Configuring in the Kernel (e.g. AppKernel)¶

Some configuration can be done on the kernel class itself (usually called app/AppKernel.php). You can do this by overriding specific methods in the parent Kernel class.

Configuration¶

Charset
Kernel Name
Root Directory
Cache Directory
Log Directory

Charset¶

type: string default: UTF-8

This returns the charset that is used in the application. To change it, override the getCharset() method and return another charset, for instance:

// app/AppKernel.php

// ...
class AppKernel extends Kernel
{
    public function getCharset()
    {
        return 'ISO-8859-1';
    }
}

Kernel Name¶

type: string default: app (i.e. the directory name holding the kernel class)

To change this setting, override the getName() method. Alternatively, move your kernel into a different directory. For example, if you moved the kernel into a foo directory (instead of app), the kernel name will be foo.

The name of the kernel isn’t usually directly important - it’s used in the generation of cache files. If you have an application with multiple kernels, the easiest way to make each have a unique name is to duplicate the app directory and rename it to something else (e.g. foo).

Root Directory¶

type: string default: the directory of AppKernel

This returns the root directory of your kernel. If you use the Symfony Standard edition, the root directory refers to the app directory.

To change this setting, override the getRootDir() method:

// app/AppKernel.php

// ...
class AppKernel extends Kernel
{
    // ...

    public function getRootDir()
    {
        return realpath(parent::getRootDir().'/../');
    }
}

Cache Directory¶

type: string default: $this->rootDir/cache/$this->environment

This returns the path to the cache directory. To change it, override the getCacheDir() method. Read “Override the cache Directory” for more information.

Log Directory¶

type: string default: $this->rootDir/logs

This returns the path to the log directory. To change it, override the getLogDir() method. Read “Override the logs Directory” for more information.