Drupal Configuration Management

Safe patterns for inspecting and syncing Drupal configuration across environments without accidentally importing changes.

When This Skill Activates

Activates when working with Drupal configuration management including:

• Inspecting config differences between environments
• Syncing config from remote environments
• Using drush commands safely on remote servers
• Avoiding accidental config imports
• Manual config editing workflows

Problem: Avoid Accidental Config Imports

CRITICAL: Some hosting platforms default drush commands to --yes (auto-confirm). Commands like config:import or cim may AUTO-CONFIRM and import configuration even when you only want to inspect differences.

Dangerous vs Safe Patterns

❌ DANGEROUS – May auto-import without confirmation:

# Via SSH to remote
ssh user@remote.server "cd /path/to/drupal && drush cim --diff"
ssh user@remote.server "cd /path/to/drupal && drush config:import --diff"

✅ SAFE – Will show diff without importing:

# Via SSH with --no flag
ssh user@remote.server "cd /path/to/drupal && drush cim --no --diff"
ssh user@remote.server "cd /path/to/drupal && drush config:import --no --diff"

✅ SAFEST – Use read-only commands:

# Via SSH - read-only operations
ssh user@remote.server "cd /path/to/drupal && drush config:get config.name"
ssh user@remote.server "cd /path/to/drupal && drush config:status"

Available Topics

Full documentation available in references:

• @references/full-guide.md – Complete configuration management guide
• @references/safe-inspection.md – Read-only config inspection patterns
• @references/manual-sync.md – Manual config editing workflow
• @references/examples.md – Common sync scenarios

Quick Reference

Get Config from Remote

# Via SSH
ssh user@remote.server "cd /path/to/drupal && drush config:get config.name --format=yaml"

# Via DDEV for local
ddev drush config:get config.name --format=yaml

Compare Environments

# View import diff (safe with --no) via SSH
ssh user@remote.server "cd /path/to/drupal && drush cim --no --diff"

# Get specific config for manual comparison
ssh user@remote.server "cd /path/to/drupal && drush config:get config.name --format=yaml" > /tmp/remote.yml
diff -u config/default/config.name.yml /tmp/remote.yml

Manual Edit Workflow

1. Get remote config via SSH: ssh user@remote "cd /path/to/drupal && drush config:get config.name"
2. Edit local file with Edit tool
3. Review: git diff config/default/config.name.yml
4. Commit: git add config/default/config.name.yml && git commit

Best Practices

1. Always use --no flag with cim/cex on remote drush commands
2. Manual edits preferred over automated imports
3. One config type per commit for clean history
4. Clear commit messages referencing source environment
5. Clean up temp files after comparison operations

Last updated: 2024-11-05