Externalized configuration

Intent

Keep environment-specific configuration outside the deployable artifact so it can vary per environment and be changed safely.

Use when

• You deploy the same artifact to multiple environments (dev/staging/prod) with different endpoints/secrets.
• You need to rotate secrets, change feature flags, or tune limits without rebuilding images.

Avoid / watch-outs

• Treat config as part of the contract: validate at startup and fail fast with clear errors.
• Don’t leak secrets in logs/telemetry; apply strict redaction discipline.

Skill mapping

• platform: config loading/validation primitives with explicit schemas.
• security: secret handling, redaction, and least privilege for config access.
• observability: log effective config version/hash (not secret values) for debugging.