How to properly call Key Vault's async getSecret(secretName) method at the top level of a CommonJS module?

Question

I want call Key Vault async getSecret(secretName) method get secret into config setting. but its async function , cant run in CommonJS module before init function, Could you please suggest how I might improve this section?

Answer 1

Wang, Qinjie hi there )))

thanks for posting this question, its a common hiccup when working with async stuff at the top level in commonjs ::) u can wrap the async call in an immediately invoked function expression (iife)

const config = require('./config');
let secretValue;

(async () => {
    try {
        secretValue = await getSecretValue();
        config.microsoftAppPassword = secretValue;
    } catch (err) {
        console.error('oops, failed to fetch secret', err);
    }
})();

this way, the async operation runs right away, and u can still access the config values later.

also, if u're using node 14 or later, u might wanna explore top level await by switching to es modules. just rename ur file to .mjs or add "type": "module" in package.json. but yeah, commonjs needs this little workaround ))

u could move the secret fetching logic into a separate initialization function that runs before the bot starts. this keeps things clean and avoids race conditions.

actually JS too :))))))

async function initConfig() {
    config.microsoftAppPassword = await getSecretValue();
}

initConfig().then(() => {
    // start ur bot here
});

this might help in other tools too, not just azure. worth looking into how other frameworks handle async config loading, aha u know )

if u're feeling fancy, u could even use a config loader library like 'dotenv' for local dev and key vault for production. hybrid approaches save lives sometimes :))

ps: microsoft's key vault docs have a ton of examples on async/await patterns peek here for more. happy coding ;D

rgds,

Alex