USER-CONFIG.adoc

Game Server Admin - User Configuration

Overview

The Game Server Admin (GSA) now supports user-specific configuration through a Nickel (.ncl) configuration file. This allows you to:

• Set a default server IP and port

• Maintain a list of favorite servers

• Customize UI preferences

• Configure connection settings

Configuration File

The user configuration is stored in user-config.ncl, which is gitignored to ensure your server credentials and preferences remain private.

Initializing Configuration

To create a default configuration file:

./gsa config init

This creates user-config.ncl from the template user-config.ncl.template.

Configuration Structure

The configuration file uses Nickel language syntax and includes the following sections:

{
  # Default server connection
  default_server = {
    host = "localhost",      # Hostname or IP address
    port = 25565,           # Port number
    profile_id = "minecraft-java",  # Optional: game profile ID
    rcon_password = "",     # Optional: RCON password
  },

  # Favorite servers list
  favorites = [
    {
      name = "My Minecraft Server",
      host = "mc.example.com",
      port = 25565,
      profile_id = "minecraft-java",
      rcon_password = "",
    },
    # Add more favorites as needed
  ],

  # UI preferences
  ui = {
    theme = "system",       # "light", "dark", or "system"
    default_panel = "gsa-browser",
    show_advanced = false,
  },

  # Connection settings
  connection = {
    timeout_ms = 5000,      # Timeout in milliseconds
    max_retries = 3,        # Maximum retries
    verbose_logging = false,
  },

  # VeriSimDB settings
  verisimdb = {
    url = "http://localhost:8090",
    auto_submit = true,
  },
}

Command Line Interface

Show Current Configuration

./gsa config show

Displays the current user configuration.

Set Default Server

./gsa config set-default <host> <port>

Example:

./gsa config set-default mc.example.com 25565

Add Favorite Server

./gsa config add-favorite <name> <host> <port>

Example:

./gsa config add-favorite "My Minecraft" mc.example.com 25565
./gsa config add-favorite "CS2 Server" cs2.example.com 27015

List Favorite Servers

./gsa config list-favorites

Using Configuration in the Application

Default Server

When you run commands without specifying a server, the default server from your configuration will be used:

# Uses the default server from user-config.ncl
./gsa probe

Favorite Servers

Favorite servers can be quickly selected from the UI. The configuration file stores all your favorite server connections for easy access.

Security

• user-config.ncl is gitignored and will never be committed to version control

• The file is added to .gitignore to prevent accidental commits

• Sensitive information like RCON passwords should be handled with care

• The template file (user-config.ncl.template) contains no sensitive data

Best Practices

1. Never commit your config: The .gitignore file prevents this, but double-check

2. Use strong passwords: If storing RCON passwords, use strong, unique passwords

3. Backup your config: Consider backing up your config file separately

4. Review before sharing: If sharing your project, ensure user-config.ncl is not included

Advanced Usage

Manual Editing

You can manually edit user-config.ncl to: - Add multiple favorite servers - Customize UI preferences - Adjust connection timeouts - Configure VeriSimDB settings

Environment Variables

The configuration system respects these environment variables:

• GSA_VERISIMDB_URL: Override the VeriSimDB URL

• GSA_PROFILES_DIR: Override the profiles directory

Integration with Profiles

The profile_id field in server configurations should match the id attribute in game profile files (.a2ml files in the profiles/ directory).

Troubleshooting

Config file not found

✗ No config file found. Run `gsa config init` to create one.

Solution: Run ./gsa config init to create the configuration file.

File already exists

✗ Config file already exists at user-config.ncl

Solution: Either edit the existing file or back it up before re-initializing.

Permission denied

✗ Failed to write config: permission denied

Solution: Check file permissions and ensure you have write access.

Future Enhancements

Planned features for the configuration system:

• Profile-specific default servers

• Server connection testing from CLI

• Import/export configuration

• Encrypted storage for sensitive data

• GUI configuration editor