Magento Series: Working with Store Configs

Magento (Adobe Commerce) modules often need to keep track of the store configuration when implementing backend logic. This article talks about:

• How configuration values are stored
• How to get configuration values
• How to set configuration values programmatically
• How to specify default values

How are configuration values stored?

Magento (Adobe Commerce) maps a set of configuration paths (e.g., web/secure/base_url) to their values (e.g., https://localhost/). This configuration is scope-based, meaning you can define a “base” configuration value for the default scope, then override it for a specific store.

The configuration is stored in the core_config_data table and easily accessible using a database exploration tool.

In addition to the configuration key and value, the table stores the scope (default/store by id/website by id) and the timestamp when the configuration was last updated.

How to get configuration values?

The \Magento\Framework\App\Config\ScopeConfigInterface provides functions for retrieving a configuration value.

The getValue function takes 1 to 3 arguments:

1. The configuration value path: e.g., general/store_information/name
2. The scope: store/ default/ website (optional, default if not specified)
3. The store/website ID (not required for default scope)

➡️ There’s also the isSetFlag function for boolean configurations

For example, to get the store name of a store with a known ID:

$storeName = $this->scopeConfig->getValue(
    Information::XML_PATH_STORE_INFO_NAME,
    ScopeInterface::SCOPE_STORE,
    $storeId
);

➡️ The path is often taken from a PHP constant, like Information::XML_PATH_STORE_INFO_NAME. This helps to avoid repetition and typos. It also makes refactoring easier—if the path changes, only one constant needs to change!

How can I set configuration values programmatically?

Often, configuration values are edited in the Magento admin panel. However, you may sometimes wish to edit them programmatically, such as in a migration script or a custom controller.

The \Magento\Framework\App\Config\Storage\WriterInterface provides functions for setting or clearing a configuration value.

The delete function is for clearing a config value, and takes 1 to 3 arguments, same as the getValue function of ScopeConfigInterface:

1. The configuration value path: e.g., general/store_information/name
2. The scope: store/ default/ website (optional, default if not specified)
3. The store/website ID (not required for default scope)

The save function sets a config value and takes 2 to 4 arguments. In addition to the 3 arguments of delete, it requires the value to set the config too. The arguments are:

1. The configuration value path: e.g., general/store_information/name
2. The configuration value to set: e.g., Amazing Store
3. The scope: store/ default/ website (optional, default if not specified)
4. The store/website ID (not required for default scope)

Example:

$this->configWriter->save(self::CRON_STRING_PATH, join(' ', self::CRON_EXPR_ARRAY));

How to specify default values?

The default value will be used if a configuration value is not specified. You can specify the default values in the etc/config.xml file.

For example, to specify the default value "{{base_url}}" for web/unsecure/base_url and "{{unsecure_base_url}}” for web/unsecure/base_web_url, you would write:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:module:Magento_Store:etc/config.xsd">
    <default>
        <web>
            <unsecure>
                <base_url>{{base_url}}</base_url>
                <base_web_url>{{unsecure_base_url}}</base_web_url>
            </unsecure>
        </web>
    </default>
</config>

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