You can backup your config files before editing them, like this:

cp configbeingedited.conf configbeingedited.conf__orig_datestring

This way, when things break or don’t function how you like, you can easily copy the original config file back into position, restoring the original functionality.

  • astral_avocado@programming.dev
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    1 year ago

    I generally keep my config files stored in the GitHub repo for version control, and then actual secrets are pulled dynamically from a secret store.

      • astral_avocado@programming.dev
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        1 year ago

        Specifically AWS secrets manager, I know there’s others like if you’re using Ansible there’s Ansible Vault. The point is that it’s a separate service that keeps all your secrets encrypted at rest and to access them you need an initial authentication.

        • zlatko@programming.dev
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          1 year ago

          I’ve been meaning to get the ansible thing. Not for my home computers, my dotfiles are on GitHub, SSH keys offline, stuff backed up. But I always think that if my poor hetzner box dies, I’ll have a lot of fun getting it all back up :/

          • astral_avocado@programming.dev
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            1 year ago

            😂 Honestly Ansible can be a little obtuse at times, I’m having a much better time with having all my stuff defined in Docker and deployed via docker-compose or Terraform for non-self-hosted stuff. Ansible can be a lot of effort but I can also see it being better in the long run.

            Then there’s the NixOS people… people swear by that. I haven’t dived into that whole world yet.

            • zlatko@programming.dev
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              1 year ago

              Yeah NixOS is my other alternative, but I think that rabbit hole is much more deep than the Ansible one :)

              I also manage my few self-hosted things and play-things with docker-compose on my box, but who manages docker-compose files? :) And nginx config, and network-related stuff etc etc. I am too lazy but I guess I will have to bite the bullet and after 20 years of manually doing it all and backing up raw and praying, actually figuring out the next level.