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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/JReyna217/PharmaVault/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

PharmaVault follows the standard ASP.NET Core configuration model, layering settings from appsettings.json, environment-specific overrides, and secrets at runtime. The only required configuration value is a PostgreSQL connection string — every other setting ships with a sensible default that works out of the box.
Never commit a real connection string to source control. The appsettings.json file intentionally ships with an empty DefaultConnection value. Always supply credentials through .NET User Secrets (local development) or environment variables (production and Docker).

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Connection String

The ConnectionStrings:DefaultConnection key is the single required piece of configuration. PharmaVault reads it through the standard IConfiguration abstraction, so it works identically whether the value comes from a file, user secrets, or an environment variable.

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Base configuration file

appsettings.json declares the key with an intentionally empty value so the shape is visible at a glance without exposing real credentials.
appsettings.json
{
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information",
      "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning"
    }
  },
  "AllowedHosts": "*",
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": ""
  }
}

​
Local development — .NET User Secrets

For local development, .NET User Secrets keeps credentials off disk and out of version control. The UserSecretsId is already configured in PharmaVault.Web.csproj, so you only need to run the following commands once per machine.
1

Initialize the secrets store

Run this command from inside the src/PharmaVault.Web directory (or any directory in the solution — the project flag makes the target explicit).
dotnet user-secrets init
2

Set the connection string

Replace your_user and your_password with the credentials for your local PostgreSQL instance.
dotnet user-secrets set "ConnectionStrings:DefaultConnection" \
  "Host=localhost;Database=PharmaVaultDb;Username=your_user;Password=your_password"
3

Verify the secret was stored

Confirm the value was saved correctly.
dotnet user-secrets list
User Secrets are stored in your OS user profile directory (~/.microsoft/usersecrets/<UserSecretsId>/secrets.json on Linux/macOS) and are never copied into the project folder or the build output.

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Production and Docker — environment variables

ASP.NET Core maps double-underscores (__) to the colon (:) hierarchy separator, so the connection string can be injected at container runtime without touching any file. 
docker run \
  -e "ConnectionStrings__DefaultConnection=Host=db;Database=pharmavault_db;Username=app;Password=secret" \
  pharmavault-web

​
Session Configuration

PharmaVault uses ASP.NET Core cookie authentication to maintain user sessions. The following options are set in Program.cs:
SettingValueNotes
Cookie namePharmaVaultSessionIdentifies the auth cookie in the browser
Session expiry1 hourControlled by ExpireTimeSpan
Login path/Unauthenticated requests are redirected to the root (login) page
Program.cs (authentication setup)
builder.Services.AddAuthentication()
    .AddCookie(CookieAuthenticationDefaults.AuthenticationScheme, options =>
    {
        options.LoginPath = "/"; // Redirect to login if no cookie is present
        options.Cookie.Name = "PharmaVaultSession";
        options.ExpireTimeSpan = TimeSpan.FromHours(1);
    });
A /logout endpoint performs a SignOutAsync and redirects back to /, invalidating the cookie immediately rather than waiting for it to expire naturally.

​
Logging

The default logging configuration emits Information-level messages from application code while suppressing the more verbose ASP.NET Core framework noise below Warning.
appsettings.json (Logging section)
{
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information",
      "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning"
    }
  }
}
The Microsoft.AspNetCore: Warning setting is a standard ASP.NET Core default. It prevents the console from being flooded with request-pipeline tracing messages while still surfacing genuine warnings and errors from the framework.

​
Development vs. Production

ASP.NET Core merges configuration files in order, with later files winning. The ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT variable controls which environment-specific file is loaded.
appsettings.Development.json
{
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information",
      "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning"
    }
  }
}
ASP.NET Core merges configuration sources in this priority order (highest priority wins):
  1. Environment variables
  2. appsettings.{Environment}.json (e.g. appsettings.Development.json)
  3. appsettings.json
  4. Default framework values
In addition to changing logging behavior, setting ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Development activates the developer exception page in Program.cs (instead of the generic /Error handler) and enables detailed stack traces.
When running in any environment other than Development, PharmaVault enables HSTS and swaps the exception handler to the user-friendly /Error page:
Program.cs (environment-conditional middleware)
if (!app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
    app.UseExceptionHandler("/Error", createScopeForErrors: true);
    app.UseHsts();
}

​
Launch Settings

launchSettings.json defines two local run profiles. Both set ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Development automatically, so User Secrets and the developer exception page are always active when launching from dotnet run or Visual Studio.
Properties/launchSettings.json
{
  "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/launchsettings.json",
  "profiles": {
    "http": {
      "commandName": "Project",
      "dotnetRunMessages": true,
      "launchBrowser": true,
      "applicationUrl": "http://localhost:5136",
      "environmentVariables": {
        "ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT": "Development"
      }
    },
    "https": {
      "commandName": "Project",
      "dotnetRunMessages": true,
      "launchBrowser": true,
      "applicationUrl": "https://localhost:7120;http://localhost:5136",
      "environmentVariables": {
        "ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT": "Development"
      }
    }
  }
}
launchSettings.json is used only by local tooling (the .NET CLI and IDEs). It is never read at runtime in production and should not be used to store secrets.

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