This documentation covers Poweradmin 4.0.x and 4.1.x. Some sections are still being expanded.

Basic Configuration

Poweradmin v4.x uses an array-based configuration format in config/settings.php.

Note: For legacy v3.x variable format ($variable), see Legacy Configuration.

Configuration File

Create config/settings.php with your custom settings. The file config/settings.defaults.php contains all defaults - do not edit it directly as changes will be overwritten during upgrades.

<?php
return [
    'database' => [
        'host' => 'localhost',
        'name' => 'powerdns-db',
        'user' => 'poweradmin-db-user',
        'password' => 'poweradmin-db-user-password',
        'type' => 'mysql',
    ],

    'security' => [
        'session_key' => 'change_this_key',
    ],

    'dns' => [
        'hostmaster' => 'hostmaster.example.com',
        'ns1' => 'ns1.example.com',
        'ns2' => 'ns2.example.com',
    ],
];

Configuration Precedence

When using Docker, configuration is loaded in this order (later overrides earlier):

config/settings.defaults.php - Default values
config/settings.php - Your custom settings file
Environment variables (PA_*) - Docker/container settings
Docker secrets (PA_*__FILE) - Sensitive values from files

Configuration Sections

The configuration is organized into logical sections:

Section	Description
`database`	Database connection settings
`security`	Password policies, session management, MFA
`dns`	Nameserver details, SOA defaults, TLD checks
`interface`	UI preferences, themes, display options
`logging`	Logging configuration (file, syslog, database)
`pdns_api`	PowerDNS API integration
`mail`	Email configuration for notifications
`dnssec`	DNSSEC functionality
`ldap`	LDAP/Active Directory authentication
`oidc`	OpenID Connect authentication
`saml`	SAML authentication
`whois`	WHOIS lookup settings
`rdap`	RDAP lookup settings
`api`	REST API configuration
`user_agreement`	User agreement system
`misc`	Timezone, conflict handling, etc.

Database Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`database.host`	-	Database server hostname
`database.port`	-	Database port (optional)
`database.user`	-	Database username
`database.password`	-	Database password
`database.name`	-	Database name
`database.type`	-	Database type: mysql, mysqli, pgsql, sqlite
`database.charset`	-	Connection charset (e.g., utf8)
`database.file`	-	SQLite database file path
`database.debug`	false	Log SQL queries
`database.pdns_db_name`	powerdns	Separate PowerDNS database (v3.8.0+)

Security Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`security.session_key`	p0w3r4dm1n	Session encryption key (change this!)
`security.password_encryption`	bcrypt	Hash algorithm: md5, md5salt, bcrypt, argon2i, argon2id
`security.password_encryption_cost`	12	Bcrypt cost parameter
`security.login_token_validation`	true	CSRF protection for login
`security.global_token_validation`	true	CSRF protection globally

For password policies and MFA settings, see Security Policies.

Interface Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`interface.lang`	en_EN	Default language
`interface.enabled_languages`	multiple*	Available languages
`interface.style`	ignite	Theme (ignite, spark for dark)
`interface.rowamount`	10	Records per page
`interface.expire`	1800	Session timeout (seconds)
`interface.title`	Poweradmin	Application title
`interface.zone_type_default`	MASTER	Default zone type
`interface.zonelist_serial`	false	Show serial in zone list
`interface.zonelist_template`	false	Show template in zone list
`interface.zone_comments`	true	Enable zone comments
`interface.record_comments`	false	Enable record comments
`interface.index`	cards	Display mode (cards/list)
`interface.add_reverse_record`	true	Show PTR record checkbox
`interface.add_domain_record`	true	Show A/AAAA checkbox in reverse view
`interface.edit_show_id`	true	Show record ID in edit form
`interface.edit_add_record_top`	false	Add record form at top
`interface.edit_save_changes_top`	false	Save button at top
`interface.show_forward_zone_associations`	true	Show associated forward zones in reverse zone list (v4.0.5+)

* Default languages: cs_CZ, de_DE, en_EN, es_ES, fr_FR, id_ID, it_IT, ja_JP, ko_KR, lt_LT, nb_NO, nl_NL, pl_PL, pt_PT, ru_RU, sv_SE, tr_TR, uk_UA, vi_VN, zh_CN

Tip: If you experience slow loading or timeout errors on the reverse zones page, set show_forward_zone_associations to false. This disables the lookup of associated forward zones which can be slow with many PTR records.

For UI customization, see UI Customization.

DNS Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`dns.hostmaster`	-	Default hostmaster (e.g., hostmaster.example.net)
`dns.ns1`	-	Primary nameserver
`dns.ns2`	-	Secondary nameserver
`dns.ns3`	-	Third nameserver (optional)
`dns.ns4`	-	Fourth nameserver (optional)
`dns.ttl`	86400	Default TTL (seconds)
`dns.soa`	28800 7200 604800 86400	SOA: refresh retry expire minimum
`dns.strict_tld_check`	false	Allow only official TLDs
`dns.top_level_tld_check`	false	Prevent top-level TLD creation
`dns.third_level_check`	false	Prevent third-level domain creation
`dns.txt_auto_quote`	false	Auto-quote TXT records

For more DNS options, see DNS Settings.

Miscellaneous Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`misc.timezone`	UTC	Application timezone
`misc.display_stats`	false	Show memory/execution stats
`misc.display_errors`	false	Show PHP errors (disable in production)
`misc.show_generated_passwords`	true	Display generated passwords
`misc.edit_conflict_resolution`	last_writer_wins	Conflict strategy*
`misc.record_comments_sync`	false	Sync A/PTR record comments

* Conflict resolution strategies: - last_writer_wins - Latest save overwrites previous - only_latest_version - Reject if record was modified - 3_way_merge - Attempt automatic merge