Define a Value

Atlas Device Sync, Atlas Edge Server, Data API, and HTTPS Endpoints are deprecated. Refer to the deprecation page for details.

Overview

You can define a new Value from the App Services UI or by importing an application directory that contains one or more Value configuration files. Select the tab below that corresponds to the method that you want to use.

Procedure

Create a New Value

You can define a new Value for your application in the App Services UI. To navigate to the Value configuration screen, click Values & Secrets in the left navigation menu. Ensure that the Values tab is selected and then click Create New Value.

Name the Value

Enter a unique Value Name. This name is how you refer to the value in functions and rules.

Note

Value Name Restrictions

Value names must not exceed 64 characters and may only contain ASCII letters, numbers, underscores, and hyphens. The first character must be a letter or number.

Define the Value

Specify the Value Type. You can define two different types of Value: plain text and secret.

A plain text value is a string, array, or object that you define manually using standard JSON syntax.

To define a plain text value, select the Plain Text radio button and then enter the value in the input box.

A secret value exposes a Secret for use in Functions and rules.

To reference an existing Secret, select the Secret radio button and then select the name of the Secret that the value should reference from the Secret Name dropdown.

Alternatively, you can create and reference a new Secret by entering the new Secret's name in the Secret Name dropdown and then clicking Create. Enter the new Secret Value in the input box that appears.

Save the Value

After you have named and defined the new Value, click Save. Once saved, you can immediately access the Value in Functions and rules.

Pull Your App's Latest Configuration Files

appservices pull --remote=<App ID>

Add a Value Configuration File

Each Value is defined in its own JSON file in the values subdirectory of your exported application. For example, a Value named myValue would be defined in the file /values/myValue.json.

Add a configuration file for the new Value to the values directory:

touch values/<Value Name>.json

The configuration file should have the following general form:

{
  "name": "<Value Name>",
  "from_secret": <boolean>,
  "value": <Stored JSON Value|Secret Name>
}

Field	Description
`name`	A unique name for the value. This name is how you refer to the value in functions and rules.
`from_secret`	Default: `false`. If `true`, the Value exposes a Secret instead of a plain-text JSON value.
`value`	The stored data that App Services exposes when the Value is referenced. If `from_secret` is `false`, `value` can be a standard JSON string, array, or object. If `from_secret` is `true`, `value` is a string that contains the name of the Secret the value exposes.

Import Your Application Directory

Ensure that the Value configuration file is saved and then navigate to the root of your exported application directory. Log in to MongoDB Atlas with the App Services CLI:

appservices login --api-key="<my api key>" --private-api-key="<my private api key>"

Once you're logged in, import the directory:

appservices import

Once the import completes, you can immediately begin to access the Value in rules and functions.

Deploy the Value

Push the value configuration to deploy it to your app.

appservices push

Summary

You can use the App Services UI or App Services CLI to create and define App Services Values.

Back

Values & Secrets

Define and Manage Secrets