How to Locate the Main Configuration File of Your Joomla
The main configuration file of the Joomla script contains valuable information about your website and this includes information on how your website is established in the server. It provides you with more flexibility on a server-level and allows you to perform different actions such as a backup creation/restore, configuration, change of the location for your website, etc.
To locate Joomla main configuration file, you simply have to enter the ROOT DIRECTORY of your website. For example, if you access your website via the following link:
http://www.yourjoomladomain.com
where yourjoomladomain.com is the actual domain that you use on your website, it means that Joomla installation is located directly within the public_html/ directory of your account. However, if you access your website via the following link below, that means your Joomla main configuration file is located inside a subdirectory. For example:
http://www.yourjoomladomain.com/joomla2019
where yourjoomladomain.com is your domain name and “joomla2019” is a subfolder on your account, it means that Joomla installation is located in a folder, called “joomla2019” within the public_html/ directory of your account.
When you enter the installation directory of your Joomla website, you will notice a number of files and folders. The file that you need to be looking for is called configuration.php :
When you access the configuration.php file, you will be presented with the different options available for editing.
One of the most important lines of information in the main Joomla configuration file are the ones for you website database. They display the hostname of your database server (usually set to localhost), the database name, database user, password, database prefix and database type. You can even switch your Joomla site from Active to Maintenance Mode by editing this configuration.php file. Click here if you want to know how to switch your Joomla into maintenance mode.
Lastly, it is important to review that information as it will be required when you intend to make a backup or restore of your database. Before you do that, it's always advisable to save a copy of configuration.php in case things did not turn out the way you want it to be.
To locate Joomla main configuration file, you simply have to enter the ROOT DIRECTORY of your website. For example, if you access your website via the following link:
http://www.yourjoomladomain.com
where yourjoomladomain.com is the actual domain that you use on your website, it means that Joomla installation is located directly within the public_html/ directory of your account. However, if you access your website via the following link below, that means your Joomla main configuration file is located inside a subdirectory. For example:
http://www.yourjoomladomain.com/joomla2019
where yourjoomladomain.com is your domain name and “joomla2019” is a subfolder on your account, it means that Joomla installation is located in a folder, called “joomla2019” within the public_html/ directory of your account.
When you enter the installation directory of your Joomla website, you will notice a number of files and folders. The file that you need to be looking for is called configuration.php :
When you access the configuration.php file, you will be presented with the different options available for editing.
One of the most important lines of information in the main Joomla configuration file are the ones for you website database. They display the hostname of your database server (usually set to localhost), the database name, database user, password, database prefix and database type. You can even switch your Joomla site from Active to Maintenance Mode by editing this configuration.php file. Click here if you want to know how to switch your Joomla into maintenance mode.
Lastly, it is important to review that information as it will be required when you intend to make a backup or restore of your database. Before you do that, it's always advisable to save a copy of configuration.php in case things did not turn out the way you want it to be.
Updated on: 15/03/2019
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