Configuration file is always "re-written" even if it already exists

[kai-tub]

Hey, thanks for the project! :pray:

I am experiencing an issue where the configuration json file is always being written even if it already exists on disk. After a quick look, I assume that the issue is from the lines below:

https://github.com/simulot/immich-go/blob/9c624732e605e7e85f855e853346dd3c8c4f4ced/cmd/shared.go#L107-L131

It reads the configuration and later writes the configuration irrespective of whether the data was complete. If I understand correctly, the JSON file doesn't need to be updated over time.

The reason is that my secrets are stored on a read-only file system (for further reference, see LoadCredential from systemd) and that currently triggers the errors.

I believe it would be sufficient to check if the config was read and only write if no config file was read or if a new CLI argument was used. I have a draft PR/commit available if it helps:

https://github.com/simulot/immich-go/commit/3b560c18b98712c3f7ef1734f05a44614ab5592c

diff --git a/cmd/shared.go b/cmd/shared.go
index 5352eb4..29bca16 100644
--- a/cmd/shared.go
+++ b/cmd/shared.go
@@ -106,11 +106,22 @@ func (app *SharedFlags) Start(ctx context.Context) error {
    // If the client isn't yet initialized
    if app.Immich == nil {
        conf, err := configuration.Read(app.ConfigurationFile)
-       confExist := err == nil
-       if confExist && app.Server == "" && app.Key == "" && app.API == "" {
-           app.Server = conf.ServerURL
-           app.Key = conf.APIKey
-           app.API = conf.APIURL
+       confExists := err == nil
+       updateConf := !confExists
+       // cmd line args take precendence and will update config
+       if confExists {
+           if app.Server != "" || app.Key != "" || app.API != "" {
+               updateConf = true
+           }
+           if app.Server == "" {
+               app.Server = conf.ServerURL
+           }
+           if app.Key == "" {
+               app.Key = conf.APIKey
+           }
+           if app.API == "" {
+               app.API = conf.APIURL
+           }
        }

        switch {
@@ -124,15 +135,17 @@ func (app *SharedFlags) Start(ctx context.Context) error {
            return joinedErr
        }

-       // Connection details are saved into the configuration file
-       conf.ServerURL = app.Server
-       conf.APIKey = app.Key
-       conf.APIURL = app.API
-       err = conf.Write(app.ConfigurationFile)
-       if err != nil {
-           err = fmt.Errorf("can't write into the configuration file: %w", err)
-           joinedErr = errors.Join(joinedErr, err)
-           return joinedErr
+       if updateConf {
+           // Connection details are saved into the configuration file
+           conf.ServerURL = app.Server
+           conf.APIKey = app.Key
+           conf.APIURL = app.API
+           err = conf.Write(app.ConfigurationFile)
+           if err != nil {
+               err = fmt.Errorf("can't write into the configuration file: %w", err)
+               joinedErr = errors.Join(joinedErr, err)
+               return joinedErr
+           }
        }

        app.Immich, err = immich.NewImmichClient(app.Server, app.Key, app.SkipSSL)

Also happy to refactor if necessary :)

[kai-tub]

Ah, sorry. I never got a notification for the :+1: emoji... I have been running my own patch for some time, and I've seen https://github.com/simulot/immich-go/issues/211 has been merged in the mean time. Would you accept a PR that would split up the configuration file into individual files? My motivation is again linked to secrets being stored in a non-writeable location (the API token). But the host URL for example, is something I would like to inspect/change/update and not "hard-code" into the secret/configuration file.

But I can also understand if this is not something you are interested in. Just let me know :+1:

[simulot]

I'm working on a version with a better user interface. I'll use your pr