Add daily email for 2024-12-28

Import or install

source/_daily_emails/2024-12-28.md

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+---
+title: Import or install?
+date: 2024-12-28
+permalink: daily/2024/12/28/import-install
+tags: []
+cta: ~
+snippet: |
+  How do you update environments? Do you import data from elsewhere or install from scratch?
+---
+
+How do you update your environments?
+
+I've done it in two different ways on different projects.
+
+The most common way is to download a database from another environment and import it.
+
+The downside is that there needs to be a blessed database for everyone to use and someone needs to maintain and update.
+
+It can also contain user data, such as usernames, email addresses, passwords and webform submissions that you should sanitise or remove.
+
+The other option is to install the application from scratch.
+
+For Drupal projects, this means installing using the existing configuration to re-create the content types, fields, views, block types, etc.
+
+This confirms the configuration is installable or it will fail.
+
+As it's a fresh installation, it can be run by anyone without needing to maintain an blessed database and doesn't contain any user data.
+
+Then you can recreate any data, such as users or content, that you need or seed the database with standard data.
+
+For Drupal, [I've been using the Default Content module][0] for this, which has been working very well.
+
+If I can, I much prefer the install approach rather than importing.
+
+Which do you do, or do you do something else?
+
+[0]: {{site.url}}/daily/2024/09/16/experimenting-with-the-default-content-module