feat: Implement python-decouple for environment variables management

contrib/env-sample

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+SECRET_KEY='insert_key_here'
+DEBUG=True
+ALLOWED_HOSTS=localhost,127.0.0.1
+#DATABASE_URL=
+EMAIL_HOST=smtp.example.com
+EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD=your_email_password
+[email protected]
+EMAIL_PORT=587
+SERVER_EMAIL=
+DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL=
+[email protected]
+ADMIN_NAME=Admin1
+LANGUAGE_CODE=pt-br
+CRM_IP=127.0.0.1
+CRM_REPLY_TO="'Do not reply' <[email protected]>"
+CLIENT_ID=
+CLIENT_SECRET=
+GOOGLE_RECAPTCHA_SITE_KEY=
+GOOGLE_RECAPTCHA_SECRET_KEY=
+REDIRECT_URI=
+LOAD_RATE_BACKEND=
+
+SECRET_CRM_PREFIX='123/'
+SECRET_ADMIN_PREFIX='456-admin/'
+SECRET_LOGIN_PREFIX= '789-login/'
+
+SITE_TITLE = 'CRM'
+ADMIN_HEADER = "ADMIN"
+ADMIN_TITLE = "CRM Admin"

docs/installation_and_configuration_guide.md

@@ -173,6 +173,26 @@ Their full list is [here](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/ref/settings/).
 The settings missing in this list are CRM specific settings. Explanations can be found in the comments to them.  
 Most of the settings can be left at their default values.
 
+### Environment Variables and `python-decouple`
+
+This project utilizes `python-decouple` to manage environment variables. This approach offers enhanced security and flexibility by keeping sensitive information out of the codebase and allowing for environment-specific configurations.
+
+#### Why Use Environment Variables?
+
+*   **Security:** Sensitive data like API keys, database credentials, and secret keys are stored outside of the code repository, reducing the risk of accidental exposure.
+*   **Flexibility:** You can easily switch between different environments (development, testing, production) by simply changing the environment variables, without modifying the code.
+*   **Organization:** All  configuration settings are centralized in a `.env` file, making them easier to manage and update.
+
+#### How to Configure Environment Variables
+
+1.  Copy contrib/env-sample to .env in the root project.
+
+    Ensure `python-decouple` is installed in your virtual environment. If you followed the "Install the requirements"  step, it should already be installed. If not, run:
+
+    ```pip install python-decouple```
+2. Replace de default values to your values in .env.
+
+
 The default settings are for running the project on a development server.
 Change them for the production server.  
 
@@ -182,16 +202,12 @@ But in the following, you will need to specify at least the `EMAIL_HOST` and `AD
 
 ### DATABASES settings
 
-Provide data to connect to the database:
+To work between development and production environments, we suggest using dj-database-url, this way, the connection will be configured as a url, in .env, and we set a default value, so if it does not exist, use sqlite3.
 
-- `ENGINE` and `PORT` are specified by default for MySQL database. Change them for PostgreSQL
-- Specify `PASSWORD`
+Ensure `dj-database-url` is installed in your virtual environment. If you followed the "Install the requirements"  step, it should already be installed. If not, run:
 
-Detailed instructions [here](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/ref/settings/#std-setting-DATABASES). 
+```pip install dj-database-url```
 
-In the database, configure the `USER` (by default 'crm_user') specified in the `DATABASES` setting 
-to have the right to create and drop databases (running tests will create
-and then destroy a separate [test database](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/topics/testing/overview/#the-test-database)).
 
 #### For MySQL database, it is recommended to  
 
@@ -211,15 +227,15 @@ You can configure them directly in postgresql.conf `(/etc/postgresql/<version>/m
 
 ### EMAIL_HOST settings
 
-Specify details for connecting to an email account through which CRM will be able to send notifications to users and administrators.  
+Specify details at .env for connecting to an email account through which CRM will be able to send notifications to users and administrators.  
 
 - `EMAIL_HOST` (smtp server)
 - `EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD`
 - `EMAIL_HOST_USER` (login)
 
 ### ADMINS settings
 
-Add the addresses of CRM administrators to the list, so they can receive error logs.  
+Add the addresses at .env of CRM administrators to the list, so they can receive error logs.  
 `ADMINS = [("<Admin1 name>", "<[email protected]>"), (...)]`
 
 ## CRM and database testing

requirements.txt

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
     certifi==2025.1.31
     charset-normalizer==3.4.1
     Django==5.1.8
+    dj-database-url==2.3.0
     et-xmlfile==2.0.0
     frozenlist==1.5.0
     geoip2==5.0.1
@@ -17,6 +18,7 @@
     pandas==2.2.3
     polib==1.2.0
     python-dateutil==2.9.0.post0
+    python-decouple==3.8
     pytz==2025.2
     requests==2.32.3
     six==1.17.0

webcrm/settings.py

@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
+import os
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 from datetime import datetime as dt
 from django.utils.translation import gettext_lazy as _
+from decouple import config, Csv
+from dj_database_url import parse as dburl
 
 from crm.settings import *          # NOQA
 from massmail.settings import *     # NOQA
@@ -19,47 +22,36 @@
 # To get new value of key use code:
 # from django.core.management.utils import get_random_secret_key
 # print(get_random_secret_key())
-SECRET_KEY = 'j1c=6$s-dh#$ywt@(q4cm=j&0c*!0x!e-qm6k1%yoliec(15tn'
+SECRET_KEY = config('SECRET_KEY')
 
 # Add your hosts to the list.
-ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['localhost', '127.0.0.1']
+ALLOWED_HOSTS = config('ALLOWED_HOSTS', default=[], cast=Csv())
 
 # Database
+default_dburl = 'sqlite:///' + os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'db.sqlite3') # Use sqlite if database is not setted in .env
+
 DATABASES = {
-    'default': {
-        # for MySQl
-        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.mysql',
-        'PORT': '3306',
-
-        # for PostgreSQL
-        # "ENGINE": "django.db.backends.postgresql",
-        # 'PORT': '5432',   # for PostgreSQL
-
-        'NAME': 'crm_db',
-        'USER': 'crm_user',
-        'PASSWORD': 'crmpass',
-        'HOST': 'localhost',
-    }
+    'default': config('DATABASE_URL', default=default_dburl, cast=dburl) ## Configure .env with DATABASE_URL=<user>:<pass>@<host>:<port>/<dbname>
 }
 
-EMAIL_HOST = '<specify host>'   # 'smtp.example.com'
-EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD = '<specify password>'
-EMAIL_HOST_USER = '[email protected]'
-EMAIL_PORT = 587
+EMAIL_HOST = config('EMAIL_HOST')
+EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD = config('EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD')
+EMAIL_HOST_USER = config('EMAIL_HOST_USER')
+EMAIL_PORT = config('EMAIL_PORT')
 EMAIL_SUBJECT_PREFIX = 'CRM: '
 EMAIL_USE_TLS = True
-SERVER_EMAIL = '[email protected]'
-DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL = '[email protected]'
+SERVER_EMAIL = config('SERVER_EMAIL')
+DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL = config('DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL')
 
-ADMINS = [("<Admin1>", "<[email protected]>")]   # specify admin
+ADMINS = [(config('ADMIN_NAME'), config('ADMIN_EMAIL'))]   # specify admin
 
 # SECURITY WARNING: don't run with debug turned on in production!
-DEBUG = True
+DEBUG = config('DEBUG', default=False, cast=bool)
 
 FORMS_URLFIELD_ASSUME_HTTPS = True
 
 # Internationalization
-LANGUAGE_CODE = 'en'
+LANGUAGE_CODE = config('LANGUAGE_CODE')
 LANGUAGES = [
     ('ar', 'Arabic'),
     ('cs', 'Czech'),
@@ -191,14 +183,15 @@
 
 # For more security, replace the url prefixes
 # with your own unique value.
-SECRET_CRM_PREFIX = '123/'
-SECRET_ADMIN_PREFIX = '456-admin/'
-SECRET_LOGIN_PREFIX = '789-login/'
+SECRET_CRM_PREFIX = config('SECRET_CRM_PREFIX')
+SECRET_ADMIN_PREFIX = config('SECRET_ADMIN_PREFIX')
+SECRET_LOGIN_PREFIX = config('SECRET_LOGIN_PREFIX')
 
 # Specify ip of host to avoid importing emails sent by CRM
-CRM_IP = "127.0.0.1"
+CRM_IP = config('CRM_IP')
 
-CRM_REPLY_TO = ["'Do not reply' <[email protected]>"]
+#CRM_REPLY_TO = ["'Do not reply' <[email protected]>"]
+CRM_REPLY_TO = config('CRM_REPLY_TO', default=[], cast=Csv())
 
 # List of addresses to which users are not allowed to send mail.
 NOT_ALLOWED_EMAILS = []
@@ -245,8 +238,8 @@
 
 # 2-Step Verification Credentials for Google Accounts.
 #  OAuth 2.0
-CLIENT_ID = ''
-CLIENT_SECRET = ''
+CLIENT_ID = config('CLIENT_ID')
+CLIENT_SECRET = config('CLIENT_SECRET')
 OAUTH2_DATA = {
     'smtp.gmail.com': {
         'scope': "https://mail.google.com/",
@@ -256,11 +249,11 @@
     }
 }
 # Hardcoded dummy redirect URI for non-web apps.
-REDIRECT_URI = ''
+REDIRECT_URI = config('REDIRECT_URI')
 
 # Credentials for Google reCAPTCHA.
-GOOGLE_RECAPTCHA_SITE_KEY = ''
-GOOGLE_RECAPTCHA_SECRET_KEY = ''
+GOOGLE_RECAPTCHA_SITE_KEY = config('GOOGLE_RECAPTCHA_SITE_KEY')
+GOOGLE_RECAPTCHA_SECRET_KEY = config('GOOGLE_RECAPTCHA_SECRET_KEY')
 
 GEOIP = False
 GEOIP_PATH = MEDIA_ROOT / 'geodb'
@@ -280,9 +273,9 @@
 
 
 # Site headers
-SITE_TITLE = 'CRM'
-ADMIN_HEADER = "ADMIN"
-ADMIN_TITLE = "CRM Admin"
+SITE_TITLE = config('SITE_TITLE')
+ADMIN_HEADER = config('ADMIN_HEADER')
+ADMIN_TITLE = config('ADMIN_TITLE')
 INDEX_TITLE = _('Main Menu')