The configuration management system in Drupal 8 seems like a great idea, but what is it? In this session I hope to show what configuration management is, why it is needed and how it will make all of our lives as Drupal site builders better.

1. Drupal 8
Configuration Management
Phil Norton
Drupal Camp Yorkshire 2014
DrupalCamp Yorkshire 2014

2. Me
• Phil Norton (@philipnorton42)
• #! code (www.hashbangcode.com)
• Technical Lead at Access
• Help run NWDUG

3. What Is Drupal
Config?
!
A quick quiz

4. Blog post

5. Permissions

6. Vocabulary

7. Taxonomy term

8. Field definition

9. Menu

10. Variable

11. Menu item

12. User

13. Contents of a block

14. Configuration Content
Blog Post
!
Taxonomy Term
!
Menu Item
!
Block Content
Permissions
!
Field Definition
!
Vocabulary
!
Menu
!
Variable
TAC
!
Webform
!
Default
Content
!
Views

15. Configuration Content
Blog Post
!
Taxonomy Term
!
Menu Item
!
Block Content
Permissions
!
Field Definition
!
Vocabulary
!
Menu
!
Variable
TAC
!
Webform
!
Default
Content
!
Views

16. Content
!
!
Session
!
!
State
!
!
Configuration
An article page, uploaded files
Logged in status, shopping carts
Last cron run
Everything else

17. Challenge
• Developer:
• Wants to work on code
• Wants to change the config
• Wants to deploy across environments
• Client:
• Wants to work on content
• Doesn’t want to lose work

18. Current Situation

19. Drupal 7 Configuration
• Features
• Install/Update hooks
• Install Profiles
How do we currently manage configuration in Drupal?

20. Features
• Export and import of certain configurations as
modules
• Not all modules supported so there tends to be
gaps in the configuration
• Adding Features support for modules is not easy
• Features ‘Overridden’ sadness

21. Install/Update Hooks
• Create tables
• Set up variables
• Fill in ‘gaps’ in Features modules

22. Install Profiles
• Combine Features modules and install hooks
• Full site setup out of the box
• Limited Drupal API available
• Doesn’t always work as planned

23. What’s Next In
Drupal 8?

24. Drupal 8 Initiatives
• Configuration Management
• Web Services
• Multilingual
• HTML 5
• Mobile

25. CMI
Configuration Management Initiative
http://bit.ly/1tDBbsA
!
http://drupal8cmi.org

26. CMI
• Lead by Greg Dunlap - (heyrocker)
Also involved are:
• Joel Farris (senpai)
• Jonathan Lambert (jlambert)
• David Strauss (davidstrauss)
• Larry Garfield (crell)
• Karoly Negeyesi (chx)
• Angie Byron (webchick)
• Alex Pott (alexpott)
• And many others…

27. CMI
To build Drupal from the ground up to be better at
configuration management

28. CMI
• Move configuration management into core
• Allow storage of configuration in files
• Allow the transfer of configuration between
environments
• Create an API to allow custom configurations
• Integrate UUID into core so certain configurations
can be given machine names

29. Usage

45. Behind The Scenes
• Active configuration is stored in the database
• Clicking Export collates the configuration that each
module defines and combines it with the current
active configuration
• Export contains the active configuration in the form
of YAML files

46. Behind The Scenes
• YAML files are used to store the configuration
• A ‘staging’ and an ‘active’ directory are defined in
settings.php
• Used to store and compare the current
configuration
• By default the directories are stored in the location
/sites/default/files/config_<hash>/

48. active
• Originally intended to be used as the location of the
active configuration
• Active configuration is now stored in the database
• Configuration development module (https://
drupal.org/project/config_devel)

49. staging
• Stores current imported configuration as YAML files
• Shows difference between configuration changes
• Changes made here can be imported into active
configuration

50. YAML!
YAML Ain't Markup Language
!
(Yet Another Markup Language)

51. YAML
• Data orientated format
• Has several benefits over other formats like INI,
JSON, XML
• Support for hierarchical values
• Lists and associative arrays possible
• Used extensively in Drupal 8

52. YAML
• Simple values defined by
key: value
• Hierarchical values defined with whitespace
keys:
key1: value
key2: value

53. YAML
Comments start the line with a ‘#’
!
# This is a comment
item: value

54. YAML Lists
!
- item1
- item2
- item3
!
!
[item1, item2, item3]
!
!
- {name: 'webserver1', ip: ‘192.168.100.100’}
- {name: 'webserver2', ip: ‘192.168.100.101’}
- {name: 'webserver3', ip: ‘192.168.100.102’}

55. uuid: ''
name: Drupal
mail: ''
slogan: ''
page:
403: ''
404: ''
front: user
admin_compact_mode: false
weight_select_max: 100
langcode: en
core/modules/system/config/install/system.site.yml

56. YAML Filenames In Drupal 8
• < module >.< component >.yml
system.settings.yml
views.settings.yml
• < module >.< component >.< entity >.yml
image.style.medium.yml
views.view.content.yml

57. Configuration API

58. Configuration Schema
• Needed to define what your configuration will hold
• Kwalify inspired format
• Used to define what types of data the configuration
will contain
• See more at: https://drupal.org/node/1905070

59. system.schema.yml
system.site:
type: mapping
label: 'Site information'
mapping:
uuid:
type: string
label: 'Site UUID'
name:
type: label
label: 'Site name'
mail:
type: email
label: 'E-mail address'
slogan:
type: label
label: 'Slogan'
page:
type: mapping
label: 'Pages'
mapping:
403:
type: path
label: 'Default 403 (access denied) page'
404:
type: path
label: 'Default 404 (not found) page'
front:
type: path
label: 'Default front page'
admin_compact_mode:
type: boolean
label: 'Compact mode'
weight_select_max:
type: integer
label: 'Weight element maximum value'
langcode:
type: string
label: 'Default language'

60. system.schema.yml
system.site:
type: mapping
label: 'Site information'
mapping:
uuid:
type: string
label: 'Site UUID'
name:
type: label
label: 'Site name'
Schema name
Also shows the
configuration
filename
“system.site.yml”
Used to reference
this configuration

61. system.schema.yml
system.site:
type: mapping
label: 'Site information'
mapping:
uuid:
type: string
label: 'Site UUID'
name:
type: label
label: 'Site name'
Container
data type
‘mapping’ is for
key value sets
allows for
associative arrays
of different data
types

62. system.schema.yml
system.site:
type: mapping
label: 'Site information'
mapping:
uuid:
type: string
label: 'Site UUID'
name:
type: label
label: 'Site name'
Label
Used as an
interface label

63. system.schema.yml
system.site:
type: mapping
label: 'Site information'
mapping:
uuid:
type: string
label: 'Site UUID'
name:
type: label
label: 'Site name'
Start of
mapping section
item key
item type
item label

64. Simple Configuration
• Can be single values or arrays of values
• Used to store global configuration options
• Easy to implement:
• Create schema YAML file in
< module >/config/install/schema
• Create config YAML file
< module >/config/install

65. Getting Configuration
uuid: ''
name: Drupal
mail: ''
slogan: ''
page:
403: ''
404: ''
front: user
admin_compact_mode: false
weight_select_max: 100
langcode: en
!
!
$config = Drupal::config('system.site');
$email = $config->get('mail');
!
$cofig = Drupal::config(‘system.site')
$page403 = $config->get('page.403');

66. Getting Configuration
uuid: ''
name: Drupal
mail: ''
slogan: ''
page:
403: ''
404: ''
front: user
admin_compact_mode: false
weight_select_max: 100
langcode: en
!
!
$email = Drupal::config('system.site')->get('mail');
!
$page403 = Drupal::config('system.site')->get('page.403');
!

67. Setting Configuration
$config = Drupal::config('system.site');
$config->set(‘mail’, ‘test@example.com’);
$config->save();
!
!
$config = Drupal::config(‘system.site’)->set('mail',
‘test@example.com’);
$config->save();
!
!
Drupal::config(‘system.site’)->set('mail', ‘test@example.com)-
>save();

68. Clear Configuration
$config = Drupal::config('system.site');
$config->clear('mail')->save();
!
Drupal::config('system.site')->delete();

69. Configuration Entities
• Used to store custom entity configurations
• More complex and therefore harder to implement
• Used for configurations that have multiple entries
Example: Views, Image cache settings, Contact
form categories

70. Contact Category Interface
namespace Drupalcontact;
!
use DrupalCoreConfigEntityConfigEntityInterface;
!
/**
* Provides an interface defining a contact category entity.
*/
interface CategoryInterface extends ConfigEntityInterface {
!
}

71. Contact Category Entity
namespace DrupalcontactEntity;
!
use DrupalCoreConfigEntityConfigEntityBase;
use DrupalCoreEntityEntityStorageInterface;
use DrupalcontactCategoryInterface;
!
/**
* Defines the contact category entity.
*
* @ConfigEntityType(
* id = "contact_category",
* label = @Translation("Contact category"),
* controllers = {
* "access" = "DrupalcontactCategoryAccessController",
* "list_builder" = "DrupalcontactCategoryListBuilder",
* "form" = {
* "add" = "DrupalcontactCategoryForm",
* "edit" = "DrupalcontactCategoryForm",
* "delete" = "DrupalcontactFormCategoryDeleteForm"
* }
* },
* config_prefix = "category",
* admin_permission = "administer contact forms",
* bundle_of = "contact_message",
* entity_keys = {
* "id" = "id",
* "label" = "label"
* },
* links = {
* "delete-form" = "contact.category_delete",
* "edit-form" = "contact.category_edit"
* }
* )
*/
class Category extends ConfigEntityBase implements CategoryInterface {

72. class Category extends ConfigEntityBase implements CategoryInterface {
!
/**
* The category ID.
*
* @var string
*/
public $id;
!
/**
* The category label.
*
* @var string
*/
public $label;
!
/**
* List of recipient e-mail addresses.
*
* @var array
*/
public $recipients = array();
!
/**
* An auto-reply message to send to the message author.
*
* @var string
*/
public $reply = '';
!
/**
* Weight of this category (used for sorting).
*
* @var int
*/
public $weight = 0;

73. contact.category.personal.yml
id: personal
label: 'Personal contact form'
recipients: { }
reply: ''
weight: 0
status: true
uuid: 43155e41-8a58-4264-ab00-be97a0736aa0
langcode: en
dependencies: { }
!
!
$contact_category = $this->entityManager()
->getStorage('contact_category')
->load('personal');
!
$contact_category->label();

74. contact.category.personal.yml
id: personal
label: 'Personal contact form'
recipients: { }
reply: ''
weight: 0
status: true
uuid: 43155e41-8a58-4264-ab00-be97a0736aa0
langcode: en
dependencies: { }
!
!
$config = Drupal::config('contact.category.personal')->get();
$label = $config['label'];
!
$label = Drupal::config(‘contact.category.personal')->get('label');

75. Drush
• Full Drush integration available
• Need Drush version 7.x
• Currently in dev branch of Drush
• List of Drush commands:
http://www.drushcommands.com/drush-7x/config/
config-list

76. Drush
Export config from the active configuration to the
staging directory
drush config-export
drush cex

77. Drush
Import the staging configuration into the active
configuration
drush config-import
drush cim

78. Workflow
• Staging config should become part of your
codebase
• New configuration changes should be exported
and integrated into code base
• Configuration in code should then be used to move
configuration between servers

79. Dev Stage Live
export
deploy deploy
import import
Git
Config
Code
Git
Config
Code
Git
Config
Code
Workflow

80. Dev Stage Live
drush cex
deploy deploy
drush cim drush cim
Git
Config
Code
Git
Config
Code
Git
Config
Code
Drush Workflow

81. Roll Your Own
Configurations
!
!
!
!
Create a module that stores simple configurations

82. MyModule
• A module that integrates with the configuration
management API
• Defines a single configuration item
• Defines a page to display the configuration
• Defines a form to change the configuration

83. MyModule Configuration
• mymodule.info.yml file defines the module
• mymodule.settings.yml contains the module
configuration
• mymodule.schema.yml contains information about
the configuration item being defined
• mymodule.routing.yml defines routes to a page and
a form

84. name: 'MyModule'
type: module
description: 'My module'
version: VERSION
core: 8.x
mymodule.info.yml

85. configitem: ''
/config/install/mymodule.settings.yml

86. mymodule.settings:
type: mapping
label: 'My Module Settings'
mapping:
configitem:
type: string
label: 'A config item'
/config/schema/mymodule.schema.yml

87. mymodule.page:
path: '/mymodule'
defaults:
_content: 'DrupalmymoduleController
MyModuleController::description'
requirements:
_access: 'TRUE'
!
mymodule.admin:
path: '/mymodule/edit'
defaults:
_form: 'DrupalmymoduleFormMyModuleAdminForm'
requirements:
_access: 'TRUE'
mymodule.routing.yml

88. MyModule Page
• mymodule.routing.yml defines the route to the page
• Destination MyModuleController::description()
loads the configuration and displays it

89. namespace DrupalmymoduleController;
!
use DrupalCoreControllerControllerBase;
!
/**
* Custom page.
*/
class MyModuleController extends ControllerBase {
!
/**
* An example page.
*
* @return string
* A render array containing some page content.
*/
public function description() {
!
$mymodule_config = Drupal::config('mymodule.settings');
!
$output = array();
!
$output['mymodule_output'] = array(
'#markup' => t('The value of configitem is "!configitem"', array('!configitem' =>
$mymodule_config->get('configitem')))
);
!
return $output;
}
}
lib/Drupal/mymodule/Controller/MyModuleController.php

90. MyModule Form
• mymodule.routing.yml defines the route to the form
• Class MyModuleAdminForm defines a form that
loads the configuration
• Configuration is saved upon submission of the form

91. namespace DrupalmymoduleForm;
!
use DrupalCoreFormConfigFormBase;
!
/**
* Configure MyModule admin settings for this site.
*/
class MyModuleAdminForm extends ConfigFormBase {
!
/**
* Implements DrupalCoreFormFormInterface::getFormID().
*/
public function getFormID() {
return 'mymodule_edit_form';
}
!
/**
* Implements DrupalCoreFormFormInterface::buildForm().
*/
public function buildForm(array $form, array &$form_state) {
$config = $this->configFactory()->get('mymodule.settings');
!
$form['configitem'] = array(
'#type' => 'textfield',
'#title' => t('Config Settings'),
'#default_value' => $config->get('configitem')
);
!
return parent::buildForm($form, $form_state);
}
!
/**
* Implements DrupalCoreFormFormInterface::submitForm().
*/
public function submitForm(array &$form, array &$form_state) {
$config = $this->configFactory()->get('mymodule.settings');
!
$config->set('configitem', $form_state['values']['configitem'])->save();
!
parent::submitForm($form, $form_state);
}
}
lib/Drupal/mymodule/Form/MyModuleAdminForm.php

92. !
/**
* Implements DrupalCoreFormFormInterface::buildForm().
*/
public function buildForm(array $form, array &$form_state) {
$config = $this->configFactory()->get('mymodule.settings');
!
$form['configitem'] = array(
'#type' => 'textfield',
'#title' => t('Config Settings'),
'#default_value' => $config->get('configitem')
);
!
return parent::buildForm($form, $form_state);
}
lib/Drupal/mymodule/Form/MyModuleAdminForm.php

93. !
!
/**
* Implements DrupalCoreFormFormInterface::submitForm().
*/
public function submitForm(array &$form, array &$form_state) {
$config = $this->configFactory()->get('mymodule.settings');
!
$config->set('configitem', $form_state['values']['configitem'])->save();
!
parent::submitForm($form, $form_state);
}
lib/Drupal/mymodule/Form/MyModuleAdminForm.php

95. configitem: 'another value'

96. Drupal 7
• Configuration management has been back ported
into Drupal 7
• Configuration Management module
https://drupal.org/project/configuration

97. Resources
• Creating Drupal 8.x modules
https://drupal.org/developing/modules/8
!
• Configuration API in Drupal 8
https://drupal.org/node/1667894
!
• Understanding Drupal 8's config entities
http://www.previousnext.com.au/blog/understanding-drupal-8s-config-entities
!
• Configuration schema/metadata
https://drupal.org/node/1905070
!
• Configuration inspector for Drupal 8
https://drupal.org/project/config_inspector

98. Drupal 8 CMI Needs You!
• Lots of work still needs to be done on CMI
• Go to http://drupal8cmi.org/ and pick an issue to
work on

99. Me
• Phil Norton (@philipnorton42)
• #! code (www.hashbangcode.com)
• Technical Lead at Access
• Help run NWDUG