♻️ Simplify Copier environment configuration (#2416)

## AI Disclaimer

Using Codex with gpt-5.6-sol. Reviewed manually.

.copier/update_dotenv.py

@@ -9,9 +9,20 @@ answers_path = Path(__file__).parent / ".copier-answers.yml"
 answers = json.loads(answers_path.read_text())
 env_path = root_path / ".env"
 env_content = env_path.read_text()
+# Keep deployment provider settings from replacing local development defaults.
+env_answer_keys = {
+    "emails_from_email",
+    "first_superuser",
+    "first_superuser_password",
+    "postgres_password",
+    "project_name",
+    "secret_key",
+}
 lines = []
 for line in env_content.splitlines():
     for key, value in answers.items():
+        if key not in env_answer_keys:
+            continue
         upper_key = key.upper()
         if line.startswith(f"{upper_key}="):
             if " " in value:

README.md

@@ -199,12 +199,8 @@ The input variables, with their default values (some auto generated) are:
 - `secret_key`: (default: `"changethis"`) The secret key for the project, used for security, stored in .env, you can generate one with the method above.
 - `first_superuser`: (default: `"admin@example.com"`) The email of the first superuser (in .env).
 - `first_superuser_password`: (default: `"changethis"`) The password of the first superuser (in .env).
-- `smtp_host`: (default: "") The SMTP server host to send emails, you can set it later in .env.
-- `smtp_user`: (default: "") The SMTP server user to send emails, you can set it later in .env.
-- `smtp_password`: (default: "") The SMTP server password to send emails, you can set it later in .env.
 - `emails_from_email`: (default: `"info@example.com"`) The email account to send emails from, you can set it later in .env.
 - `postgres_password`: (default: `"changethis"`) The password for the PostgreSQL database, stored in .env, you can generate one with the method above.
-- `sentry_dsn`: (default: "") The DSN for Sentry, if you are using it, you can set it later in .env.
 
 ## Backend Development
 

copier.yml

@@ -21,21 +21,6 @@ first_superuser_password:
   help: The password of the first superuser (in .env)
   default: changethis
 
-smtp_host:
-  type: str
-  help: The SMTP server host to send emails, you can set it later in .env
-  default: ""
-
-smtp_user:
-  type: str
-  help: The SMTP server user to send emails, you can set it later in .env
-  default: ""
-
-smtp_password:
-  type: str
-  help: The SMTP server password to send emails, you can set it later in .env
-  default: ""
-
 emails_from_email:
   type: str
   help: The email account to send emails from, you can set it later in .env
@@ -49,11 +34,6 @@ postgres_password:
     python -c "import secrets; print(secrets.token_urlsafe(32))"'
   default: changethis
 
-sentry_dsn:
-  type: str
-  help: The DSN for Sentry, if you are using it, you can set it later in .env
-  default: ""
-
 _exclude:
   # Global
   - .vscode

deployment.md

@@ -200,16 +200,22 @@ To configure them, go to your repository's **Settings** > **Environments** and c
 
 For each GitHub Environment (`staging` and `production`), configure the required secrets as [environment secrets](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/how-tos/write-workflows/choose-what-workflows-do/use-secrets#creating-secrets-for-an-environment). Environment secrets are preferred over [repository secrets](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/how-tos/write-workflows/choose-what-workflows-do/use-secrets#creating-secrets-for-a-repository) because they are scoped to the specific environment, reducing exposure and aligning with any protection rules you configure.
 
-The current Github Actions workflows expect these secrets:
+The deployment workflows require these secrets:
 
 * `DOMAIN`
-* `EMAILS_FROM_EMAIL`
 * `FIRST_SUPERUSER`
 * `FIRST_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD`
 * `POSTGRES_PASSWORD`
 * `SECRET_KEY`
-* `LATEST_CHANGES`
+
-* `SMOKESHOW_AUTH_KEY`
+To enable emails, configure these additional secrets with the values from your email provider:
+
+* `SMTP_HOST`
+* `SMTP_USER`
+* `SMTP_PASSWORD`
+* `EMAILS_FROM_EMAIL`
+
+To enable Sentry, configure the `SENTRY_DSN` secret.
 
 ## GitHub Action Deployment Workflows