@simpleworkjs/bao-conf

OpenBao / HashiCorp Vault KV-v2 secrets overlay for @simpleworkjs/conf.

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@simpleworkjs/conf loads its config object synchronously at require() time (base.js → <env>.js → secrets.js → app_* env) and exposes no async hook. @simpleworkjs/bao-conf performs the complementary async step: at boot, after require('@simpleworkjs/conf') returns, call init({ path, conf }) to fetch secret/data/<path>/conf from OpenBao and deep-merge it over the live conf object in place. Because the merge mutates the same reference every consumer already holds, code that reads conf.ldap.bindPassword at call time picks up the OpenBao value automatically.

Table of Contents

• Installation
• Quick Start
• The Boot-Order Constraint
• API Reference
• Environment Variables
• Examples
• Best Practices
• Development

Installation

npm install --save @simpleworkjs/bao-conf @simpleworkjs/conf

Requires Node.js >= 18 (uses the global fetch).

Quick Start

const conf = require('@simpleworkjs/conf');
const baoConf = require('@simpleworkjs/bao-conf');

// After @simpleworkjs/conf has loaded, overlay secrets from OpenBao.
// Fetches secret/data/sso-manager/conf and deep-merges it into `conf`.
await baoConf.init({ path: 'sso-manager', conf });

console.log(conf.ldap.bindPassword);   // now the OpenBao value
console.log(conf.oidc.clientSecret);   // now the OpenBao value

init() is fail-soft: if OpenBao is unreachable or the path is absent, it logs a warning, leaves conf untouched, and resolves — so a missing overlay never crashes boot. Make sure your file-loaded config is a safe fallback.

The Boot-Order Constraint

This is the one subtlety that matters. Some code captures a secret at require() time rather than reading it at call time. The canonical example is an OIDC client built during require('../models'):

// models/index.js — runs at require time
const oidcClient = createOidcClient({ clientSecret: conf.oidc.clientSecret });

init() mutates conf after it returns — so any value already captured into a closure will not see the overlay. The fix is to ensure init() resolves before the capturing require() runs. Wrap your bin/www so the fetch happens first:

const conf = require('@simpleworkjs/conf');
const baoConf = require('@simpleworkjs/bao-conf');

baoConf.init({ path: 'proxy', conf }).then(() => {
  const app = require('../app');   // models + createOidcClient now see merged conf
  const server = http.createServer(app);
  server.listen(port);
}).catch(err => { console.error('boot failed:', err); process.exit(1); });

If your bin/www already requires ../models as an explicit line (e.g. jump-host), gate that line:

const conf = require('@simpleworkjs/conf');
require('@simpleworkjs/bao-conf').init({ path: 'jump-host', conf }).then(() => {
  require('../models');            // createOidcClient sees merged conf.oidc
  const app = require('../app');
  server.listen(webPort);
  sshServer.start();
});

Values read at call time (e.g. conf.ldap.bindPassword inside a lookup function) need no special handling — they see the overlay whenever it has resolved.

API Reference

init({ path, conf, addr?, token? }) → Promise<conf>

Fetch secret/data/<path>/conf and deep-merge it over conf in place. Fail-soft on error/404, and fail-soft on a missing VAULT_TOKEN (standalone Docker, bare metal, CI images with no OpenBao sidecar): warns and leaves conf untouched so boot continues from the file-loaded config. Throws only if path/conf are omitted. The explicit get/set/request helpers still throw on a missing token — they are intentional operations against OpenBao, not a boot-time overlay.

get(path, opts?) → Promise<object|null>

Read a KV-v2 secret at secret/data/<path>. Returns the inner data object, or null if absent / on error (fail-soft).

set(path, data, opts?) → Promise<object>

Write a KV-v2 secret at secret/data/<path> (wrapped as { data } per KV-v2). Throws on a non-2xx response. Used by bootstraps that write generated creds into OpenBao.

request(method, vaultPath, body?, opts?) → Promise<Response>

Low-level OpenBao API request below /v1/. Returns the raw fetch Response. Used by application-side brokers that mint scoped tokens or write policies (auth/token/create/<role>, sys/policies/acl/<name>, …).

configure({ addr?, token? }) → { addr, token }

Resolve and cache the OpenBao connection config from options or env. Called implicitly by init/get/set/request; exported for explicit setup. Throws if no token is available.

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
VAULT_ADDR	OpenBao API URL	http://openbao:8200
VAULT_TOKEN	OpenBao token (scoped — no root fallback)	required

opts.addr / opts.token override the env on a per-call basis.

Examples

Bootstrap writing generated creds into OpenBao

const baoConf = require('@simpleworkjs/bao-conf');
// BOOTSTRAP_VAULT_TOKEN has write policy on secret/proxy/conf etc.
await baoConf.set('proxy/conf', { oauth: { clientId, clientSecret } });

A token/policy broker (server-side, scoped tokens)

const baoConf = require('@simpleworkjs/bao-conf');
// Create a per-user policy, then mint a scoped token through a role.
await baoConf.request('PUT', `sys/policies/acl/user-${uid}`, {
  policy: `path "secret/users/${uid}/*" { capabilities = ["create","read","update","delete","list"] }`
});
const res = await baoConf.request('POST', 'auth/token/create/sso-broker', { policy: `user-${uid}` });
const { auth } = await res.json();
// auth.client_token is the per-user token — inject it as X-Vault-Token on proxied requests.

Best Practices

• Mint scoped per-app tokens in your setup/orchestration and pass them via VAULT_TOKEN. Never propagate the OpenBao root token to application containers.
• Call init() before any require-time capture of an overlaid secret (see The Boot-Order Constraint).
• Keep file-loaded config as a safe fallback — init() is fail-soft by design; make sure the app can still boot (degraded) if OpenBao is unavailable.
• Use fail-soft for boot config, fail-loud for writes — init/get resolve on error; set throws. Don't wrap set in a swallow-catch during bootstrap.
• Deep-merge, don't replace — init deep-merges, so partial overlays (just the secrets) work without re-stating the whole config in OpenBao.

Development

npm install
npm test              # mocha
npm run test:coverage # c8 mocha

Contributions welcome — see the GitHub repository.