Configuration management for Drupal¶

Required config/default folder¶

For websites running Drupal 9 or later, Cloud Platform requires you to define a default location for the configuration directory where you store Drupal configuration information in your code repository. Typically, this directory is in the following location:

config/[sitename]

where config is a directory at the same level (sibling) of your docroot directory. You must create the directory as it does not exist by default in the repository. If you do not create the config directory, Cloud Platform displays the following error message:

The directory docroot/../config/default does not exist.

You cannot run update.php until you create the config directory.

You cannot commit empty directories in Git. You must also add a small file (typically a text file named .gitkeep) to the new directory before you can commit the directory to your repository.

After you create the directory, the file structure at the docroot level is as follows:

/docroot/
config/default/

Pushing configuration forward¶

To explain this scenario, let us assume that you want to build or update a Drupal 9 application named example in the Development environment in Cloud Platform.

To push the configuration forward:

1. In your Development environment, use the tools of your choice to set the configuration of all the modules in your Drupal application.

2. If you are satisfied with the configuration, switch your Development environment to the Live Development mode. For more information, see Using the Live Development mode.

3. In the Live Development mode, export your application’s configuration from the database to the file system:

   drush @example.dev.livedev config-export vcs --commit
   

4. Review the changes before pushing them:

   drush @example.dev.livedev ssh git show
   

5. If you are satisfied with the changes, push them:

   drush @example.dev.livedev ssh git push
   

   If you are not satisfied with your changes:

   1. Remove the changes:

      drush @example.dev.livedev ssh git reset --hard HEAD^1
      drush @example.dev.livedev config-export vcs
      

   2. Adjust your changes and run the following commands:

      drush @example.dev.livedev config-export vcs --commit
      drush @example.dev.livedev ssh git push
      

6. Sign in to the Cloud Platform user interface and select your application.

7. Drag the Code element from Dev to Stage to push your configuration from the Development environment to the Staging environment.

8. Import the configuration from the file system to the database for the Staging environment:

   drush @example.test config-import vcs
   

9. If required by your configuration changes, run update on your Staging environment:

   drush @example.test updatedb
   

Pulling configuration from Production to Development¶

To explain this scenario, let us assume that you made configuration changes in a Drupal 9 application named example in the Production environment in Cloud Platform, and you want to pull them back into your Development environment. This ensures that your development workflow uses the current live configuration.

To pull the configuration from the production environment to the development environment:

1. Set your Development environment to the Live Development mode.

2. Copy the configuration from your Production environment to the vcs configuration directory type folder on the Development environment:

   drush config-pull @example.prod @example.dev.livedev --label=vcs
   

3. Commit the configuration on the Development environment:

   drush @example.dev.livedev ssh git commit -am "Copy config from Prod."
   

4. Import the copied configuration into the Development environment:

   drush @example.dev.livedev config-import vcs
   

5. If all went well, run:

   drush @example.dev.livedev ssh git push
   

   If not, run:

   drush @example.dev.livedev ssh git reset --hard HEAD^1
   

Managing configuration in local development¶

If you develop a Drupal 9 application in a local environment, note the following:

• Download the Cloud Platform Drush integration aliases.

• Set the configuration directory.

• In the settings.php file for your application, define a sync key:

  $config_directories['sync'] = $app_root . '/../config/' . basename($site_path);
  

• Replace @example.dev.livedev with @self in the earlier procedures on this page.

Whenever you update the code in an environment, run the following:

drush config-import vcs -y && drush updatedb -y

$config_directories['sync'] = $config_directories['vcs'];

$settings['config_sync_directory'] = $settings['config_vcs_directory'];

Protecting configuration in the Production environment¶

You can protect your Production environment from untested configuration changes by using the Configuration Read-only mode module.