# Code / Config - all tunables live in YAML, no magic numbers, no .env

**Purpose + scope.** Governs where every configurable value lives. Binding
for all Python code in this repository. Any new configurable parameter MUST
follow this rule when deciding where it goes.

The goal: one authoritative source per parameter, so regenerating any
artifact with the same config is byte-identical, and changing a parameter
never requires hunting constants across scripts.

---

## 1. The two YAML configs

| File | Owns | Written by |
|---|---|---|
| `./out/config/lab_config.yaml` | The laboratory model: volumes (batches / wafers / coupons / tracks / cycles), the deposition matrix, physical-model coefficients, nominal test conditions, **the random seed 20260711** | Task 01, from the spec; regenerated only deliberately |
| `./out/config/hw_prices.yaml` | Hardware cost parameters for extrapolation (RAM $/GB, NVMe $/TB, server base prices) | Task 10 seeds editable defaults; the operator may edit |

Rules:

- **Scripts READ these files; they never duplicate values from them.**
  Task 03 reads volumes, coefficients, and the seed from
  `lab_config.yaml` - it does not hardcode 588 coupons or seed 20260711.
  Task 10 reads prices from `hw_prices.yaml` - it does not inline dollar
  figures.
- A parameter needed by more than one task lives in the YAML, never
  copy-pasted between scripts.
- New tunables go into the appropriate YAML with a self-describing key;
  if neither file fits, propose a new config file in a docs/rules update
  first.

## 2. Spec-fixed constants - named, sourced, at the top

Values fixed by the specs that are NOT operator-tunable (the 120-200 MB
size gate, the 30-minute cell timeout, the 50k-row transaction batch, the
50 ms RSS sampling interval) are module-level named constants at the top of
the owning script, each with a one-line comment naming the spec:

```python
SIZE_GATE_MB = (120, 200)      # abort bounds, spec 03
CELL_TIMEOUT_S = 30 * 60       # hard per-run timeout, spec 09
```

A bare number inline in the logic (`if size > 209715200`) is forbidden.

## 3. The PostgreSQL DSN - one env var, never hardcoded, never logged

The only external resource is the local PostgreSQL 16 instance. Its DSN:

- Comes from the environment variable **`TRIBO_PG_DSN`**; default when
  unset: `postgresql://postgres@localhost:5432/tribo`.
- Is read in ONE shared helper (e.g. `common/pg.py: get_dsn()`); scripts
  call the helper, never `os.environ` directly.
- Is never hardcoded in a script, never committed in a config file, and
  never logged (a DSN may embed a password - see
  [obs-python-logging.md](obs-python-logging.md)).

There are no other secrets in this project. There is no `.env` file; do
not introduce one.

## 4. CLI flags - per-run choices only

Command-line flags are for choices that vary per invocation, not for
model parameters: `--log-level`, `--dry-run`, an output-root override, a
`--limit` for smoke runs. A physical coefficient or a volume as a CLI flag
is forbidden - it would silently fork the config out of `lab_config.yaml`.

## 5. Anti-patterns

- **Hardcoding a value that exists in `lab_config.yaml`** (seed, volumes,
  coefficients) - the YAML is the single source; drift here breaks
  reproducibility silently.
- **Adding a `.env` file or reading `os.environ` scattered through
  scripts** - the DSN goes through the one shared helper; nothing else
  lives in the environment.
- **Inline magic numbers** for spec-fixed gates and timeouts - name them
  at the top with the spec reference.
- **Dollar prices inlined in `extrapolate.py`** - they live in
  `hw_prices.yaml` so the operator can re-cost without touching code.
- **A model parameter as a CLI flag** - per-run flags are for run
  mechanics, not for the lab model.
- **Committing `./out/config/` generated files to git as if they were
  sources** - the YAML under `./out/` is a generated artifact; its source
  of truth is spec 01 (see
  [build-pipeline-tasks.md](build-pipeline-tasks.md)).

## 6. Related documents

- [data-determinism.md](data-determinism.md) - the seed contract.
- [build-pipeline-tasks.md](build-pipeline-tasks.md) - the `./out/` tree
  and what is git-ignored.
- [obs-python-logging.md](obs-python-logging.md) - `--log-level` flag; DSN
  never logged.
