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Properly configuring your environment variables and managing secrets is crucial for a secure Oxy deployment.
1

Create Environment File

Create a .env file in your workspace to store your environment variables:
touch .env
chmod 600 .env  # Restrict permissions to owner only
2

Add Required Secrets

Add your secrets to the .env file:
OPENAI_API_KEY=your-api-key
DATABASE_URL=your-database-connection-string
# Add other environment variables as needed
Never commit your .env file to version control. Make sure it’s included in your .gitignore file.
3

Advanced: Using AWS SSM Parameter Store

For cloud deployments, consider using a secure method to manage secrets, such as AWS SSM Parameter Store:
# Install AWS CLI if not already installed
sudo apt-get install -y awscli

# Configure AWS credentials
aws configure

# Example: Fetching environment variables from AWS SSM
APP_ENV=$(aws ssm get-parameter --name "/your-app/env" --query "Parameter.Value" --output text --region your-region | sed 's/\\n/\n/g')
echo "${APP_ENV}" > .env

# Example: Fetching API keys or credentials
API_KEY=$(aws ssm get-parameter --name "/your-app/api_key" --query "Parameter.Value" --output text --region your-region)
echo "${API_KEY}" > api-key.json
You can automate this process by creating a script to fetch secrets during deployment or server startup.
4

Test Environment Configuration

Verify that Oxy can access the environment variables:
# Test if Oxy can read the environment variables
oxy --version

# Restart the Oxy service to apply changes
sudo systemctl restart oxy

# Check service status
sudo systemctl status oxy