Configuration

Grove's single source of truth is config.toml under $GROVE_HOME (default ~/Library/Application Support/Grove/config.toml on macOS). Anything that can be re-derived (issued certs, hot FPM pools, installed runtimes) is kept out of it, so the file stays human-readable and diff-friendly.

Set GROVE_HOME to use an isolated tree (handy for testing on high ports).

Example

[general]
tld = "test"            # sites are served on *.test
default_php = "8.5"     # used by sites without an explicit isolate
php_variant = "grove"   # extension set: "grove" (union), "common" or "bulk"
auto_start = true       # launch the daemon at login
http_port = 80
https_port = 443
dns_port = 53
docker = true           # auto-discover Docker/OrbStack containers
xdebug = false          # load Xdebug into FPM pools (trigger mode)
xdebug_port = 9003      # DBGp port the debugger listens on

[services]
mail_enabled = true     # run the built-in SMTP mail-catcher
mail_port = 1025

[tunnel]
server = "grove.elyracode.com:7000"  # default; used by `grove share`
# token = "secret"                    # only if your server requires one

# Sites removed from the list with `grove forget` (files kept)
ignored = []

# Every immediate subdirectory of a parked path becomes <name>.test
[[parked]]
path = "~/Code"

# Explicit sites override parked discovery on name collision
[[sites]]
name = "inside-next"
path = "~/Code/inside-next"
php = "8.5"             # per-site PHP (isolate)
node = "22"            # per-site Node version
secure = true          # HTTPS
driver = "laravel"     # optional; auto-detected otherwise

[[sites]]
name = "frontend"
path = "~/Code/frontend"
driver = "proxy"
proxy_to = "http://127.0.0.1:5173"

Fields

`[general]`

Key	Default	Notes
`tld`	`test`	Top-level domain. Changing it requires a daemon restart — and `sudo grove ca rotate`, since the root CA is name-constrained to the TLD it was generated for and cannot sign the new one. `grove doctor` flags the mismatch.
`default_php`	`8.5`	Fallback PHP version for sites without `php`.
`php_variant`	`grove`	Which static-PHP extension set `grove php install` fetches: `grove` (Grove's own build — has both the PDO SQLite/PostgreSQL drivers and `intl`/`mysqli`/`sodium`/`readline`/`apcu`/`xsl`), or upstream `common` / `bulk`, each missing one of those groups. See COMMANDS.md. Existing builds are not re-downloaded when this changes.
`auto_start`	`true`	Start the daemon at login.
`http_port`	`80`	Use a high port (e.g. `8080`) to run without elevation.
`https_port`	`443`	—
`dns_port`	`53`	—
`docker`	`true`	Auto-discover Docker/OrbStack containers as `<name>.test`.
`xdebug`	`false`	Load Xdebug into FPM pools (see DEBUGGING.md).
`xdebug_port`	`9003`	DBGp port the debugger/adapter listens on.

`[services]`

Key	Default	Notes
`mail_enabled`	`true`	Run the SMTP mail-catcher.
`mail_port`	`1025`	SMTP port apps connect to.

`[tunnel]`

Key	Default	Notes
`server`	`grove.elyracode.com:7000`	Tunnel server `grove share` connects to.
`token`	—	Shared secret, only if your server requires one.

`ignored`

A list of site names hidden with grove forget (their files are kept). Restore with grove restore <name>.

`[[parked]]`

A list of directories; each immediate subdirectory becomes a site. Paths support ~ and environment variables.

`[[sites]]`

Key	Notes
`name`	Site name → `<name>.<tld>`.
`path`	Project directory (omit for `proxy`).
`php`	Per-site PHP version override.
`node`	Per-site Node version.
`secure`	Enable HTTPS.
`driver`	`laravel` \| `wordpress` \| `php` \| `static` \| `proxy` (auto-detected if omitted).
`proxy_to`	Upstream URL for the `proxy` driver.

Tip: most changes are easiest via the CLI (grove secure, grove isolate, grove node use, …) or the GUI Settings panel (⌘,), which write this file for you and reload the daemon atomically.

Environment variables

Variable	Purpose
`GROVE_HOME`	Base directory for all state (default `~/Library/Application Support/Grove`).
`GROVE_PHP_MIRROR`	Base URL for static PHP archives, for all variants including `grove` (default: `https://elyracode.com/downloads/grove/php-runtimes/` for `grove`, `https://dl.static-php.dev/static-php-cli` for the upstream sets). Must keep static-php-cli's `<variant>/php-<version>-<cli\|fpm>-<os>-<arch>.tar.gz` layout.
`GROVE_DOWNLOAD_BASE`	The site Grove's own PHP builds are listed and downloaded from (default `https://elyracode.com`): `<base>/grove/php-runtimes.json` and `<base>/downloads/grove/php-runtimes/`. For a staging copy or a local checkout of elyracode.com.
`GROVE_TEAMS_SERVER`	Grove Teams backend URL (default `https://teams.elyracode.com`).
`GROVE_LOG`	Log filter for the daemon (e.g. `info`, `debug`).

Other on-disk files

Beyond config.toml, Grove keeps a few files outside the config:

Path	What
`$GROVE_HOME/license.key`	The activated Pro/Teams license (via `grove license activate`).
`~/.grove/bin/`	PATH shims created by `grove path install`.
`~/.grove/identity`	Your Grove Teams member key pair (private — never leaves the machine).
`$GROVE_HOME/snapshots/`	Database snapshots (`grove db`).
`$GROVE_HOME/certs/`	Root CA + issued leaf certificates. The CA private key is `0600`, owned by the user the daemon runs as — it is the daemon that signs leaf certificates, and since 1.8.0 the daemon is you. Its reach is bounded by a `NameConstraints` extension limiting it to your TLD; see Trust boundaries in `docs/ARCHITECTURE.md` for what that does and does not cover. The certificate stays world-readable, and leaf keys stay user-readable so `grove dev` can hand them to Vite.
`~/.grove/bin/`	PATH shims from `grove path install` (`php`, `composer`, `cpx`, `node`, …).
`~/.grove/cpx.phar`	The bundled cpx binary. In your home, not `$GROVE_HOME`, so `cpx self-update` can replace it.