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Developer Fixes API Bug by Replacing Shared .env Key with Two Named Constants

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A developer building an MCP server to manage GitHub and DEV.to profiles encountered repeated GitHub API 404 errors despite using a valid token. The root cause was a single .env variable, GITHUB_USERNAME, storing a DEV.to handle that included an underscore, while the actual GitHub username did not. Rather than adding validation logic or smarter fallback code to resolve the ambiguity, the developer hardcoded two separate named constants — one per platform — each with an explanatory comment. The decision was documented as an Architecture Decision Record to prevent future teams or AI agents from reintroducing the ambiguous shared key. The developer noted that AI coding agents, unlike humans, cannot intuitively question a plausible-looking but semantically overloaded value, making explicit naming even more critical.

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Developer Fixes API Bug by Replacing Shared .env Key with Two Named Constants · ShortSingh