Configuration¶

FastWorker supports configuration through both code and environment variables. Environment variables provide a convenient way to configure your application without hardcoding values.

Environment Variables¶

All FastWorker components can be configured using environment variables with the FASTWORKER_ prefix.

Client Configuration¶

Environment Variable	Description	Default Value
`FASTWORKER_DISCOVERY_ADDRESS`	Discovery address for finding workers	`tcp://127.0.0.1:5550`
`FASTWORKER_SERIALIZATION_FORMAT`	Serialization format (`JSON` or `PICKLE`)	`JSON`
`FASTWORKER_TIMEOUT`	Task timeout in seconds	`30`
`FASTWORKER_RETRIES`	Number of retries for failed submissions	`3`

export FASTWORKER_DISCOVERY_ADDRESS="tcp://10.0.0.1:5550"
export FASTWORKER_TIMEOUT="60"
export FASTWORKER_RETRIES="5"

Control Plane Configuration¶

Environment Variable	Description	Default Value
`FASTWORKER_WORKER_ID`	Unique identifier for the control plane	`control-plane`
`FASTWORKER_BASE_ADDRESS`	Base address for task processing	`tcp://127.0.0.1:5555`
`FASTWORKER_DISCOVERY_ADDRESS`	Service discovery address	`tcp://127.0.0.1:5550`
`FASTWORKER_SUBWORKER_PORT`	Port for subworker management	`5560`
`FASTWORKER_RESULT_CACHE_SIZE`	Maximum number of cached results	`10000`
`FASTWORKER_RESULT_CACHE_TTL`	Cache TTL in seconds	`3600` (1 hour)

GUI Configuration¶

Variable	Default	Description
`FASTWORKER_GUI_ENABLED`	`true`	Enable/disable the GUI
`FASTWORKER_GUI_HOST`	`127.0.0.1`	GUI server host address
`FASTWORKER_GUI_PORT`	`8080`	GUI server port

Subworker Configuration¶

Environment Variable	Description	Default Value
`FASTWORKER_WORKER_ID`	Unique identifier for the subworker	(required)
`FASTWORKER_CONTROL_PLANE_ADDRESS`	Address of the control plane	(required)
`FASTWORKER_BASE_ADDRESS`	Base address for this subworker	`tcp://127.0.0.1:5555`

Configuration Patterns¶

Development Environment¶

# .env.development
FASTWORKER_DISCOVERY_ADDRESS=tcp://127.0.0.1:5550
FASTWORKER_BASE_ADDRESS=tcp://127.0.0.1:5555
FASTWORKER_TIMEOUT=30
FASTWORKER_RETRIES=3

Production Environment¶

# .env.production
FASTWORKER_DISCOVERY_ADDRESS=tcp://0.0.0.0:5550
FASTWORKER_BASE_ADDRESS=tcp://0.0.0.0:5555
FASTWORKER_TIMEOUT=60
FASTWORKER_RETRIES=5
FASTWORKER_RESULT_CACHE_SIZE=50000
FASTWORKER_RESULT_CACHE_TTL=7200

Docker Compose¶

version: '3.8'

services:
  control-plane:
    image: myapp:latest
    environment:
      FASTWORKER_WORKER_ID: control-plane
      FASTWORKER_BASE_ADDRESS: tcp://0.0.0.0:5555
      FASTWORKER_DISCOVERY_ADDRESS: tcp://0.0.0.0:5550
      FASTWORKER_RESULT_CACHE_SIZE: 50000
    command: ["fastworker", "control-plane", "--task-modules", "tasks"]
    ports:
      - "5550-5560:5550-5560"
      - "8080:8080"

  subworker:
    image: myapp:latest
    environment:
      FASTWORKER_WORKER_ID: subworker-1
      FASTWORKER_CONTROL_PLANE_ADDRESS: tcp://control-plane:5555
      FASTWORKER_BASE_ADDRESS: tcp://0.0.0.0:5561
    command: ["fastworker", "subworker", "--task-modules", "tasks"]
    depends_on:
      - control-plane

Priority Order¶

Configuration follows this priority order (highest to lowest):

Explicit arguments passed to constructors
Environment variables
Default values

# Environment variable set: FASTWORKER_TIMEOUT=60

# Case 1: Explicit argument (highest priority)
client = Client(timeout=120)  # Uses 120

# Case 2: Environment variable
client = Client()  # Uses 60 from env var

# Case 3: If no env var was set
# client = Client()  # Would use default 30

Serialization Formats¶

JSON (Default)¶

Pros: Human-readable, language-agnostic, secure
Cons: Limited type support, slower than Pickle

export FASTWORKER_SERIALIZATION_FORMAT=JSON

Pickle¶

Pros: Fast, supports complex Python objects
Cons: Python-only, security risks with untrusted data

export FASTWORKER_SERIALIZATION_FORMAT=PICKLE

Warning

Only use Pickle in trusted environments. Never use Pickle with untrusted task data.

Port Allocation¶

Control Plane Ports¶

If FASTWORKER_BASE_ADDRESS=tcp://0.0.0.0:5555:

5555: Critical priority tasks
5556: High priority tasks
5557: Normal priority tasks
5558: Low priority tasks
5559: Result query endpoint
5560: Subworker management

Subworker Ports¶

Each subworker needs its own port range:

# Subworker 1: ports 5561-5564
FASTWORKER_BASE_ADDRESS=tcp://0.0.0.0:5561

# Subworker 2: ports 5565-5568
FASTWORKER_BASE_ADDRESS=tcp://0.0.0.0:5565

# Subworker 3: ports 5569-5572
FASTWORKER_BASE_ADDRESS=tcp://0.0.0.0:5569

Best Practices¶

1. Use Environment Variables for Deployment¶

# Good - uses environment variables
client = Client()

# Avoid - hardcoded values
client = Client(discovery_address="tcp://10.0.0.1:5550")

2. Document Your Configuration¶

Create a .env.example file:

# .env.example
FASTWORKER_DISCOVERY_ADDRESS=tcp://127.0.0.1:5550
FASTWORKER_BASE_ADDRESS=tcp://127.0.0.1:5555
FASTWORKER_TIMEOUT=30
FASTWORKER_RETRIES=3

3. Use python-dotenv¶

from dotenv import load_dotenv
from fastworker import Client

# Load environment variables from .env file
load_dotenv()

client = Client()  # Uses variables from .env