Config Diff Formatter

Drupal Config Diff Formatter — How to Use

Drupal's configuration management system exports site configuration as YAML files. When deploying between environments — development, staging, and production — differences between configuration files can cause unexpected site behaviour. The Config Diff Formatter lets you paste two YAML configurations side by side and immediately see which lines were added, removed, or unchanged.

Lines highlighted in green exist only in the new config. Lines in red were in the old config but are absent in the new one. Unchanged lines are shown in gray for context.

Drupal Config Management Workflow

• Export config with drush config:export — writes YAML files to your sync directory.
• Import config with drush config:import — applies changes from the sync directory to the active config.
• Use drush config:status to see which configs differ between the sync directory and active site.
• Store your config sync directory in version control to track changes over time.

Common Config Drift Issues

• UUID mismatch — Configs created independently on different environments will have different UUIDs, blocking import. Delete the UUID line from the imported file to resolve.
• Missing dependencies — If a referenced module or config object doesn't exist, import will fail. Check the dependencies section of the YAML.
• Partial imports — Never manually edit active config in the UI and then try to import; always export first, make changes in files, then import.