title: Managing config in 12-factor applications
body: <p>I've enjoyed using Rails on Heroku, and like that I can adjust the configuration property of a Heroku app without having to commit a change to <code>xyz.yml</code> and redeploy.</p>
  
  <p>It would be nice to completely do away with the Yaml config files in my Rails app, and rely as much as possible on storing configuration in ENV. This goes along with the <a href="http://www.12factor.net/config" rel="noreferrer">12-factor config</a> principle.</p>
  
  <p>However, there are some trade-offs in switching from a Yaml-based configuration management to a Heroku/12-factor-based one. </p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>While it's true that a proliferation of deployments (qa, stage, prod, dev, demo, labs) can lead to a proliferation of Yaml files, it's very easy to copy-paste to create a new configuration profile. I don't see a way to 'copy' configuration profiles from one deployment to another in Heroku.</li>
  <li>Storing configuration data in the repo means that, in the case of Heroku, deploying and configuring and application are accomplished in a single operation. If I were to move my configuration out of Yaml files and into ENV variables, I would have to configure my application in a separate step after deployment.</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>Would like to hear from people who have used 12-factor style configuration in their private applications, and how they have managed lots of configuration variables across lots of deployments.</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>How do you quickly configure a new deployment?</li>
  <li>Where do you keep your authoritative source of configuration variables, if not the repo? How do you distribute it among developers?</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>Thanks!</p>