Configuration Presets

Pre-configured formatter option sets for common deployment scenarios. Choose a configuration profile to quickly set up EasyMessages for your environment without manually setting every option.

Available Presets

EasyMessages formatter behavior can be configured per environment:

Environment	Use Case	Output	Performance
Development	Local dev	Verbose	Low priority
Production	Live systems	Minimal	Optimized
Staging	Pre-production	Balanced	Balanced
Testing	Test runners	Essential only	Fast

Using Environment-Based Configuration

Auto-Select by Environment

Program.cs:

using RecurPixel.EasyMessages.Configuration;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Configure formatter based on environment
if (builder.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
    FormatterConfiguration.Configure(options =>
    {
        options.IncludeTimestamp = true;
        options.IncludeMetadata = true;
        options.IncludeNullFields = true;
    });
}
else if (builder.Environment.IsProduction())
{
    FormatterConfiguration.Configure(options =>
    {
        options.IncludeTimestamp = false;
        options.IncludeMetadata = false;
        options.IncludeNullFields = false;
    });
}

var app = builder.Build();
app.Run();

Via appsettings.json

Load formatter configuration from appsettings files and apply at startup:

appsettings.Development.json:

{
  "EasyMessages": {
    "Formatter": {
      "IncludeTimestamp": true,
      "IncludeMetadata": true,
      "IncludeNullFields": true
    }
  }
}

appsettings.Production.json:

{
  "EasyMessages": {
    "Formatter": {
      "IncludeTimestamp": false,
      "IncludeMetadata": false,
      "IncludeNullFields": false
    }
  }
}

Program.cs:

using RecurPixel.EasyMessages.Configuration;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Load from appsettings section
var fmtSection = builder.Configuration.GetSection("EasyMessages:Formatter");
FormatterConfiguration.Configure(options =>
{
    options.IncludeTimestamp = fmtSection.GetValue("IncludeTimestamp", true);
    options.IncludeMetadata = fmtSection.GetValue("IncludeMetadata", true);
    options.IncludeNullFields = fmtSection.GetValue("IncludeNullFields", false);
});

var app = builder.Build();
app.Run();

Development Configuration

Optimized for: Local development and debugging

Settings

FormatterConfiguration.Configure(options =>
{
    options.IncludeTimestamp = true;
    options.IncludeCorrelationId = true;
    options.IncludeHttpStatusCode = true;
    options.IncludeMetadata = true;
    options.IncludeData = true;
    options.IncludeHint = true;
    options.IncludeNullFields = true;   // Include all fields even if null
});

Characteristics

Feature	Value	Reason
Timestamp	[✓] Included	Know exactly when things happened
Correlation ID	[✓] Included	Track requests
HTTP Status	[✓] Included	See mapped status codes
Metadata	[✓] Included	Full diagnostic context
Null Fields	[✓] Included	See all fields, even empty

Sample Output

{
  "success": true,
  "code": "CRUD_001",
  "type": "success",
  "title": "User Created",
  "description": "User has been created successfully.",
  "data": {
    "id": 123,
    "name": "John Doe",
    "email": "john@example.com"
  },
  "timestamp": "2026-01-09T14:30:00.000Z",
  "httpStatusCode": 200,
  "hint": null,
  "parameters": {},
  "metadata": {
    "source": "WebAPI"
  }
}

When to Use

[✓] Use for:

Local development
Debugging issues
Understanding message flow
Learning the library

[ ] Don’t use for:

Production (too verbose)
Performance testing

Production Configuration

Optimized for: Live production systems

Settings

FormatterConfiguration.Configure(options =>
{
    options.IncludeTimestamp = false;
    options.IncludeCorrelationId = true;
    options.IncludeHttpStatusCode = false;
    options.IncludeMetadata = false;
    options.IncludeData = true;
    options.IncludeHint = false;
    options.IncludeNullFields = false;   // Smaller responses
});

Characteristics

Feature	Value	Reason
Timestamp	[ ] Not included	Reduce payload size
Correlation ID	[✓] Included	Distributed tracing
HTTP Status	[ ] Not included	Reduce payload
Metadata	[ ] Not included	Privacy-safe, reduce payload
Null Fields	[ ] Not included	Smaller JSON

Sample Output

{
  "success": true,
  "code": "CRUD_001",
  "type": "success",
  "title": "User Created",
  "description": "User has been created successfully.",
  "data": {
    "id": 123,
    "name": "John Doe"
  },
  "correlationId": "0HMVQK8F3J8QK:00000001"
}

When to Use

[✓] Use for:

Production deployments
Privacy-sensitive applications
GDPR/CCPA compliance
High-traffic systems

[ ] Don’t use for:

Development (too minimal for debugging)

Benefits

[✓] Privacy-safe: No PII (Personal Identifiable Information)
[✓] Performance: Minimal payload, smaller JSON
[✓] Compliance: GDPR/CCPA friendly

Staging Configuration

Optimized for: Pre-production QA and testing

Settings

FormatterConfiguration.Configure(options =>
{
    options.IncludeTimestamp = true;
    options.IncludeCorrelationId = true;
    options.IncludeHttpStatusCode = true;
    options.IncludeMetadata = true;
    options.IncludeData = true;
    options.IncludeHint = true;
    options.IncludeNullFields = false;
});

Sample Output

{
  "success": true,
  "code": "CRUD_001",
  "type": "success",
  "title": "User Created",
  "description": "User has been created successfully.",
  "data": {
    "id": 123,
    "name": "John Doe"
  },
  "timestamp": "2026-01-09T14:30:00.000Z",
  "correlationId": "0HMVQK8F3J8QK:00000001",
  "httpStatusCode": 200
}

When to Use

[✓] Use for:

Staging environment
QA testing
Pre-production validation
UAT (User Acceptance Testing)

Testing Configuration

Optimized for: Unit and integration tests

Settings

FormatterConfiguration.Configure(options =>
{
    options.IncludeTimestamp = false;    // Deterministic output
    options.IncludeCorrelationId = false; // No dynamic IDs
    options.IncludeHttpStatusCode = false;
    options.IncludeMetadata = false;
    options.IncludeData = true;
    options.IncludeHint = false;
    options.IncludeNullFields = false;
});

Characteristics

Feature	Value	Reason
Timestamp	[ ] Not included	Deterministic test assertions
Correlation ID	[ ] Not included	Deterministic tests
Metadata	[ ] Not included	Predictable output

Sample Output

{
  "success": true,
  "code": "CRUD_001",
  "type": "success",
  "title": "User Created",
  "description": "User has been created successfully.",
  "data": {
    "id": 123,
    "name": "John Doe"
  }
}

Example Test

[Fact]
public void Create_User_Returns_Success_Message()
{
    // Arrange - configure deterministic output for tests
    FormatterConfiguration.Configure(options =>
    {
        options.IncludeTimestamp = false;
        options.IncludeCorrelationId = false;
        options.IncludeNullFields = false;
    });

    var message = Msg.Crud.Created("User")
        .WithData(new { Id = 123, Name = "John Doe" });

    // Act
    var json = message.ToJson();

    // Assert (deterministic - no timestamp or correlation ID)
    Assert.Contains("\"code\": \"CRUD_001\"", json);
    Assert.Contains("\"success\": true", json);
    Assert.DoesNotContain("timestamp", json);
}

Preset Comparison

Feature Matrix

Feature	Development	Production	Staging	Testing
Code	[✓]	[✓]	[✓]	[✓]
Type	[✓]	[✓]	[✓]	[✓]
Title	[✓]	[✓]	[✓]	[✓]
Description	[✓]	[✓]	[✓]	[✓]
Data	[✓]	[✓]	[✓]	[✓]
Timestamp	[✓]	[ ]	[✓]	[ ]
CorrelationId	[✓]	[✓]	[✓]	[ ]
HttpStatusCode	[✓]	[ ]	[✓]	[ ]
Hint	[✓]	[ ]	[✓]	[ ]
Metadata	[✓]	[ ]	[✓]	[ ]
Null Fields	[✓]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]

Choosing the Right Configuration

Decision Tree

Are you running tests?
├─ Yes → Testing configuration (no timestamps, no correlation IDs)
└─ No
   │
   What environment?
   ├─ Local development → Development configuration (everything on)
   ├─ Staging/QA → Staging configuration (balanced)
   └─ Production → Production configuration (minimal, privacy-safe)

By Use Case

Use Case	Recommended	Reason
Local development	Development	Maximum debugging info
Unit tests	Testing	Deterministic output
Integration tests	Testing	Predictable, fast
QA/Staging environment	Staging	Balanced diagnostics
Production deployment	Production	Privacy-safe, optimized
Load testing	Production	Production-like performance

Best Practices

[✓] DO:

Match configuration to environment

if (env.IsDevelopment())
    FormatterConfiguration.Configure(o => o.IncludeNullFields = true);
else
    FormatterConfiguration.Configure(o => o.IncludeNullFields = false);

Configure at startup before any messages

// Configure in Program.cs before app starts serving requests
FormatterConfiguration.Configure(options => { ... });

Use deterministic output for tests - Disable timestamps and correlation IDs

[ ] DON’T:

Don’t use verbose output in production - Privacy and performance issues
Don’t expose null fields in production - Larger responses, potential info leak
Don’t include timestamps in test assertions - Makes tests non-deterministic

Next Steps

Setup and Configuration - Complete setup guide
API Response Patterns - REST API response patterns
Logging Integration - Advanced logging strategies

Questions? Ask in Discussions