How to Import config.php File in a PHP Script?

The include() function in PHP copies the code from the specified file into the file that uses the include statement. It directs the preprocessor to insert the content of the specified file into the current program. The name of the file to be included is written in double quotes. It is good practice to write basic database and user details in a file named "config.php". You can also include connection-building statements in the "config.php" file to automatically establish a database connection for every page that includes "config.php". Including files allows you to create a template of code that can be reused by multiple pages of a website.

Syntax

<?php
    include('config.php');
?>

Example 1: This shows the creation and including of the config.php file.

Code 1: Create a PHP file and save it with the name 'config.php'.

<?php

$host = "localhost";
$database = "GeeksForGeeks";
$username = "admin";
$password = "";

?>

Code 2: Create a PHP file and save it with the name 'try.php' in the same folder as 'config.php' file. Copy the below code to include the 'config.php' file and get a print the name of the database and username.

<?php
include "config.php";
echo "Host: " . $host . " Database: " . $database;
?>

Output:

Example 2: If you want to save the contents of the config.php file into a variable, then the following code does that work.

Code 1: Simply return the contents of the 'config.php' file.

<?php
return [
    "host" => "localhost2",
    "database" => "GeeksForGeeks2",
    "username" => "admin",
    "password" => "",
];
?>

Code 2: Accept the returning array in a variable.

<?php
$details = include "config.php";
echo "Host: " . $details["host"] . 
  	" Database: " . $details["database"];
?>

Output: