How to keep Cursor AI from including staging API endpoints in production environment code?

 

Ensuring Cursor AI Excludes Staging API Endpoints from Production Code

 

Managing API endpoints in your development workflow with Cursor AI, a tool tailored for assisting software developers, requires careful configuration to prevent staging environments from bleeding into production code. This detailed guide walks through strategies to achieve this.

 

Understanding the Development and Production Environments

 

• Clarify the distinction between your development (staging) environment and production environment:
• Ensure all team members are aware of which APIs and endpoints correspond to staging vs. production.
• Document the configurations for easy reference and consistency across teams.

 

Utilizing Environment Variables

 

• Implement environment variables to manage different API endpoints. This allows for dynamic substitution based on the environment:
• Create a configuration file for each environment (.env.staging, .env.production).
• Use a node package, such as dotenv, to load environment variables into your application at runtime.
• Ensure Cursor AI is configured to recognize and use these environment variables when generating or refactoring code.

 

Configuring Cursor AI Settings

 

• Access Cursor AI settings or preferences specific to handling code suggestions and automated changes:
• Check if Cursor AI supports rules or customization regarding API suggestions.
• Set rules to filter out or flag staging endpoints when working on production code if possible.

 

Implement Code Reviews and Automated Checks

 

• Standardize code review processes to focus on endpoints:
• Develop a checklist for reviewers focused on environment-specific configurations, primarily aimed at spotting staging APIs in production code.
• Incorporate automated static code analysis tools that can scan codebases for incorrect API endpoints.

 

Maintaining Separate Branches for Environments

 

• Adopt a branching strategy that distinctly separates code meant for staging and production:
• Use Git branches such as "staging" and "main" or "production" to clearly distinguish development code.
• Limit changes allowed from staging branches into production branches, applying strict validation for any that reference endpoints.

 

Testing Configurations

 

• Utilize continuous integration (CI) pipelines to test both staging and production-specific configurations:
• Set up tests that ensure only correct environment variables are loaded during respective builds.
• Integrate tests to simulate API calls and verify that they are targeting the correct environment.

 

Educating Your Development Team

 

• Conduct training sessions focused on environment management and the impact of incorrect API usage:
• Ensure all developers using Cursor AI understand the importance of environment variable management.
• Provide clear guidelines on using and configuring Cursor AI to prevent common pitfalls related to incorrect endpoint incorporation.

 

Through the strategic application of environment variables, strict review processes, and CI testing, accompanied by comprehensive configuration within Cursor AI, you can effectively prevent staging API endpoints from appearing in your production environment code.