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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-11T18:34:28+00:00

We use the ExpressionEngine CMS (php) to create websites. For each site, we set

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We use the ExpressionEngine CMS (php) to create websites. For each site, we set up a subversion repository and commit the EE installation as well as any custom templates, images, javascript, etc. that are used. Included in the repository is the file containing all of the environment variables and the .htaccess file.

We have a development server with a working copy of the repository updated via post-commit that we use to develop. When we are ready to release we create a branch in subversion, make any changes required for the production environment, tag the release number, export the repository, upload it to a new directory on the live server, and symlink the files into place. A rollback is as simple as symlinking back to the previous release.

The problem is that step where we have to modify the environment variables that need to be different for the dev and production servers. This is stuff like (un)commenting htaccess rules that would redirect to the wrong places, swapping out google map API keys because the domains are different, running scripts that minimize the javascript into one obfuscated file to keep the size and http connections down, etc.

The question is how could this be more automated? We would love to get the release procedure down to the bare minimum. I’m familiar with the existence of tools such as Capistrano and Make but I’m not sure how I could get them to modify all the files necessary… how would you organize such a thing? Is this worth spending time automating when it happens maybe once every couple of weeks?

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    A lot of the configuration options could be dealt with by switching on $_SERVER[‘HTTP_HOST’].

    For example

    switch ($_SERVER['HTTP_HOST']) {
    case 'developement.domain.com':
        $api_key = "dev environment api key";
        break;
    default:
        $api_key = "live environment api key";
}

    Then for .htaccess issues you can set an alternate .htaccess file in your vhost definition using the AccessFileName directive:

    <VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName sitename
    AccessFileName .htaccess-dev
</VirtualHost>
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