, React Native) have no filesystem. Run qfg serve to serve the datadir over HTTP, then point the SDK's apiUrls at it.

Testing with a datadir​

  1. Create a test environment in the Quonfig UI and set the values your tests expect.
  2. Pull the workspace: qfg pull --dir ./my-config.
  3. Point your test setup at ./my-config and evaluate the test environment.

Mock or stub individual values when a test needs a specific scenario. See Testing.

Docker builds and asset precompilation​

A datadir lets build steps evaluate config without an SDK key. A common case is assets:precompile in Rails:

RUN RAILS_ENV=production QUONFIG_DIR=./my-config QUONFIG_ENVIRONMENT=test bundle exec rake assets:precompile

If you don't want test values in the build, create a separate environment (for example docker-build) and set QUONFIG_ENVIRONMENT to that.