Auto-set the GLOBAL_AGENT_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE_NAMESPACE env var in t…

…he container image

Setting it to an empty value allows global-agent to rely on the rather
conventional HTTP(S)_PROXY and NO_PROXY env vars. [1]
Otherwise, users would need to configure both GLOBAL_AGENT_HTTP(S)_PROXY
and HTTP(S)_PROXY to make proxying work with both global-agent and other
libs.
Also, it might be a bit confusing for the user to have to set it explicitly
to an empty value.
We can set it the other way around, but users can still override it if
needed.

[1] https://github.com/gajus/global-agent#what-is-the-reason-global-agentbootstrap-does-not-use-http_proxy

.rhdh/docker/Dockerfile

@@ -233,6 +233,13 @@ ENV CHOKIDAR_USEPOLLING='1' CHOKIDAR_INTERVAL='10000'
 # To avoid running scripts when using `npm pack` to install dynamic plugins
 ENV NPM_CONFIG_ignore-scripts='true'
 
+# RHIDP-2217: corporate proxy support (configured using 'global-agent')
+# This is to avoid having to define several environment variables for the same purpose,
+# i.e, GLOBAL_AGENT_HTTP(S)_PROXY (for 'global-agent') and the conventional HTTP(S)_PROXY (honored by other libraries like Axios).
+# By setting GLOBAL_AGENT_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE_NAMESPACE to an empty value,
+# 'global-agent' will use the same HTTP_PROXY, HTTPS_PROXY and NO_PROXY environment variables.
+ENV GLOBAL_AGENT_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE_NAMESPACE=''
+
 ENTRYPOINT ["node", "packages/backend", "--config", "app-config.yaml", "--config", "app-config.example.yaml", "--config", "app-config.example.production.yaml"]
 
 # append Brew metadata here

docker/Dockerfile

@@ -137,6 +137,13 @@ ENV CHOKIDAR_USEPOLLING='1' CHOKIDAR_INTERVAL='10000'
 # To avoid running scripts when using `npm pack` to install dynamic plugins
 ENV NPM_CONFIG_ignore-scripts='true'
 
+# RHIDP-2217: corporate proxy support (configured using 'global-agent')
+# This is to avoid having to define several environment variables for the same purpose,
+# i.e, GLOBAL_AGENT_HTTP(S)_PROXY (for 'global-agent') and the conventional HTTP(S)_PROXY (honored by other libraries like Axios).
+# By setting GLOBAL_AGENT_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE_NAMESPACE to an empty value,
+# 'global-agent' will use the same HTTP_PROXY, HTTPS_PROXY and NO_PROXY environment variables.
+ENV GLOBAL_AGENT_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE_NAMESPACE=''
+
 ENTRYPOINT ["node", "packages/backend", "--config", "app-config.yaml", "--config", "app-config.example.yaml", "--config", "app-config.example.production.yaml"]
 
 # append Brew metadata here

showcase-docs/corporate-proxy.md

@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 
 Out of the box, the Showcase application can be run behind a corporate proxy, by setting any of the following environment variables prior to starting the application:
 
-- `GLOBAL_AGENT_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE_NAMESPACE` to an empty value
 - `HTTP_PROXY`: HTTP proxy to use.
 - `HTTPS_PROXY`: distinct proxy to use for HTTPS requests.
 
@@ -16,8 +15,6 @@ You can set the proxy information in your Helm `values` file, like so:
 upstream:
   backstage:
     extraEnvVars:
-      - name: GLOBAL_AGENT_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE_NAMESPACE
-        value: ''
       - name: HTTP_PROXY
         # HTTP proxy to use
         value: '<my_http_proxy_url>'
@@ -38,14 +35,12 @@ upstream:
 upstream:
   backstage:
     extraEnvVars:
-      - name: GLOBAL_AGENT_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE_NAMESPACE
-        value: ''
       - name: HTTP_PROXY
         value: 'http://10.10.10.105:3128'
       - name: HTTPS_PROXY
         value: 'http://10.10.10.106:3128'
       - name: NO_PROXY
-        value: 'localhost,internal.example.org'
+        value: 'localhost,example.org'
 ```
 
 </details>
@@ -59,8 +54,6 @@ spec:
   application:
     extraEnvs:
       envs:
-        - name: GLOBAL_AGENT_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE_NAMESPACE
-          value: ''
         - name: HTTP_PROXY
           # HTTP proxy to use
           value: '<my_http_proxy_url>'
@@ -82,14 +75,26 @@ spec:
   application:
     extraEnvs:
       envs:
-        - name: GLOBAL_AGENT_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE_NAMESPACE
-          value: ''
         - name: HTTP_PROXY
           value: 'http://10.10.10.105:3128'
         - name: HTTPS_PROXY
           value: 'http://10.10.10.105:3128'
         - name: NO_PROXY
-          value: 'localhost,internal.example.org'
+          value: 'localhost,example.org'
 ```
 
 </details>
+
+## Local development
+
+If you are behind a corporate proxy and are running the Showcase locally, as depicted in [Running locally with a basic configuration](./getting-started.md#running-locally-with-a-basic-configuration) or [Running locally with the Optional Plugins](./getting-started.md#running-locally-with-the-optional-plugins), you will need to additionally set the `GLOBAL_AGENT_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE_NAMESPACE` to an empty value prior to running `yarn start`.
+
+Example:
+
+```shell
+$ GLOBAL_AGENT_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE_NAMESPACE='' \
+  HTTP_PROXY=http://10.10.10.105:3128 \
+  HTTPS_PROXY=http://10.10.10.106:3128 \
+  NO_PROXY='localhost,example.org' \
+  yarn start
+```