# FAQ

> Short answers about seniority — the order, YAML, numbers from the environment, discovery, dotenv's vault, testing, plugins and CommonJS — each with where to read more.

Source: https://seniority.interlace.tools/docs/faq

## Can I change the precedence order?

No. It is `flag`, `env`, `config`, `package`, `default`, and it is the same in every program,
so a user or an agent can reason about it from outside. A plugin can add a source between two
of them. [Precedence](/docs/guides/precedence).

## Why is my default beating the environment?

Because your argument parser filled it into `flags`. Pass only what the user typed as `flags`,
and put defaults in the spec's `default`, which ranks last.

## Does it read YAML?

Not without a parser you pass: `loaders: { '.yaml': yaml.load }`. seniority bundles no format
parser, and that is a product decision. It is also why cosmiconfig's suite grades it 186 of 243.
[Config files](/docs/guides/config-files#loaders-bring-your-own-format).

## A number from the environment comes out as a string.

The environment is text, and `resolve` converts only booleans. `validate` reports it, naming
the variable. [Validation](/docs/guides/validation).

## Why wasn't my `APP_SOMETHING` variable picked up?

The environment reaches only options the running command declares, under the prefix in
SCREAMING_SNAKE. `logLevel` reads `APP_LOG_LEVEL`, not `APP_LOGLEVEL`.
[Environment variables](/docs/guides/environment).

## Does discovery walk up to parent directories?

Only with `upward: true`, and then only as far as `stopAt`, the filesystem root, or 64
directories. [Config files](/docs/guides/config-files#walking-upward-bounded) and
[Config in a monorepo](/docs/recipes/monorepo).

## Does `seniority/dotenv` support `.env.vault`?

No. The encrypted vault, `decrypt` and the dotenvx features are declined; they are most of the
35 assertions of dotenv's suite it does not pass. [Compatibility](/docs/drop-ins).

## How do I test my configuration handling?

Pass the environment and the config data to `resolve` as arguments; nothing is read from the
process. [Testing configuration](/docs/recipes/testing-config).

## Can a plugin override what the user typed?

No. A source's `rank` must be strictly between the flag's and the default's, and
`npx seniority check` refuses anything else before it ships. [Source plugins](/docs/guides/plugins).

## Can I use it from CommonJS?

Yes, on Node 20.19+ and 22.13+, through `require(esm)`.