Allow admin API key to be configured via ADMIN_API_KEY env var

Agent-Logs-Url: https://github.com/christianlouis/dmarq/sessions/27db6d87-70db-4979-a23c-dd376f1c3b9a

Co-authored-by: christianlouis <361235+christianlouis@users.noreply.github.com>

.env.example

@@ -11,6 +11,12 @@ PROJECT_NAME="DMARQ"
 # NEVER use the default value in production!
 SECRET_KEY="CHANGE_THIS_TO_A_RANDOM_SECRET_IN_PRODUCTION"
 
+# Admin API Key for the X-API-Key header (optional)
+# If set, this key is used instead of generating a random one at startup.
+# Generate with: openssl rand -hex 32
+# If not set, a random key is generated each restart (logged with last 8 chars).
+# ADMIN_API_KEY="your_admin_api_key_here"
+
 # Environment (development/production)
 # Affects HSTS and other security settings
 ENVIRONMENT="development"

backend/app/core/config.py

@@ -49,6 +49,23 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN: Optional[str] = None
     CLOUDFLARE_ZONE_ID: Optional[str] = None
 
+    # Admin API Key (optional)
+    # If set, this key is used directly instead of generating a random one at startup.
+    # Use: openssl rand -hex 32
+    ADMIN_API_KEY: Optional[str] = None
+
+    @validator("ADMIN_API_KEY", pre=True, always=True)
+    def validate_admin_api_key(cls, v: Optional[str]) -> Optional[str]:  # pylint: disable=no-self-argument
+        """Warn if ADMIN_API_KEY is set but too short."""
+        if v is not None and len(v) < 32:
+            logger.warning(
+                "ADMIN_API_KEY is too short (%s characters). "
+                "Recommended minimum is 32 characters for security. "
+                "Generate a strong key with: openssl rand -hex 32",
+                len(v),
+            )
+        return v or None
+
     @validator("SECRET_KEY", pre=True, always=True)
     def validate_secret_key(cls, v: Optional[str]) -> str:  # pylint: disable=no-self-argument
         """Validate and generate SECRET_KEY if not provided."""

backend/app/main.py

@@ -295,21 +295,30 @@ def create_app() -> FastAPI:
         # Ensure all tables exist (no-op if already present)
         Base.metadata.create_all(bind=engine)
 
-        # Generate and provide admin API key
+        # Load or generate the admin API key
-        api_key = generate_api_key()
+        if settings.ADMIN_API_KEY:
-        add_api_key(api_key)
+            api_key = settings.ADMIN_API_KEY
-
+            add_api_key(api_key)
-        # Security: Log only last 8 characters for reference
+            key_suffix = api_key[-8:] if len(api_key) >= 8 else api_key
-        logger.warning(
+            logger.info(
-            "%s\nIMPORTANT: Admin API Key Generated\n"
+                "Admin API key loaded from ADMIN_API_KEY environment variable "
-            "API Key (last 8 chars): ...%s\n"
+                "(ends with: ...%s).",
-            "Full key stored securely in memory.\n"
+                key_suffix,
-            "For production, retrieve the key through secure configuration management.\n"
+            )
-            "Use this key in the X-API-Key header for admin endpoints.\n%s",
+        else:
-            "=" * 80,
+            api_key = generate_api_key()
-            api_key[-8:],
+            add_api_key(api_key)
-            "=" * 80,
+            # Security: Log only last 8 characters for reference
-        )
+            logger.warning(
+                "%s\nIMPORTANT: Admin API Key Generated\n"
+                "API Key (last 8 chars): ...%s\n"
+                "Full key stored securely in memory.\n"
+                "Set ADMIN_API_KEY in your environment to use a fixed key across restarts.\n"
+                "Use this key in the X-API-Key header for admin endpoints.\n%s",
+                "=" * 80,
+                api_key[-8:],
+                "=" * 80,
+            )
 
         # One-time migration: if IMAP_* env vars are set and no mail sources exist,
         # create an initial MailSource from those settings so existing deployments

backend/app/tests/test_config.py

@@ -138,3 +138,35 @@ class TestEnsureSqliteDir:
         """Default DATABASE_URL places the SQLite file inside a data/ subdirectory."""
         settings = Settings()
         assert settings.DATABASE_URL.endswith("data/dmarq.db")
+
+
+class TestAdminApiKeySetting:
+    """Tests for the ADMIN_API_KEY settings field."""
+
+    def test_admin_api_key_defaults_to_none(self):
+        """ADMIN_API_KEY is None when not set."""
+        settings = Settings()
+        assert settings.ADMIN_API_KEY is None
+
+    def test_admin_api_key_reads_from_env(self, monkeypatch):
+        """ADMIN_API_KEY is read from the environment variable."""
+        monkeypatch.setenv("ADMIN_API_KEY", "mytestapikey1234")
+        settings = Settings()
+        assert settings.ADMIN_API_KEY == "mytestapikey1234"
+
+    def test_admin_api_key_warns_when_short(self, monkeypatch, caplog):
+        """A warning is logged when ADMIN_API_KEY is shorter than 32 characters."""
+        import logging
+
+        monkeypatch.setenv("ADMIN_API_KEY", "short")
+        with caplog.at_level(logging.WARNING, logger="app.core.config"):
+            settings = Settings()
+        assert settings.ADMIN_API_KEY == "short"
+        assert any("too short" in record.message for record in caplog.records)
+
+    def test_admin_api_key_accepts_long_key(self, monkeypatch):
+        """A 64-char hex key (openssl rand -hex 32 output) is accepted without warnings."""
+        long_key = "a" * 64
+        monkeypatch.setenv("ADMIN_API_KEY", long_key)
+        settings = Settings()
+        assert settings.ADMIN_API_KEY == long_key