Legacy Configuration (v3.x LTS)
This page documents the legacy PHP variable configuration format used in Poweradmin v3.x and earlier versions.
Note: Support for inc/config.inc.php was removed in 4.1.0 , along with the
config/migrate-config.php helper that converted it. Current releases read only
config/settings.php. This page is kept as a reference for translating old $variable names
when upgrading from v3.x - see Basic Configuration for the format in use today.
Configuration File
Legacy configuration uses individual PHP variables in inc/config.inc.php:
<?php
$db_host = 'localhost' ;
$db_name = 'powerdns-db' ;
$db_user = 'poweradmin-db-user' ;
$db_pass = 'poweradmin-db-user-password' ;
$db_type = 'mysql' ;
$session_key = 'generate-some-random-text-here' ;
$dns_hostmaster = 'hostmaster.example.net' ;
$dns_ns1 = 'ns1.example.net' ;
$dns_ns2 = 'ns2.example.net' ;
Database Settings
Variable
Default
Description
Added
$db_host
-
Database host
-
$db_port
-
Database port
-
$db_user
-
Database username
-
$db_pass
-
Database password
-
$db_name
-
Database name
-
$db_type
-
Database type: mysql, mysqli, pgsql, sqlite
mysqli 2.1.5, sqlite 2.1.6
$db_charset
-
Database charset (e.g., utf8)
2.1.8
$db_file
-
SQLite database file path
2.1.6
$db_debug
false
Show executed SQL queries
2.1.6
$pdns_db_name
powerdns
Separate PowerDNS database name (MySQL/MariaDB only)
3.8.0
Security Settings
Variable
Default
Description
Added
$session_key
p0w3r4dm1n
Session encryption key
2.1.6
$password_encryption
bcrypt
Password hash: bcrypt, argon2i, argon2id (md5/md5salt removed in 4.3.0)
2.1.6
$password_encryption_cost
12
Bcrypt cost parameter
2.1.8
$login_token_validation
true
Enable login token validation
3.9.0
$global_token_validation
true
Enable global token validation
3.9.0
Interface Settings
Variable
Default
Description
Added
$iface_lang
en_EN
Interface language
-
$iface_enabled_languages
multiple*
Enabled languages
3.8.0
$iface_style
ignite
CSS theme (ignite, spark for dark)
-
$iface_templates
templates
HTML templates directory
2.2.3
$iface_rowamount
10
Maximum rows per page
-
$iface_expire
1800
Session timeout (seconds)
-
$iface_zonelist_serial
false
Show zone serial in listing
-
$iface_zonelist_template
false
Show zone template in listing
-
$iface_title
Poweradmin
Application title
2.1.5
$iface_add_reverse_record
true
Show reverse record checkbox
2.1.7
$iface_add_domain_record
true
Show A/AAAA record checkbox in reverse view
-
$iface_zone_type_default
MASTER
Default zone type
2.1.9
$iface_zone_comments
true
Show zone comments
2.2.3
$iface_record_comments
false
Show record comments
3.9.0
$iface_index
cards
Display mode (cards or list)
3.2.0
$iface_search_group_records
false
Group records in search
3.8.0
$iface_edit_show_id
true
Show record ID in edit form
3.9.0
$iface_edit_add_record_top
false
Add record form on top
3.9.0
$iface_edit_save_changes_top
false
Save button on top
3.9.0
$iface_migrations_show
false
Show migrations menu (experimental)
-
* Default enabled languages: cs_CZ, de_DE, en_EN, fr_FR, it_IT, ja_JP, lt_LT, nb_NO, nl_NL, pl_PL, ru_RU, tr_TR, zh_CN
DNS Settings
Variable
Default
Description
Added
$dns_hostmaster
-
Default hostmaster email (e.g., hostmaster.example.net)
-
$dns_ns1
-
Primary nameserver
-
$dns_ns2
-
Secondary nameserver
-
$dns_ns3
-
Third nameserver
-
$dns_ns4
-
Fourth nameserver
-
$dns_ttl
86400
Default TTL (seconds)
-
$dns_soa
28800 7200 604800 86400
SOA: refresh retry expire minimum
2.2.3
$dns_strict_tld_check
false
Allow only official TLDs
-
$dns_top_level_tld_check
false
Prevent top-level TLD creation
2.1.7
$dns_third_level_check
false
Prevent third-level domain creation
2.1.7
$dns_txt_auto_quote
false
Auto-quote TXT records
3.9.2
PowerDNS API Settings
Variable
Default
Description
Added
$pdns_api_url
-
PowerDNS API endpoint URL
3.7.0
$pdns_api_key
-
PowerDNS API authentication key
3.7.0
Logging Settings
Variable
Default
Description
Added
$logger_type
null
Logger type (null, native)
3.9.0
$logger_level
info
Log level: debug, info, notice, warning, error, critical, alert, emergency
3.9.0
$syslog_use
false
Enable syslog logging
2.1.6
$syslog_ident
poweradmin
Syslog program name
2.1.6
$syslog_facility
LOG_USER
Syslog facility
2.1.6
$dblog_use
false
Enable database logging
3.2.0
DNSSEC Settings
Variable
Default
Description
Added
$pdnssec_use
false
Enable DNSSEC support
2.1.7
$pdnssec_debug
false
Enable DNSSEC debug
2.1.9
$pdnssec_command
/usr/bin/pdnsutil
Path to pdnsutil (deprecated)
2.1.7
LDAP Settings
Variable
Default
Description
Added
$ldap_use
false
Enable LDAP authentication
2.1.7
$ldap_debug
false
Enable LDAP debug
2.1.7
$ldap_uri
ldap://domaincontroller.example.com
LDAP server URI
2.1.7
$ldap_basedn
ou=users,dc=example,dc=com
LDAP base DN
2.1.7
$ldap_search_filter
-
LDAP search filter
2.1.7
$ldap_binddn
cn=admin,dc=example,dc=com
LDAP bind DN
2.1.7
$ldap_bindpw
-
LDAP bind password
2.1.7
$ldap_user_attribute
uid
Username attribute
2.1.7
$ldap_proto
3
LDAP protocol version
2.1.7
LDAP Search Filter Examples
$ldap_search_filter = '(memberOf=cn=powerdns,ou=groups,dc=poweradmin,dc=org)';
$ldap_search_filter = '(objectClass=account)';
$ldap_search_filter = '(objectClass=person)(memberOf=cn=admins,ou=groups,dc=poweradmin,dc=org)';
$ldap_search_filter = '(cn=*admin*)';
Other Settings
Variable
Default
Description
Added
$timezone
UTC
PHP timezone
-
$display_stats
false
Show memory/execution stats
-
$experimental_edit_conflict_resolution
last_writer_wins
Conflict handling strategy
-
$record_comments_sync
false
Sync A/PTR record comments
3.9.0
Migrating to v4.x
Upgrading to Poweradmin v4.x means rewriting inc/config.inc.php as config/settings.php by hand. Use the tables above to map each legacy $variable to its current section and key.
Note: v4.0.0 shipped a config/migrate-config.php helper script. It was removed in v4.1.0 and is not present in any later release, so there is no automated conversion path.
See Basic Configuration for the configuration format in use today.