Configuration files
Note
This page is about configuration for a general TYPO3 installation. There might be many other configuration directives, such as for RTE (Rich Text Editor), link handling or certain extensions. Those directives are not covered on this page.
The configuration files settings. and
additional. are located in the directory
config/system/ in Composer-based
installations. In legacy installations they are located in
typo3conf/system/.
This path can be retrieved from the Environment API, see getConfigPath() for both Composer-based and legacy installations.
The most important configuration file is
settings.. It contains local settings of the
main global PHP array $GLOBALS, crucial settings
like database connect credentials are in here. The file is managed by the
Admin Tools.
The settings in the settings. can be overridden in the
additional. file, which is never touched by TYPO3
internal management tools. Be aware that having settings within
additional. may prevent the system from performing
automatic upgrades and should be used with care and only if you know what
you are doing.
Migration
Changed in version 12.0
For Composer-based installations the configuration files have been moved and renamed:
public/is now available intypo3conf/ Local Configuration. php config/system/ settings. php public/is now available intypo3conf/ Additional Configuration. php config/system/ additional. php
For legacy installations to:
typo3conf/system/ settings. php typo3conf/system/ additional. php
This path can be retrieved from the Environment API, see getConfigPath() for both Composer-based and legacy installations.
The configuration files are automatically moved with TYPO3 v12.0 to their new locations, so no manual process is needed.
Projects working with a versioning control system such as Git might need to adapt
their .gitignore file or their deployment strategies.
In addition, TYPO3 projects relying on the file locations and their structures might need adaptions.
History
Until TYPO3 v12 every installation required a mandatory file named
typo3conf/.
Historically, the very original
name was typo3conf/ (this is also where the extensions' file
name ext_ comes from). This file was renamed in TYPO3 v6.0
to Local and since then returns a PHP array with
settings then available in $TYPO3_.
Specific PHP code with additional logic (e.g. context-specific conditions) was
available in typo3conf/.
With TYPO3 v12, the names for both files and their location have been changed.
The prefix "Local" in Local originates from the
three-divided location of "system", "global" and "local" extensions - the latter
is "specific to a TYPO3 installation" where as other extensions and configuration
could be shared with multiple TYPO3 installations.
TYPO3 v12 has a strong support for Composer and TYPO3's own code base has progressed since 2012, when TYPO3 v6.0 was released. TYPO3 Core itself now only consists of extensions which are available as native Composer packages. The concept of global extensions has been phased out over the past versions.
Instead, TYPO3 installations now distinguish between "dependencies" such as custom extensions, TYPO3 Core extensions or extensions from packagist.org or TYPO3 Extension Repository, and "project-specific" configuration. This project-specific configuration - as known from other PHP frameworks - is now placed in a settings configuration file and additional configuration file.
Newcomers or users from other PHP projects might understand the concept of a file with certain settings much better, so the file locations and the file names have been changed.
Composer-based TYPO3 projects by default have the possibility to place certain files from outside the document root, and using the document root such as public/ as a subfolder. This way, Composer-based TYPO3 projects can restrict direct public access to such files via the webserver.
TYPO3 in its Composer mode already creates a folder named config/ on the
project root level, where e.g. the site configuration is stored. Within the
config/ folder, the configuration files are placed starting with TYPO3
v12:
public/is now available intypo3conf/ Local Configuration. php config/system/ settings. php public/is now available intypo3conf/ Additional Configuration. php config/system/ additional. php
For legacy installations the file names are:
typo3conf/is now available inLocal Configuration. php typo3conf/system/ settings. php typo3conf/is now available inAdditional Configuration. php typo3conf/system/ additional. php
TYPO3 v12 automatically moves the typo3conf/ and
typo3conf/ to their respective new places on
the first PHP request. The old file is not evaluated anymore, as soon as the file
in the new location is available.