Configuration

All project settings are stored in a single file config.json, located in the root directory of the site. At startup, the platform reads it and defines each parameter as a PHP constant. This means that in any project script you can access configuration parameters directly by name, for example MELBIS_LANG or MELBIS_CACHE.

The config.json file is protected from direct browser access by an .htaccess rule.

The file can be edited manually, however we recommend using the built-in dialog in the Melbis Shop application: menu “Design → Installation”. It provides a convenient graphical interface for all configuration parameters and allows you to test the database connection immediately.

When creating a storefront on the Melbis platform, the first thing you need to do is include the units/melbis.php file — this is where config.json is loaded and the platform is initialized. This is described in more detail in the “Root Scripts” section.

Example configuration file:

{
    "MELBIS_DB_HOST_NAME": "localhost",
    "MELBIS_DB_USER_NAME": "shop_user",
    "MELBIS_DB_USER_PASS": "password",
    "MELBIS_DB_NAME":      "shop_db",
    "MELBIS_DB_NICK":      "ms",
    "MELBIS_DB_CHARSET":   "utf8mb4",
    "MELBIS_DB_COMMAND":   "SET sql_mode = CONCAT(@@sql_mode, ',NO_UNSIGNED_SUBTRACTION');",
    "MELBIS_DB_ENGINE":      "MyISAM",
    "MELBIS_DB_ENGINE_TEMP": "Memory",
    "MELBIS_TIME_ZONE":    "Europe/Kyiv",
    "MELBIS_LANG":         "ru",
    "MELBIS_CHARSET":      "UTF-8",
    "MELBIS_DESKTOP_CHARSET": "WIN1251",
    "MELBIS_CACHE":        true,
    "MELBIS_TEMPLATE":     "default",
    "MELBIS_ROOT":         "/",
    "MELBIS_BUILD":        "1",
    "MELBIS_DEBUG_CODE":   "",
    "MELBIS_USER_LOG":     false,
    "MELBIS_IP_LIST":      "",
    "MELBIS_BACKUP_TIME_BEGIN": "05:00:00",
    "MELBIS_BACKUP_TIME_END":   "05:30:00"
}

Database Parameters

Parameter	Description
`MELBIS_DB_HOST_NAME`	MySQL server host. Can include a port separated by a colon, for example `localhost:3311`.
`MELBIS_DB_USER_NAME`	Database username.
`MELBIS_DB_USER_PASS`	Database user password.
`MELBIS_DB_NAME`	Database name.
`MELBIS_DB_NICK`	Table alias (prefix). Used in SQL queries as `{DBNICK}`. For example, with the value `ms`, the table `{DBNICK}_topic` becomes `ms_topic`. This allows multiple projects to be stored in a single database without table name conflicts.
`MELBIS_DB_CHARSET`	Database connection encoding. `utf8mb4` is recommended.
`MELBIS_DB_COMMAND`	SQL command executed immediately after connecting to the database. Typically used to configure the MySQL operating mode.
`MELBIS_DB_ENGINE`	Default table engine. `MyISAM` is recommended — it ensures efficient operation of the platform’s table cache.
`MELBIS_DB_ENGINE_TEMP`	Engine for temporary tables. `Memory` is recommended for maximum speed.

Localization Parameters

Parameter	Description
`MELBIS_TIME_ZONE`	Server time zone. Used in all date and time operations. The value must conform to PHP format, for example `Europe/Kyiv`, `UTC`.
`MELBIS_LANG`	Default interface language, for example `ru`, `en`, `uk`.
`MELBIS_CHARSET`	Site page encoding. `UTF-8` is recommended.
`MELBIS_DESKTOP_CHARSET`	Encoding for data exchange with the Melbis Shop Windows client. Typically `WIN1251`.

Platform Parameters

Parameter	Description
`MELBIS_CACHE`	Enables (`true`) or disables (`false`) the caching system. During development it is convenient to temporarily disable it to see changes without clearing the cache.
`MELBIS_TEMPLATE`	The name of the active template set. Default is `default`. Corresponds to the name of a subdirectory inside `templates/`.
`MELBIS_ROOT`	Path to the site relative to the domain root. If the site is at the root — `/`. If in a subdirectory, for example `www.site.com/shop/` — specify `/shop/`. The value is used to generate correct links.
`MELBIS_BUILD`	Current build number. Appended to the URLs of CSS and JavaScript files as a cache-busting parameter (`?v=1`). Increment the value when deploying a new frontend version so that browsers reload the files.

Debugging and Logging Parameters

Parameter	Description
`MELBIS_DEBUG_CODE`	Secret key for enabling debug mode. To activate the debugger, add the parameter `?debug_on_KEY` to the URL, where `KEY` is the value of this parameter. If the value is empty, the debugger is disabled.
`MELBIS_USER_LOG`	Enables (`true`) user activity logging.
`MELBIS_IP_LIST`	Comma-separated list of IP addresses. If set, access to the site will only be allowed from these addresses. Useful for restricting access during development.

Backup Parameters

Parameter	Description
`MELBIS_BACKUP_TIME_BEGIN`	Start time of the backup window in `HH:MM:SS` format.
`MELBIS_BACKUP_TIME_END`	End time of the backup window in `HH:MM:SS` format.

During the specified time window, the platform may perform scheduled data backup operations.

Custom Constants

In addition to system configuration parameters, the platform supports custom project constants — arbitrary key-value pairs stored in the database table {DBNICK}_self_key_value. This is a convenient mechanism for storing settings specific to a particular project: API keys, working hours, limits, feature toggles, and any other data.

The most convenient way to manage these constants is through the Melbis Shop application: menu “Design → Settings Registry”, tab “Custom Settings”. The interface allows you to define a complex yet clear structure — for each constant you specify a key name, prefix, label, value, and description. In addition, access permissions are configured here: you can allow editing of specific constants through the application only to certain user groups.

Two methods exist for loading custom constants into PHP code:

DefineSelfConst() — loads all records from the {DBNICK}_self_key_value table as PHP constants, available in any module:

MELBIS()->DefineSelfConst();

// After this, the following can be used in code:
// KASDIM_WORK_TIME_BEGIN  -> '08:00'
// KASDIM_WORK_HOLIDAY     -> 'Sat/Sun'

DefineSelfVars($prefix) — loads only records with the specified prefix and places them into the global gVars array, making them available in HTML templates:

MELBIS()->DefineSelfVars('CONST');

// The following becomes available in the template:
// {CONST:SOME_KEY}

Thus, DefineSelfConst operates within the PHP constants namespace and covers all records, while DefineSelfVars provides selective loading by prefix into the template engine context.