Question

I was wondering how to add custom configuration variables to a Rails application and how to access them in the controller?

Secondly, I was planning to have S3 support for uploads in my application, if I wanted to add a yaml file with the S3 access, secret key, how do I initialize it in my Rails App and how do I access the values that I have defined in that config file.

Answer 1

Update 1

Very recommended: I’m going with Rails Config gem nowadays for the fine grained control it provides.

Update2

If you want a quick solution, then check Jack Pratt’s answer below.

Although my original answer below still works, this answer is now outdated. I recommend looking at updates 1 and 2.

Original Answer:

For a quick solution, watching the “YAML Configuration File” screen cast by Ryan Bates should be very helpful.

In summary:

# config/initializers/load_config.rb
APP_CONFIG = YAML.load_file("#{Rails.root}/config/config.yml")[Rails.env]

# application.rb
if APP_CONFIG['perform_authentication']
  # Do stuff
end