Understanding System Configuration Files

The System Settings application is convenient for making system-scoped configuration changes and setting default configurations for other scopes. But there’s another supported configuration approach: configuration files. You can use configuration files to transfer configurations from pre-production systems to production systems, or between any other Liferay DXP systems. Sometimes developers choose to distribute the default configuration for their applications via configuration file. Whatever the reason, configuration files offer another configuration approach.

Configuration files use the .config property value format defined by the Apache Felix Configuration Admin framework.

Important: Content generated using templates (e.g., FreeMarker templates and Application Display Templates) is cached. Cached content might not reflect configuration changes until the cache is invalidated (cleared). The Server Administration → Resources tab provides cache clearing options.

Note: The .cfg file format is common in OSGi environments, and it’s a supported format, but .config files are preferable. You can specify a property value’s type and have multi-valued properties. The syntax described in these articles is for .config files.