add environment variables for default configuration

.gitignore

@@ -12,3 +12,6 @@ server/music/*
 #dist folder
 dist/*
 !dist/readme.txt
+
+#environment variables
+.env

README.md

@@ -92,11 +92,12 @@ Kiosk mode can be activated by a checkbox on the page. Note that there is no way
 
 It's also possible to enter kiosk mode using a permalink. First generate a [Permalink](#sharing-a-permalink-bookmarking), then to the end of it add `&kiosk=true`. Opening this link will load all of the selected displays included in the Permalink, enter kiosk mode immediately upon loading and start playing the forecast.
 
-## Wish list
+## Default query string paramaters (environment variables)
+When serving this via the built-in Express server, it's possible to define environment variables that direct the user to a default set of paramaters (like the  [Permalink](#sharing-a-permalink-bookmarking) above). If a user requests the root page at `http://localhost:8080/` the query string provided by environment variables will be appended to the url thus providing a default configuration.
 
-As time allows I will be working on the following enhancements.
+Environment variables can be added to the command line as usual, or via a .env file which is parsed with [dotenv](https://github.com/motdotla/dotenv). Both methods have the same effect.
 
-* Better error reporting when api.weather.gov is down (happens more often than you would think)
+Environment variables that are to be added to the default query string are prefixed with `WSQS_` and then use the same key/value pairs generated by the [Permalink](#sharing-a-permalink-bookmarking) above, with the `- (dash)` character replaced by an `_ (underscore)`. For example, if you wanted to turn the travel forecast on, you would find `travel-checkbox=true` in the permalink, it's matching environment variable becomes `WSQS_travel_checkbox=true`.
 
 ## Serving static files
 The app can be served as a static set of files on any web server. Run the provided gulp task to create a set of static distribution files:

index.mjs

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import 'dotenv/config';
 import express from 'express';
 import fs from 'fs';
 import corsPassThru from './cors/index.mjs';
@@ -20,7 +21,39 @@ app.get('/playlist.json', playlist);
 // version
 const { version } = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync('package.json'));
 
+// read and parse environment variables to append to the query string
+// use the permalink (share) button on the web app to generate a starting point for your configuration
+// then take each key/value in the querystring and append WSQS_ to the beginning, and then replace any
+// hyphens with underscores in the key name
+// environment variables are read from the command line and .env file via the dotenv package
+
+const qsVars = {};
+
+Object.entries(process.env).forEach(([key, value]) => {
+	// test for key matching pattern described above
+	if (key.match(/^WSQS_[A-Za-z0-9_]+$/)) {
+		// convert the key to a querystring formatted key
+		const formattedKey = key.replace(/^WSQS_/, '').replaceAll('_', '-');
+		qsVars[formattedKey] = value;
+	}
+});
+
+// single flag to determine if environment variables are present
+const hasQsVars = Object.entries(qsVars).length > 0;
+
+// turn the environment query string into search params
+const defaultSearchParams = (new URLSearchParams(qsVars)).toString();
+
 const index = (req, res) => {
+	// test for no query string in request and if environment query string values were provided
+	if (hasQsVars && Object.keys(req.query).length === 0) {
+		// redirect the user to the query-string appended url
+		const url = new URL(`${req.protocol}://${req.host}${req.url}`);
+		url.search = defaultSearchParams;
+		res.redirect(307, url.toString());
+		return;
+	}
+	// return the standard page
 	res.render('index', {
 		production: false,
 		version,

package-lock.json

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 			"version": "5.17.0",
 			"license": "MIT",
 			"dependencies": {
+				"dotenv": "^16.5.0",
 				"ejs": "^3.1.5",
 				"express": "^5.1.0"
 			},
@@ -3813,6 +3814,18 @@
 				"node": ">=6.0.0"
 			}
 		},
+		"node_modules/dotenv": {
+			"version": "16.5.0",
+			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/dotenv/-/dotenv-16.5.0.tgz",
+			"integrity": "sha512-m/C+AwOAr9/W1UOIZUo232ejMNnJAJtYQjUbHoNTBNTJSvqzzDh7vnrei3o3r3m9blf6ZoDkvcw0VmozNRFJxg==",
+			"license": "BSD-2-Clause",
+			"engines": {
+				"node": ">=12"
+			},
+			"funding": {
+				"url": "https://dotenvx.com"
+			}
+		},
 		"node_modules/dunder-proto": {
 			"version": "1.0.1",
 			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/dunder-proto/-/dunder-proto-1.0.1.tgz",

package.json

@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@
 		"webpack-stream": "^7.0.0"
 	},
 	"dependencies": {
+		"dotenv": "^16.5.0",
 		"ejs": "^3.1.5",
 		"express": "^5.1.0"
 	}

ws4kp.code-workspace

@@ -33,7 +33,8 @@
 			"T'storm",
 			"uscomp",
 			"Visib",
-			"Waukegan"
+			"Waukegan",
+			"WSQS"
 		],
 		"cSpell.ignorePaths": [
 			"**/package-lock.json",