feat(cli): Add support for environment variable and configuration file parameters

[antiyro]

Is there an existing issue?

• I have searched the existing issues

Motivation

The goal of this issue is to introduce 2 new methods for specifying parameters on Madara. Currently only cli arguments are supported.

Request

We would like to implement:

1. Environment variables

Set up your node's environment variables using the MADARA_ prefix. For example:

MADARA_BASE_PATH=/path/to/data
MADARA_LOG=info

These variables allow you to adjust the node's configuration without using command-line arguments.

2. Configuration files

You could use a JSON, TOML, or YAML file to structure your configuration settings. Specify your configuration file on startup with the -c option. Here's a basic example in JSON format:

{
  "name": "able-vps-2",
  "base_path": "../deoxys-db",
  "network": "devnet",
  "l1_endpoint": "key",
  "rpc_port": 9944,
  "rpc_cors": "*",
  "rpc_external": true,
  "prometheus_external": true
}

Configuration priority would be as follows: command-line arguments > environment variables > configuration files.
When the same setting is configured in multiple places, the source with the highest priority takes effect.

Solution

as described above

Are you willing to help with this request?

Yes!

[shamsasari]

Shouldn't the priority be command-line arguments > configuration files > environment variables, i.e. env variables being least priority since they are least visible and least obvious in any deployment?

[shamsasari]

Support for env variables has been added in #311.

[antiyro]

Shouldn't the priority be command-line arguments > configuration files > environment variables, i.e. env variables being least priority since they are least visible and least obvious in any deployment?

I prefere to have env > configuration files since configuration files are more dedicated to predefined and static production environments, whereas environment variables are very useful when values need to be changed frequently. Moreover, they are essential during our ci deployments.