Symfony .env File - Database Configuration

The .env file is used by Symfony to store configuration variables for the application. In particular, it is used to store sensitive information that should not be made available in code repositories (like passwords, API keys, and database credentials). In this document, we will focus on the database configuration options in the .env file.

Database Configuration

In Symfony, the database configuration is stored in the .env file. This file lists all the configuration variables, separated by newlines (\n). The variables are typically in the format NAME=VALUE, where NAME is the name of the configuration option and VALUE is the value of the option.

Here is an example of a .env file with database configuration variables:

# Database Configuration
DATABASE_URL=mysql://user:password@localhost:3306/my_database

In this example, DATABASE_URL is the name of the configuration option, and mysql://user:password@localhost:3306/my_database is the value.

The DATABASE_URL variable contains the URI of the database server, the username and password required to connect to the database, and the name of the database.

Supported database systems

Symfony supports a range of database systems, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and others.

In the .env file, the URL format for each database system is different. Here are some examples:

MySQL

# MySQL
DATABASE_URL=mysql://user:password@localhost:3306/my_database

PostgreSQL

# PostgreSQL
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/my_database

SQLite

# SQLite
DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///path/to/my/database.sqlite

Database configuration variables

In addition to the DATABASE_URL variable, there are other variables that can be used to configure the database connection. These variables are:

• DATABASE_DRIVER: the driver to use when connecting to the database (e.g. pdo_mysql, pdo_pgsql, pdo_sqlite)
• DATABASE_HOST: the hostname of the database server
• DATABASE_PORT: the port number to use when connecting to the database
• DATABASE_NAME: the name of the database to connect to
• DATABASE_USER: the username to use when connecting to the database
• DATABASE_PASSWORD: the password to use when connecting to the database

Conclusion

The .env file is an important part of Symfony development, and is used to store sensitive information like database credentials. In this document, we focused on the database configuration options in the .env file, including the DATABASE_URL variable and other configuration variables. By understanding these configuration options, you can configure your Symfony application to connect to a wide range of database systems.