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# View Source config

Configuration file.

## Description

A configuration file contains values for configuration parameters for the applications in the system. The `erl` command-line argument `-config Name` tells the system to use data in the system configuration file `Name.config`.

The erl command-line argument `-configfd` works the same way as the `-config` option but specifies a file descriptor to read configuration data from instead of a file.

The configuration data from configuration files and file descriptors are read in the same order as they are given on the command line. For example, `erl -config a -configfd 3 -config b -configfd 4` would cause the system to read configuration data in the following order `a.config`, file descriptor `3`, `b.config`, and file descriptor `4`. If a configuration parameter is specified more than once in the given files and file descriptors, the last one overrides the previous ones.

Configuration parameter values in a configuration file or file descriptor override the values in the application resource files (see `app(4)`). The values in the configuration file are always overridden by command-line flags (see `erts:erl(1)`).

The value of a configuration parameter is retrieved by calling `application:get_env/1,2`.

## File Syntax

The configuration file is to be called `Name.config`, where `Name` is any name.

File `.config` contains a single Erlang term and has the following syntax:

    [{Application1, [{Par11, Val11}, ...]},
     ...
     {ApplicationN, [{ParN1, ValN1}, ...]}].

- `Application = atom()` - Application name.

- `Par = atom()` - Name of a configuration parameter.

- `Val = term()` - Value of a configuration parameter.

## sys.config

When starting Erlang in embedded mode, it is assumed that exactly one system configuration file is used, named `sys.config`. This file is to be located in `$ROOT/releases/Vsn`, where `$ROOT` is the Erlang/OTP root installation directory and `Vsn` is the release version.

Release handling relies on this assumption. When installing a new release version, the new `sys.config` is read and used to update the application's configurations.

This means that specifying another `.config` file, or more `.config` files, leads to an inconsistent update of application configurations. There is, however, a way to point out other config files from a `sys.config`. How to do this is described in the next section.

## Including Files from sys.config and -configfd Configurations

There is a way to include other configuration files from a `sys.config` file and from a configuration that comes from a file descriptor that has been pointed out with the `-configfd` command-line argument.

The syntax for including files can be described by the Erlang type language like this:

    [{Application, [{Par, Val}]} | IncludeFile].

- `IncludeFile = string()` - Name of a `.config` file. The extension `.config` can be omitted. It is recommended to use absolute paths. If a relative path is used in a `sys.config`, `IncludeFile` is searched, first, relative to the `sys.config` directory, then relative to the current working directory of the emulator. If a relative path is used in a `-configfd` configuration, `IncludeFile` is searched, first, relative to the dictionary containing the boot script (see also the `-boot` command-line argument) for the emulator, then relative to the current working directory of the emulator. This makes it possible to use `sys.config` for pointing out other `.config` files in a release or in a node started manually using `-config` or `-configfd` with the same result whatever the current working directory is.

When traversing the contents of a `sys.config` or a `-configfd` configuration and a filename is encountered, its contents are read and merged with the result so far. When an application configuration tuple `{Application, Env}` is found, it is merged with the result so far. Merging means that new parameters are added and existing parameter values are overwritten.

Example:

    sys.config:

    ["/home/user/myconfig1"
     {myapp,[{par1,val1},{par2,val2}]},
     "/home/user/myconfig2"].

    myconfig1.config:

    [{myapp,[{par0,val0},{par1,val0},{par2,val0}]}].

    myconfig2.config:

    [{myapp,[{par2,val3},{par3,val4}]}].

This yields the following environment for `myapp`:

    [{par0,val0},{par1,val1},{par2,val3},{par3,val4}]

The run-time system will abort before staring up if an include file specified in `sys.config` or a `-configfd` configuration does not exist, or is erroneous. However, installing a new release version will not fail if there is an error while loading an include file, but an error message is returned and the erroneous file is ignored.

## See Also

`app(4)`, `erts:erl(1)`, OTP Design Principles

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