03-Feb-2026 — Secrets, Paths and 4 more areas: 6 features and 1 fix #146

build 459 — commit c19b47d

Add loadSecretsWithFallback and loadSecretsForEnvironmentFromDatabase to support reading secrets from the database ENVIRONMENTS config when running on deployed servers. Falls back to file-based secrets for local development. Secrets are built from:

Global aws config and secrets from EnvironmentsConfig
Per-environment aws, mongo, and secrets from EnvironmentConfig
MongoDB URI is constructed from mongo config fields

cli: add GitHub secrets sync command for environment management (#146)

Add ngx-cli github command with reconcile, sync, and push subcommands to manage the CONFIGS_JSON GitHub secret from the database source of truth. This enables regular syncing when environments are created or modified.

backup: global AWS credentials, S3 path improvements, and DRY refactoring (#146)

User Guide

Global Backup Configuration

You can now configure global AWS credentials in the Settings tab under 'Global AWS S3 Configuration'. This allows a single set of credentials to manage backups across all environments, with per-environment settings used as fallback. New Settings Fields:

Access Key ID
AWS access key with S3 permissions
Secret Access Key
Corresponding secret key

Backup Improvements

Backups are now organised by environment and timestamp in S3: <environment>/<timestamp>/
Upload progress is displayed in the History tab logs
Server-side logging reduced to show only meaningful operations

Environment Configuration

MongoDB URI can now be pasted directly
fields auto-populate from the connection string
All environment configs support AWS, MongoDB, and Fly.io credentials in one place

Technical Changes

S3 Path Construction

New backup-paths.ts with pure utility functions for S3 key construction
22 unit tests covering path building and parsing
Simplified path structure: <env>/<timestamp> instead of <env>/<db>/<timestamp>

DRY Refactoring

Consolidated uploadDirectoryToS3 from 3 duplicate implementations into server/lib/aws/s3-utils.ts
Added factory functions: createEmptyAwsConfig(), createEmptyMongoConfig()
EnvironmentBackupConfig and BackupConfig now type aliases for EnvironmentConfig and EnvironmentsConfig
Eliminated inline interface definitions in favour of model imports

Credential Resolution

preferredCredentials() method prioritises global AWS credentials over per-environment
preferredBucket() and preferredRegion() follow same pattern
bucketExists() check prevents AccessDenied errors when credentials lack CreateBucket permission

Code Quality

Removed verbose debug logging from backup controller and websocket server
Method naming follows project conventions (no 'get' prefix)
All config model types centralised in environment-config.model.ts

environment-setup: comprehensive environment management overhaul with API and MongoDB migration (#146)

Introduces new environment configuration API, MongoDB cluster-based config, and enhanced UI with vendor branding and dashboard links. New Environment Configuration API:

RESTful endpoints for reading and writing environment configurations
EnvironmentConfigService for centralised config management
Separation of concerns: environment config extracted from backup/restore
Config initialisation from files with validation and error handling MongoDB Configuration Migration:
Migrate from uri field to cluster field in MongoDB configuration
Cluster field stores cluster name without .mongodb.net suffix
Database migration script (20260201000000) converts existing records
Backward compatible: handles both legacy URI and new cluster formats
Improved regex parsing for cluster extraction from URIs Enhanced Environment Setup UI:
Vendor logos in all configuration section headings
Ramblers logo dynamically loaded from System Settings
AWS, MongoDB, and Fly.io static brand logos
External link buttons for quick dashboard access:
AWS S3 Console (global and per-environment bucket views)
MongoDB Atlas dashboard
Fly.io app-specific dashboard
Deployed application URL
Environment list alphabetically sorted by name
Improved visual spacing and button styling consistency Backend Architecture Improvements:
New environments-config.ts module for config operations
Enhanced config-initializer with cluster field population
Updated backup/restore service to use new config service
CLI tools migrated to cluster-based MongoDB configuration
Fly.toml path resolution fixed for compiled environments Technical Implementation:
New EnvironmentConfig and EnvironmentsConfig models
Integration with SystemConfigService for dynamic Ramblers logo
Custom .btn-outline-flyio styling for brand consistency
Shared sortBy() utility for environment sorting
Type-safe API routes with proper error handling

environment-setup: add automated environment creation and CLI enhancements (#146)

New Features for Users: Environment Setup (Web UI) The new Environment Setup page (Admin > Environment Setup) allows administrators to create complete NGX-Ramblers environments for new Ramblers walking groups through a guided wizard:

Enter your Ramblers API key and select your walking group
Configure external services (MongoDB, AWS, Brevo email, maps)
Set up an admin user account
Deploy to fly.io with one click The wizard handles all infrastructure provisioning automatically including:

Cloud database setup and configuration
File storage (AWS S3) with secure credentials
Application deployment to fly.io
Sample content and admin menu setup
Optional standard assets (logos, icons, backgrounds) copied to S3 Command Line Interface (CLI) A new CLI tool is available for power users and automation. See the full reference guide at: Admin > How-To > Technical Documents > "NGX Ramblers CLI Reference Guide" Quick start: npm run cli -- # Run from project root npm link && ngx-cli # Or install globally (optional) Common commands: ngx-cli l dev my-group # Start local development ngx-cli l list # List available environments ngx-cli db seed my-group --fresh # Fresh database seed with migrations ngx-cli db seed my-group --sync # Seed and sync walks from Ramblers API ngx-cli f deploy my-group # Deploy to fly.io ngx-cli des my-group # Destroy environment completely ngx-cli bak create my-group # Backup an environment ngx-cli bak restore my-group # Restore from backup Interactive mode: Run commands without arguments to get a selection menu. Use arrow keys to navigate, ESC to go back, q to quit.

Technical Changes: CLI Implementation:

Add command aliases (env, db, val, des, l, f, a, bak)
Add positional arguments instead of --name options
Add interactive navigation with inquirer.js
Add port availability checking for local dev
Run migrations automatically after database seeding
Add backup/restore commands (bak create, bak restore, bak list) Database & Migrations:
Add Duplicate Page Content and Venue Settings to admin menu
Add showPlaceholderImage to walks action buttons
Include all 23 production admin menu items in migrations Environment Setup Service:
Integrate with Ramblers API for group validation
Automate AWS S3/IAM resource creation
Automate fly.io deployment with secrets
Create database config templates for new groups
Add WebSocket progress feedback for real-time step updates
Add copyStandardAssets option to seed S3 with logos/icons/backgrounds
Add OS Maps and reCAPTCHA defaults from environment variables
Add detailed MongoDB connection error messages with suggestions
Add ENVIRONMENT_SETUP_ENABLED env var to control UI access

release-notes: add technical article publishing script

Add publish-technical-article.ts for publishing markdown articles to CMS
Use shared date utilities and UIDateFormat enum for DRY date formatting
Add DAY_MONTH_YEAR_DASHED format to UIDateFormat enum
Disable Manage Venues button when form is disabled
Remove unused code from venue-lookup.ts

paths: use resolveClientPath for non-vcs file access (#146)

Fix path resolution for secrets and configs.json files when running in production mode where code executes from ts-gen directory.