How can I set environment variables for dredd testing in a dredd.yml file? - node.js

Question

I'm trying to run a number of api calls using dredd and api blueprint to test a site. I would like to run the tests on circleCI, as there are Selenium tests running in the same place. Each transaction needs to be accompanied by two tokens, which are set as cookies in the headers. Ideally, these would be set in the dredd.yml file. When running on a local machine, if I replace ACCESS_TOKEN and REFRESH_TOKEN with the actual values, the test runs as expected.
circle.yml:
test:
override:
- dredd
dredd.yml headers
header: ['Cookie: access_token=ACCESS_TOKEN; refresh_token=REFRESH_TOKEN']
Where ACCESS_TOKEN and REFRESH_TOKEN get replaced by the actual values set in circleCI's environment variables. I have also tried:access_token=$[ACCESS_TOKEN], access_token=$["ACCESS_TOKEN"] and access_token=$ACCESS_TOKEN. None of these are being replaced in the headers for the first api call.
The header looks like: {"Content-Type":"application/json; charset=utf-8","User-Agent":"Dredd/1.4.0 (Darwin 14.5.0; x64)","Cookie":" access_token=$ACCESS_TOKEN; refresh_token=$REFRESH_TOKEN"}
I am new to yaml files, so I'm probably missing something basic, but I did search around for a while. The hooks file is written with node.js, so I don't think the ruby/rails help will be useful here. If I am missing anything in the question don't hesitate to let me know.

Answer 1

YAML is a data representation language, not a template language (or template processor, for that matter). While an individual program might support loading environment variables or additional parameters named in the configuration, the YAML parser (probably, unless it's a custom module) isn't what's injecting them. While skimming the dredd docs I don't see any references to environment variables or parameters, it may be worth creating an issue on the project and starting a discussion with the developers to see if this is supported.
I can think of a number of ways to solve your specific problem, but they all involve additional tools to render the YAML with your variables injected. Perhaps the easiest solution for your case is to set environment variables in the CircleCI web configuration (NOT version-controled circle.yml). Then, set up a pre-build step, where the YAML configuration is generated. To do this, wrap the YAML in a BASH script, with the YAML document contained inside of it as a here-doc.
#!/bin/bash
# ACCESS_TOKEN and REFRESH_TOKEN are injected by CircleCI
cat <<EOF > config.yml
---
header: ['Cookie: access_token=${ACCESS_TOKEN}; refresh_token=${REFRESH_TOKEN}']
EOF
Then run the rest of your job normally, perhaps deleting the configuration file or restoring it from version control before any artifacts are created to avoid the leakage of your credentials.

Answer 2

The better way to work with headers is by Hook files setting headers before each request. As you are using Node.js, try set Node environment variables:
var hooks = require('hooks');
hooks.beforeEach(function(transaction) {
transaction.request.headers.Cookie =
'access_token=' + ACCESS_TOKEN +
'; refresh_token=' + REFRESH_TOKEN;
}