* This is used to determine the deployment environment (e.g., "docker").
     *
     * @return the application type string, or empty string if not set
     */
    public static String getAppType() {
        final String appType = System.getenv(FESS_APP_TYPE);
        if (StringUtil.isNotBlank(appType)) {
            return appType;
        }
        return StringUtil.EMPTY;
    }

    /**