Show warnings / errors for missing environment variables

[kenny-io]

Currently, the installer script and entrypoint.sh don't provide clear feedback if required environment variables are missing. This can lead to silent failures or unexpected behavior that's difficult for users to troubleshoot.

Proposed Solution

1. In the installer.sh script:

   • After creating the .env file, add a check to verify all required variables are set.
   • Display warnings for any missing variables.

2. In the entrypoint.sh script:

   • At the beginning, add checks for critical environment variables.
   • Log warnings for any missing variables.
   • Optionally, exit with an error if critical variables are missing.

   Implementation Details

• Create a function to check for the presence of environment variables

• Use this function to check for important variables like:

  • DASHPASS
  • DASHPORT
  • EXT_IP
  • INT_IP
  • SHMEXT
  • SHMINT
  • minNodes
  • baselineNodes
  • nodesPerConsensusGroup

  Expected Outcome

Users should receive clear feedback about missing or invalid environment variables.

Mentorship

If you need any help or have questions about this issue feel free to ask in the comments. You can also start a discussion here on Github and our team will be happy to provide the necessary assistance.

[HTSagara]

Hi, I would like to help in this issue

[HTSagara]

I'm getting this error when installing it

[kenny-io]

I'm getting this error when installing it

@HTSagara The installer script doesn't support ARM64 machines just yet as the exit error suggests. An easy way to test the script is to use any VPS of your choice or a run it in a VM instance if you prefer. Here's a post on how to run the validator in a VM

[HTSagara]

Hi @kenny-io , thank you for sharing the post on how to run it.

I was able to implement the script to check if the variables are not set in the .env.

However, can you give me a lead on how to check if they are valid or not?

[kenny-io]

@HTSagara great work on getting the variable check working!!

For the validity, I'm thinking you could add an addition step to confirm that when the variable is provided, it is valid.
The DASHPORT for instance, you could check that it is:

• composed entirely of digits
• greater than or equal to 1025
• less than or equal to 65536

validate_port() {
    [[ "$1" =~ ^[0-9]+$ && "$1" -ge 1025 && "$1" -le 65536 ]]
}

Does this help give you some direction on next steps?

[HTSagara]

@kenny-io I created the PR explaining everything I did, can you kindly validate. Please let me know if there is anything you would like me to change.

#40