Managing Configuration with Drush

Introduction to Drush

Drush is a command-line shell and scripting interface for Drupal. It allows developers and site administrators to manage a Drupal site efficiently without needing to rely on the web interface. One of its powerful features is configuration management, which helps you export, import, and synchronize configuration changes between different environments.

Setting Up Drush

Before using Drush for configuration management, ensure you have it installed on your system. You can install Drush globally using Composer:

Make sure to add the Composer global bin directory to your PATH to use Drush commands from anywhere in your terminal.

Configuration Management Basics

Drupal's configuration management system allows you to export configuration settings from one environment and import them into another. This is particularly useful when deploying changes from a local development site to a staging or production server.

Exporting Configuration

To export your configuration, navigate to your Drupal site root in your terminal and run the following command:

This command will export all your site's configuration to the sync directory defined in your settings file, typically located at sites/default/files/config_HASH/.

Importing Configuration

If you need to import configuration changes that have been made in another environment, you can use the following command:

This command will read the configuration files in the sync directory and apply them to your current site.

Synchronizing Configuration

When working in a team or across multiple environments, it's essential to keep configurations synchronized. You can use Drush to pull and push configurations between environments:

Viewing Configuration Changes

To see a list of configuration changes, you can use the following Drush command:

This command will show the differences between the active configuration and the configuration stored in the sync directory.

Conclusion

Managing configuration with Drush is a powerful way to handle changes efficiently, especially when working in a team or deploying to multiple environments. By mastering these commands, you can ensure that your Drupal configurations are consistent and up-to-date across all environments.