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Configuration

NetTraceX uses a hierarchical configuration system that allows you to customize the application behavior.

Configuration Hierarchy​

NetTraceX loads configuration in the following order (later values override earlier ones):

  1. Default values (built-in)
  2. Configuration file (~/.config/nettracex/nettracex-tui.yaml)
  3. Environment variables (prefixed with NETTRACEX_)

Configuration File​

The main configuration file is located at ~/.config/nettracex/nettracex-tui.yaml.

Creating a Configuration File​

# Initialize with default configuration
nettracex --init-config

# Or create manually
mkdir -p ~/.config/nettracex
touch ~/.config/nettracex/nettracex-tui.yaml

Configuration Sections​

Network Settings​

network:
  timeout: 30s
  dns_servers:
    - "8.8.8.8"
    - "1.1.1.1"
  retry_count: 3
  retry_delay: 1s
  user_agent: "NetTraceX/1.0.0"

UI Settings​

ui:
  theme: "auto"  # auto, light, dark
  key_bindings:
    quit: "q"
    help: "?"
    refresh: "r"
  animations:
    enabled: true
    duration: 200ms
  layout:
    sidebar_width: 30
    status_bar_height: 1

Plugin Settings​

plugins:
  enabled:
    - "ping"
    - "traceroute"
    - "dns"
    - "whois"
    - "ssl"
  disabled: []
  custom:
    ping:
      count: 4
      interval: 1s
    traceroute:
      max_hops: 30
      timeout: 5s

Export Settings​

export:
  default_format: "json"  # json, csv, text
  output_directory: "~/nettracex-exports"
  filename_template: "nettracex-{timestamp}.{format}"
  include_metadata: true

Logging Settings​

logging:
  level: "info"  # debug, info, warn, error
  format: "json"  # json, text
  output: "stderr"  # stdout, stderr, file
  file_path: "~/.config/nettracex/nettracex-tui.log"
  max_size: "10MB"
  max_backups: 3
  max_age: 28

Environment Variables​

You can override configuration using environment variables:

# Network settings
export NETTRACEX_NETWORK_TIMEOUT=60s
export NETTRACEX_NETWORK_DNS_SERVERS="8.8.8.8,1.1.1.1"

# UI settings
export NETTRACEX_UI_THEME=dark
export NETTRACEX_UI_ANIMATIONS_ENABLED=false

# Logging settings
export NETTRACEX_LOGGING_LEVEL=debug
export NETTRACEX_LOGGING_FORMAT=text

Configuration Validation​

NetTraceX validates configuration on startup:

# Validate configuration
nettracex --validate-config

# Check configuration with verbose output
nettracex --config-debug

Plugin Configuration​

Built-in Plugins​

Ping Plugin​

plugins:
  ping:
    count: 4
    interval: 1s
    timeout: 5s
    packet_size: 56
    ttl: 64

Traceroute Plugin​

plugins:
  traceroute:
    max_hops: 30
    timeout: 5s
    packet_size: 40
    protocol: "udp"  # udp, tcp, icmp

DNS Plugin​

plugins:
  dns:
    record_types:
      - "A"
      - "AAAA"
      - "MX"
      - "TXT"
    timeout: 5s
    retry_count: 3

WHOIS Plugin​

plugins:
  whois:
    timeout: 10s
    retry_count: 2
    servers:
      - "whois.iana.org"
      - "whois.arin.net"

SSL Plugin​

plugins:
  ssl:
    timeout: 10s
    verify_certificate: true
    check_expiry: true
    check_chain: true

Custom Plugins​

You can add custom plugins by creating configuration entries:

plugins:
  custom:
    my_plugin:
      enabled: true
      config:
        custom_setting: "value"

Advanced Configuration​

Multiple Configuration Files​

You can use multiple configuration files:

# Use specific configuration file
nettracex --config /path/to/config.yaml

# Merge multiple configuration files
nettracex --config /path/to/base.yaml --config /path/to/override.yaml

Configuration Templates​

Create configuration templates for different environments:

# Development configuration
nettracex --config ~/.config/nettracex/dev.yaml

# Production configuration
nettracex --config ~/.config/nettracex/prod.yaml

Troubleshooting Configuration​

Common Issues​

Invalid YAML Syntax​

# Validate YAML syntax
yamllint ~/.config/nettracex/nettracex-tui.yaml

# Or use NetTraceX validation
nettracex --validate-config

Configuration Not Loading​

  1. Check file permissions:

    ls -la ~/.config/nettracex/nettracex-tui.yaml

  2. Verify file location:

    nettracex --config-debug

  3. Check for syntax errors:

    nettracex --validate-config

Debugging​

# Show current configuration
nettracex --show-config

# Show configuration sources
nettracex --config-sources

# Debug configuration loading
nettracex --config-debug

Next Steps​