Best practices for managing configuration in a Spring Boot application
I've searched everywhere and can't find a clear answer. I'm working through a tutorial and Recently started working with a Spring Boot application, and I've noticed that managing application configuration can get unwieldy, especially as the project scales. I've set up various profiles (`application-dev.yml`, `application-prod.yml`), but I'm unsure about the best approach to handle sensitive information, such as database credentials and API keys. I've tried using the built-in `@Value` annotation to inject properties directly into my classes like this: ```java @Value("${database.url}") private String databaseUrl; ``` While this works for basic configurations, it feels insecure to include sensitive data directly in the `application.yml` files. I've looked into using Spring Cloud Config to externalize configuration, but I'm uncertain about how to implement it without complicating the deployment process. Additionally, I’ve read about using environment variables or a secrets management tool like Vault, but I’m not clear on the best practices for a beginner. Could someone share insights on how to structure my configuration effectively, especially regarding security and maintainability? What are the trade-offs between these methods, and is there a recommended way to approach this within a standard Spring Boot application? This is part of a larger application I'm building. Am I missing something obvious? I'm working with Java in a Docker container on CentOS. Has anyone dealt with something similar?