---
title: "View configuration changes"
slug: "view-configuration-changes"
abstract: "Various tools enable you to see the complete Sitecore configuration settings, or to simulate changes to layers and rules."
---
# View configuration changes

At runtime, Sitecore compiles its configuration by collecting the Sitecore configuration files and resolving any rule-based dependencies for the configuration settings in those files. There are various tools available that enable you to see what the resulting configuration looks like. You might need to do this when you are debugging your Sitecore setup or when reporting issues to Sitecore support engineers.

This topic describes how to:

- [Display the Sitecore configuration](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/93/platform-administration-and-architecture/view-configuration-changes.html#UUID-e066bfd4-f57d-ca5b-c7cb-b8c8af28d201_id__Display_the_Sitecore "Display the Sitecore configuration")
- [Simulate changes to server roles and layers](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/93/platform-administration-and-architecture/view-configuration-changes.html#UUID-e066bfd4-f57d-ca5b-c7cb-b8c8af28d201_id__Simulate_changes_to "Simulate changes to server roles and layers")
- [Simulate changes to all types of rules](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/developers/93/platform-administration-and-architecture/view-configuration-changes.html#UUID-e066bfd4-f57d-ca5b-c7cb-b8c8af28d201_id__Simulate_changes_to_1 "Simulate changes to all types of rules")

<details>
<summary><h2>Display the Sitecore configuration</h2></summary>

You use the Show Config tool to display the compiled configuration.

To view the configuration:

1. Log in to Sitecore with an administrator account.
2. Open the **Control Panel**.
3. In the **Administration** section, click **Administration Tools**.
4. To see the current configuration, click **Show Config**.

You can also access the Show Config tool directly by entering the URL `http://<sitename>/sitecore/admin/showconfig.aspx` in your browser.

> [!note]
> If you test a configuration where the server role does not contain either `Standalone` or `ContentManager`, you must use the direct URL method, because the administration UI is not available.

The resulting configuration file shows where patched elements come from. For example, an element that was taken from the `Sitecore.Analytics.config` file includes the `patch:source="Sitecore.Analytics.config"` attribute.

</details>

<details>
<summary><h2>Simulate changes to server roles and layers</h2></summary>

You can simulate the result of changing configuration keys using the Show Config Layers tool. This lets you, for example, see the result of changing the server role without actually changing the `web.config` file.

To simulate changes to server roles and layers:

1. Log in to Sitecore with an administrator account.
2. Open the **Control Panel**.
3. In the **Administration** section, click **Administration Tools**.
4. Click **Show Config Layers**.
5. Select which role or roles to assign to the server and which configuration layers to enable.
6. Click **Click to see result configuration** to see the configuration that results from the roles and layers you have selected.

You can also start the Show Config Layers tool directly as a URL in a browser, where you specify the layers and server roles as parameters in the URL.

For example, the following URL will show you the configuration with all layers enabled and the server role set to ContentManagement, Processing, and Reporting:

```text
http://<sitename>/sitecore/admin/showconfig.aspx?layer=Sitecore|Modules|Custom|Environment&role=ContentManagement|Processing|Reporting

```

</details>

<details>
<summary><h2>Simulate changes to all types of rules</h2></summary>

When you use the direct URL, you can add parameters for any rule defined in the `web.config` file. This includes the predefined rule definitions `role` and `search`, as well as your own custom rules.

To simulate changes to all types of rules:

1. Add the first rule test to the `http://<sitename>/sitecore/admin/showconfig.aspx` URL as a parameter with the format `?<rulename>=<value1>|<value2>|<value3>`. There is no limit to the number of values you can specify. Values are separated by a `|.`
2. Add any additional rule tests to the URL as parameters with the format `&<rulename>=<value1>|<value2>|<value3>`. There is no limit to the number of rule tests that you can add.

For example, if you add your own custom rule definition called `localenv` to the `web.config` file, you can add a test on this key to the Show Config URL:

```text
http://<sitename>/sitecore/admin/showconfig.aspx?layer=Sitecore|Modules|Custom|Environment&role=Standalone&localenv=QA|Test

```

</details>