Documentation Commerce Configuration Guide

system.xml reference

Last update: September 13, 2023

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The system.xml file allows you to manage the Commerce system configuration. Use this topic as a general reference for the system.xml file. The system.xml file is located under etc/adminhtml/system.xml in a given Commerce 2 extension.

The following code snippet shows the bare skeleton of the file:

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:module:Magento_Config:etc/system_file.xsd">
    <system>
        <!-- PLACE YOUR MODULE SPECIFIC CONFIGURATION HERE -->
    </system>
</config>

TIP

If you want instant *XSD validation in your IDE, you can run bin/magento dev:urn-catalog:generate [--ide IDE] [--] <path>.

Tabs // Sections // Groups // Fields

In the system.xml file, it is possible to define four different types of entities, which are related to each other. The following section describes the relationship between tabs, sections, groups, and fields. The following screenshot displays the Commerce 2 System Configuration in the Admin backend.
The red squares mark the different types that are defined in the system.xml file:

Screenshot displaying a configured section in the Admin.

Tabs are used to split different configuration areas semantically. Each tab can contain one or more sections, which can also be referenced as submenus. A section contains one or more groups.
Each group lists one or more fields. You can also use a group to add a general description for the following fields. As mentioned, each group can have one or more fields. Fields are the smallest entity
in the system configuration context.

Tabs

A <tab>-Tag references to either an existing or a new tab in the system configuration.

Tab attribute reference

A <tab>-Tag can have the following attributes:

Attribute	Description	Type	Required
`id`	Defines the identifier that is used referencing the section.	`typeId`	required
`translate`	Defines the field that should be translatable. Provide `label` to make the label translatable.	`string`	optional
`sortOrder`	Defines the sort order of the section. High numbers push the section to the bottom of the page; low numbers push the section to the top.	`float`	optional
`class`	Adds a defined CSS class to the rendered tab HTML element.	`string`	optional

Tab node reference

A <tab>-Tag can have the following child:

Node	Description	Type
`label`	Defines the label that is displayed in the frontend.	`string`

Example: Create a tab

The following code snippet demonstrates the creation of a new tab with example data.

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:module:Magento_Config:etc/system_file.xsd">
    <system>
        <tab id="A_UNIQUE_ID" translate="label" class="a-custom-css-class-to-style-this-tab" sortOrder="10">
            <label>A meaningful label</label>
        </tab>
    </system>
</config>

The snippet above creates a new tab with the identifier A_UNIQUE_ID. As the translate-attribute is defined and references the label, the label-node is translatable. During the rendering process, the CSS class a-custom-css-class-to-style-this-tab will be applied on the HTML element that was created for this tab.
The sortOrder-attribute with the value of 10 defines the position of the tab in the list of all tabs when rendered.

Sections

A <section>-Tag references to either an existing or a new section in the system configuration.

Section attribute reference

A <section>-Tag can have the following attributes:

Attribute	Description	Type	Required
`id`	Defines the identifier that is used referencing the section.	`typeId`	required
`translate`	Defines the field that should be translatable. Provide `label` to make the label translatable.	`string`	optional
`type`	Defines the input type of the rendered HTML element. Defaults to `text`.	`string`	optional
`sortOrder`	Defines the sort order of the section. High numbers will push the section to the bottom of the page; low numbers will push the section to the top.	`float`	optional
`showInDefault`	Defines whether the section is shown in the default configuration scope. Specify `1` to show the section and `0` to hide the section.	`int`	optional
`showInStore`	Defines whether the section is shown on store level. Specify `1` to show the section and `0` to hide the section.	`int`	optional
`showInWebsite`	Defines whether the section is shown on website level. Specify `1` to show the section and `0` to hide the section.	`int`	optional
`canRestore`	Defines if the section can be restored to default.	`int`	optional
`advanced`	Deprecated since 100.0.2.	`bool`	optional
`extends`	By providing an identifier of another section, the content of this node will extend the section that you referenced.	`string`	optional

Section node reference

A <section>-Tag can have the following children:

Node	Description	Type
`label`	Defines the label that is displayed in the frontend.	`string`
`class`	Adds a defined CSS class to the rendered section HTML element.	`string`
`tab`	References the associated tab. Expects the ID of the tab.	`typeTabId`
`header_css`	Neither used nor evaluated at the time of this writing.	`string`
`resource`	References an ACL resource to provide permission settings for this section.	`typeAclResourceId`
`group`	Define one or more subgroups.	`typeGroup`
`frontend_model`	Specifies a different frontend model to change the rendering and modify the output.	`typeModel`
`include`	Used to include additional `system_include.xsd` compatible files. Usually used to structure large `system.xml` files.	`includeType`

Example: Create a section and assign it to a tab

The following code snippet demonstrates the basic usage of creating a new section.

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:module:Magento_Config:etc/system_file.xsd">
    <system>
        <tab id="A_UNIQUE_ID" translate="label" class="a-custom-css-class-to-style-this-tab" sortOrder="10">
            <label>A meaningful label</label>
        </tab>

        <section id="A_UNIQUE_SECTION_ID" showInDefault="1" showInWebsite="0" showInStore="1" sortOrder="10" translate="label">
            <label>A meaningful section label</label>
            <tab>A_UNIQUE_ID</tab>
            <resource>VENDOR_MODULE::path_to_the_acl_resource</resource>
        </section>
    </system>
</config>

The section described above defines the ID A_UNIQUE_SECTION_ID, is visible in the default config view and in a store context. The label-node is translatable. The section is associated to the tab with the ID A_UNIQUE_ID. The section can only be accessed by users that have the permissions defined in the ACL VENDOR_MODULE::path_to_the_acl_resource.

Groups

The <group>-Tag is used to group fields together.

Group attribute reference

A <group>-Tag can have the following attributes:

Attribute

Description

Type

Required

id

Defines the identifier that is used referencing the group.

typeId

required

translate

Defines the fields that should be translatable. Provide label to make the label translatable. Multiple fields should be separated by a space.

string

optional

type

Defines the input type of the rendered HTML element. Defaults to text.

string

optional

sortOrder

Defines the sort order of the section. High numbers will push the section to the bottom of the page; low numbers will push the section to the top.

float

optional

showInDefault

Defines whether the group is shown in the default configuration scope. Specify 1 to show the group and 0 to hide the group.

int

optional

showInStore

Defines whether the group is shown on store level. Specify 1 to show the group and 0 to hide the group.

int

optional

showInWebsite

Defines whether the group is shown on website level. Specify 1 to show the group and 0 to hide the group.

int

optional

canRestore

Defines if the group can be restored to default.

int

optional

advanced

Deprecated since 100.0.2.

bool

optional

extends

By providing an identifier of another group, the content of this node will extend the section that you referenced.

string

optional

Group node reference

A <group>-Tag can have the following children:

Node

Description

Type

label

Defines the label that is displayed in the frontend.

string

fieldset_css

Adds one or more CSS classes to a group fieldset.

string

frontend_model

Specifies a different frontend model to change the rendering and modify the output.

typeModel

clone_model

Specifies a given model to clone fields.

typeModel

clone_fields

Enabled or disabled cloning of fields.

int

help_url

Not extensible. See below.

typeUrl

more_url

Not extensible. See below.

typeUrl

demo_link

Not extensible. See below.

typeUrl

comment

Adds a comment below the group label. By using <![CDATA[//]]> HTML can be applied.

string

hide_in_single_store_mode

Whether the group should be visible in single store mode. 1 hides the group; 0 shows the group.

int

field

Define one or more fields that should be available under this group.

field

group

Define one or more subgroups.

unbounded

depends

Can be used to declare dependencies on other fields. Is used to show specific fields/groups only when a given field has a value of 1. This node expects a section/group/field-string.

depends

attribute

Custom attributes can be used by frontend models. Usually used to make a given frontend model more dynamic.

attribute

include

Used to include additional system_include.xsd compatible files. Usually used to structure large system.xml files.

includeType

WARNING

The nodes more_url, demo_url and help_url are defined by a PayPal frontend model that is only used once. These nodes are not reusable.

Example: Create a group for a given section

The following code snippet demonstrates the basic usage of creating a new group.

<config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:module:Magento_Config:etc/system_file.xsd">
    <system>
        <tab id="A_UNIQUE_ID" translate="label" class="a-custom-css-class-to-style-this-tab" sortOrder="10">
            <label>A meaningful label</label>
        </tab>

        <section id="A_UNIQUE_SECTION_ID" showInDefault="1" showInWebsite="0" showInStore="1" sortOrder="10" translate="label">
            <label>A meaningful section label</label>
            <tab>A_UNIQUE_ID</tab>
            <resource>VENDOR_MODULE::path_to_the_acl_resource</resource>

            <group id="A_UNIQUE_GROUP_ID" translate="label comment" sortOrder="10" showInDefault="1" showInWebsite="0" showInStore="1">
                <label>A meaningful group label</label>
                <comment>An additional comment helping users to understand the effect when configuring the fields defined in this group.</comment>
                <!-- Add your fields here. -->
            </group>
        </section>
    </system>
</config>

The group described above defines the ID A_UNIQUE_GROUP_ID, is visible in the default config view and in a store context. Both, the label and the comment are marked as translatable.

Fields

The <field>-Tag is used inside of <group>-Tags to define specific configuration values.

Field attribute reference

A <field>-Tag can have the following attributes:

Attribute

Description

Type

Required

id

Defines the identifier that is used referencing the field.

typeId

required

translate

Defines the fields that should be translatable. Provide label to make the label translatable. Multiple fields should be separated by a space.

string

optional

type

Defines the input type of the rendered HTML element. Defaults to text.

string

optional

sortOrder

Defines the sort order of the section. High numbers push the section to the bottom of the page; low numbers push the section to the top.

float

optional

showInDefault

Defines whether the field is shown in the default configuration scope. Specify 1 to show the field and 0 to hide the field.

int

optional

showInStore

Defines whether the field is shown on store level. Specify 1 to show the field and 0 to hide the field.

int

optional

showInWebsite

Defines whether the field is shown on website level. Specify 1 to show the field and 0 to hide the field.

int

optional

canRestore

Defines if the field can be restored to default.

int

optional

advanced

Deprecated since 100.0.2.

bool

optional

extends

By providing an identifier of another field, the content of this node will extend the section that you referenced.

string

optional

Field type reference

A <field>-Tag can have the following values for the type="" attribute:

Type

Description

text

Standard, single row text field

textarea

Text block

select

Normal dropdown, may need a custom source_model. Also used for Yes/No selections. See Magento\Search\Model\Adminhtml\System\Config\Source\Engine for an example.

multiselect

Like select but multiple options are valid.

button

A button that triggers an immediate event. Requires custom front-end model to define the button text and the action. See Magento\ScheduledImportExport\Block\Adminhtml\System\Config\Clean for an example.

obscure

A text field with the value encrypted and displayed as ****. Changing the type using “Inspect Element” in the browser does not reveal the value.

password

Like obscure except that the hidden value is not encrypted, and forcibly changing the type using “Inspect Element” in the browser does reveal the value.

file

Allows a file to be uploaded for processing.

label

Displays a label instead of an editable field. Use this type when a field is editable only on specific scopes, for example Store View level only.

time

Control to set time using three dropdowns–Hour, minute and second.

allowspecific

A multiselect list of specific countries. Requires a source_model such as Magento\Shipping\Model\Config\Source\Allspecificcountries

image

Allows an image to be uploaded.

note

Allows an informational note to be added to the page. This type requires a frontend_model to render the note.

It is also possible to create a custom field type. This is often done when a special button, with an action, is required. To do this requires two main elements:

Creating a block in the adminhtml area
Setting the type="" to the path to this block

The block itself requires, at a minimum, a __construct method and a getElementHtml() method. The Magento_OfflineShipping is a simple example of a custom type.

For example, in the OfflineShipping module, the Export button is defined in Magento\OfflineShipping\Block\Adminhtml\Form\Field\Export and the field definition looks like:

<field id="export" translate="label" type="Magento\OfflineShipping\Block\Adminhtml\Form\Field\Export" sortOrder="5" showInDefault="0" showInWebsite="1" showInStore="0">
    <label>Export</label>
</field>

Field node reference

A <field>-Tag can have the following children:

Node

Description

Type

label

Defines the label that is displayed in the frontend.

string

comment

Adds a comment below the field label. By using <![CDATA[//]]> HTML can be applied.

string

tooltip

Another possible frontend element that can be used to describe the meaning of this field. Displayed as a small icon beside the field.

string

hint

Displays additional information. Only available with specific frontend_model.

string

frontend_class

Adds a defined CSS class to the rendered section HTML element.

string

frontend_model

Specifies a different frontend model to change the rendering and modify the output.

typeModel

backend_model

Specifies a different backend model to modify the configured values.

typeModel

source_model

Specifies a different source model that provides a specific set of values.

typeModel

config_path

Can be used to overwrite the generic config path of a field.

typeConfigPath

validate

Define different validation rules (space separated). Full reference list of available validation rules is listed below.

string

can_be_empty

Used when type is multiselect to specify that a field can be empty.

int

if_module_enabled

Used to display a field only when a given module is enabled.

typeModule

base_url

Used in combination with upload_dir for file uploads.

typeUrl

upload_dir

Specify a target directory for uploads. This node has additional attributes and nodes. Look them up before using this.

typeUploadDir

button_url

Displays a button if button_url and button_label are specified. Usually used in combination with a custom frontend model.

typeUrl

button_label

Displays a button if button_label and button_url are specified. Usually used in combination with a custom frontend model.

string

more_url

Not extensible. See below.

typeUrl

demo_url

Not extensible. See below.

typeUrl

hide_in_single_store_mode

Whether the group should be visible in single store mode. 1 hides the group; 0 shows the group.

int

options

Not used. Potentially deprecated.

complexType

depends

Can be used to declare dependencies to other fields. Is used to only show specific fields/groups when a given field has a value of 1. This node expects a section/group/field-string.

complexType

attribute

Custom attributes can be used by frontend models. Usually used to make a given frontend model more dynamic.

complexType

requires

Not extensible. See below.

complexType

WARNING

The nodes more_url, demo_url, requires and options are defined by a different core payment model and are only used once. These nodes are not reusable.

Example: Create two fields in a given group

<config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:module:Magento_Config:etc/system_file.xsd">
    <system>
        <tab id="A_UNIQUE_ID" translate="label" class="a-custom-css-class-to-style-this-tab" sortOrder="10">
            <label>A meaningful label</label>
        </tab>

        <section id="A_UNIQUE_SECTION_ID" showInDefault="1" showInWebsite="0" showInStore="1" sortOrder="10" translate="label">
            <label>A meaningful section label</label>
            <tab>A_UNIQUE_ID</tab>
            <resource>VENDOR_MODULE::path_to_the_acl_resource</resource>

            <group id="A_UNIQUE_GROUP_ID" translate="label" sortOrder="10" showInDefault="1" showInWebsite="0" showInStore="1">
                <label>A meaningful group label</label>
                <comment>An additional comment helping users to understand the effect when configuring the fields defined in this group.</comment>

                <field id="A_UNIQUE_FIELD_ID" translate="label" sortOrder="10" showInDefault="0" showInWebsite="0" showInStore="1" type="select">
                    <label>Feature Flag Example</label>
                    <comment>This field is an example for a basic yes or no select.</comment>
                    <tooltip>Usually these kinds of fields are used to enable or disable a given feature. Other fields might be dependent to this and will only appear if this field is set to yes.</tooltip>
                    <source_model>Magento\Config\Model\Config\Source\Yesno</source_model>
                </field>

                <field id="ANOTHER_UNIQUE_FIELD_ID" translate="label" sortOrder="10" showInDefault="0" showInWebsite="0" showInStore="1" type="text">
                    <label>A meaningful field label</label>
                    <comment>A descriptive text explaining this configuration field.</comment>
                    <tooltip>Another possible frontend element that also can be used to describe the meaning of this field. Will be displayed as a small icon beside the field.</tooltip>
                    <validate>required-entry no-whitespace</validate> <!-- Field is required and must not contain any whitespace. -->
                    <if_module_enabled>VENDOR_MODULE</if_module_enabled>
                    <depends> <!-- This field will only be visible if the field with the id A_UNIQUE_FIELD_ID is set to value 1 -->
                        <field id="A_UNIQUE_FIELD_ID">1</field>
                    </depends>
                </field>
            </group>
        </section>
    </system>
</config>

The example above creates two fields, both visible/configurable in default and in store view. Both fields have a comment and a tooltip to describe their purpose to the user. The label-node is translatable.
The field with the identifier ANOTHER_UNIQUE_FIELD_ID is visible when the given module in the if_module_enabled is enabled globally. The field also validates its value against the rules required-entry and no-whitespace.
The field with the identifier A_UNIQUE_FIELD_ID defines a different source model which provides tha values Yes and No.

Common source models

The following source models are provided by the Commerce 2 Core. In general, there are many more source models; the following list describes the most common ones. Be aware, that these source models need the field attribute type to be set to select in order to work properly.

Source Model

Description

Magento\Config\Model\Config\Source\Yesnocustom

Provides the values Yes, No and Specified.

Magento\Config\Model\Config\Source\Enabledisable

Provides the values Enable, Disable. Saves the values as 0 and 1 in the database.

Magento\AdminNotification\Model\Config\Source\Frequency

Provides the values 1 Hour,2 Hours,6 Hours,12 Hours and 24 Hours. Values are saved as integers.

Magento\Catalog\Model\Config\Source\TimeFormat

Provides the values for the time format (12 h/24 h).

Magento\Cron\Model\Config\Source\Frequency

Provides the values Daily, Weekly and Monthly. Values are saved in the database as D, W and M.

Magento\GoogleAdwords\Model\Config\Source\Language

Provides the values for a 2-letter code of a given language in the ISO 639-1 format (e.g. en).

Magento\Config\Model\Config\Source\Locale

Provides the values similar to the above one, but pertains a locale code (e.g. en_US).

Field Validation

A field can have one or more validator-classes assigned to make sure that the input of the user meets the requirements of the extension. Validation rules can be applied with the <validate>-Tag.
The following example validates a field and adds several different validation rules.

<field id="A_CUSTOM_IDENTIFIER" showInDefault="1" showInWebsite="0" showInStore="1">
    <validate>required-entry validate-clean-url no-whitespace</validate>
</field>

The following validation rules are available:

Rule

Description

alphanumeric

Allows letters, numbers, spaces or underscores only.

integer

Allows a positive or negative non-decimal number.

ipv4

Allows a valid IP v4 address.

ipv6

Allows a valid IP v6 address.

letters-only

Allows letters only. For example, abcABC.

letters-with-basic-punc

Allows letters or punctuation only.
Must pass the following expression: /^[a-z\-.,()\u0027\u0022\s]+$/i.

mobileUK

Allows a (UK) mobile phone number.

no-marginal-whitespace

Disallows white spaces at the start or end of the value.

no-whitespace

Disallows white spaces.

phoneUK

Allows a (UK) phone number.

phoneUS

Allows a (US) phone number.

required-entry

Disallows an empty value (equivalent validation as validate-no-empty).
Validation failure message: “This is a required field.”

time

Allows a valid time in 24-hour format, between 00:00 and 23:59. For example 15, 15:05 or 15:05:48.

time12h

Allows a valid time in 12-hour format, between 12:00 am and 11:59:59 pm. For example 3 am, 11:30 pm, 02:15:00 pm.

validate-admin-password

Allows 7 or more characters, using both numeric and alphabetic.

validate-alphanum-with-spaces

Allows usage of letters (a-z or A-Z), numbers (0-9), or spaces only.

validate-clean-url

Allows a valid URL. For example, https://www.example.com or www.example.com.

validate-currency-dollar

Allows a valid (dollar) amount. For example, $100.00.

validate-data

Allows usage of letters (a-z or A-Z), numbers (0-9), or underscores (_) only.
The first character must be a letter.
(Must match expression: /^[A-Za-z]+[A-Za-z0-9_]+$/)
Validation failure message: “Please use only letters (a-z or A-Z), numbers (0-9) or underscore (_) in this field, and the first character should be a letter.”

validate-date-au

Enforces the following date format: dd/mm/yyyy. For example, 17/03/2006 for the 17th of March, 2006.

validate-email

Allows a valid email address. For example, johndoe@domain.com.

validate-emailSender

Allows a valid email address. For example, johndoe@domain.com.

validate-fax

Allows a valid fax number. For example, 123-456-7890.

validate-no-empty

Disallows an empty value (equivalent validation as requried-entry).
Validation failure message: “Empty value.”

validate-no-html-tags

Disallows usage of HTML tags.

validate-password

Allows 6 or more characters. Leading and trailing spaces will be ignored.

validate-phoneLax

Allows a valid phone number. For example, (123) 456-7890 or 123-456-7890.

validate-phoneStrict

Allows a valid phone number. For example, (123) 456-7890 or 123-456-7890.

validate-select

Enforces that the select option chosen not have a null value, string value of none or string length of 0.

validate-ssn

Allows a valid (US) social security number. For example, 123-45-6789.

validate-street

Allows usage of letters (a-z or A-Z), numbers (0-9), spaces, and “#” only.

validate-url

Allows a valid URL. Protocol is required (http://, https:// or ftp://).

validate-xml-identifier

Allows a valid XML-identifier. For example, something_1, block5, id-4.

validate-zip-us

Allows a valid (US) ZIP code. For example, 90602 or 90602-1234.

vinUS

Allows (US) vehicle identification number (VIN) value.

Default Values

Default values for fields may be set in the module’s etc/config.xml file by specifying the default value in the section/group/field_ID node.

Example: Setting the default value for `ANOTHER_UNIQUE_FIELD_ID` (Default scope)

<config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:module:Magento_Store:etc/config.xsd">
    <default>
        <A_UNIQUE_SECTION_ID>
            <A_UNIQUE_GROUP_ID>
                <ANOTHER_UNIQUE_FIELD_ID>This is the default value</ANOTHER_UNIQUE_FIELD_ID>
            </A_UNIQUE_GROUP_ID>
        </A_UNIQUE_SECTION_ID>
    </default>
</config>

Example: Setting the default value for `ANOTHER_UNIQUE_FIELD_ID` (Website scope)

Using the websites tag, specify the default value for a specific website.

<config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:module:Magento_Store:etc/config.xsd">
    <websites>
        <WEBSITE_CODE>
            <A_UNIQUE_SECTION_ID>
                <A_UNIQUE_GROUP_ID>
                    <ANOTHER_UNIQUE_FIELD_ID>This is the default value</ANOTHER_UNIQUE_FIELD_ID>
                </A_UNIQUE_GROUP_ID>
            </A_UNIQUE_SECTION_ID>
        </WEBSITE_CODE>
    </websites>
</config>

recommendation-more-help

system.xml reference

Tabs // Sections // Groups // Fields

Tabs

Tab attribute reference

Tab node reference

Example: Create a tab

Sections

Section attribute reference

Section node reference

Example: Create a section and assign it to a tab

Groups

Group attribute reference

Group node reference

Example: Create a group for a given section

Fields

Field attribute reference

Field type reference

Field node reference

Example: Create two fields in a given group

Common source models

Field Validation

Default Values

Example: Setting the default value for ANOTHER_UNIQUE_FIELD_ID (Default scope)

Example: Setting the default value for ANOTHER_UNIQUE_FIELD_ID (Website scope)

Example: Setting the default value for `ANOTHER_UNIQUE_FIELD_ID` (Default scope)

Example: Setting the default value for `ANOTHER_UNIQUE_FIELD_ID` (Website scope)