Settings

Administration → Settings shows every variable QuizDock reads, and lets an administrator change some of them without touching the server. This page explains what each row says and how a change behaves. The meaning of each variable is in Configuration.

What a row shows

Column	What it says
Variable	Its name, and a label in plain words.
Value	The value in use, in MB and seconds whatever unit the variable is written in. A secret shows only “Set” or “Not set”.
Source	“Default”, “From .env”, or “Changed here” (from the administration). A value changed here also shows the .env value it replaces.
Level	C1 to C4 (below).
Applies	When a change takes effect (below).

A row also says why it cannot be changed here, and the problems found when the instance started:

• “Cannot be read (accepts …): the default is used.”
• “Outside what it accepts (…): used as is for now; a later release will enforce it.”
• “Settings to review:” lists the rules the configuration breaks: two variables that contradict each other, or a value to change, such as a default database password or Compose files older than the release.

Each setting has its help: what it does, what it accepts, its default, how it is written in .env, the variables that go with it, a link to the Documentation, and its Last changes (from the audit).

The rows are grouped by category, Game pace first, then Identity & branding, Access & authentication, Network & invitation, Storage, Limits, Administration and Internal.

Layout offers the same rows as Cards, List and detail or Table. Search a setting and Show only (“Changed from the default”, “Changed here”, “With a problem”, “Editable”) narrow them down.

Below, Outside the application lists the variables read by Docker Compose, the quizdock script, the image build or Keycloak, never by the application. They are changed where they are read, never here.

Levels

Level	Meaning	From the web
C1	“Critical: start-up, data or security.” Database, Redis, AUTH_MODE, the OIDC client, ports, folders, the ADMIN_* variables.	Never. Set in .env, then the instance restarted.
C2	“High: who may enter, how much may be stored.” Open access, the community catalogues, the media and import limits.	With ADMIN_WEB_SCOPE=write. Each change confirmed.
C3	“Normal: how the instance behaves.” Invitation addresses, game timings.	With ADMIN_WEB_SCOPE=write.
C4	“Cosmetic: look and wording.” Name, language, logo, feedback links, transitions, the update check.	With ADMIN_WEB_SCOPE=write.

A few other variables are internal and also stay in .env. A variable named in ADMIN_LOCK is never changed from the web either, whatever its level. In local mode, a change also needs the administration token.

The settings an administrator may change from the web:

Level	Settings
C2	ALLOW_ANONYMOUS_PARTICIPANTS, QUIZ_STORE_URL, QUIZ_STORE_HOSTS, MEDIA_MAX_BYTES, MEDIA_MAX_VIDEO_MB, MEDIA_MAX_AUDIO_MB, IMPORT_MAX_BYTES
C3	OIDC_NAME_CLAIM, APP_PUBLIC_URL, HOST_LAN_IPS, PUBLICATION_MAX_MB, GAME_READ_DELAY_MS, GAME_ALL_ANSWERED_DELAY_MS, GAME_AUTO_ADVANCE_MS, GAME_MEDIA_WAIT_S
C4	APP_NAME, APP_LANG, APP_LOGO_URL, APP_FEEDBACK_URL, UPDATE_CHECK, MEDIA_LIBRARY_LINKS, LIVE_MOTION

When a change applies

Applies	Meaning
Live	“On its next use: a game in progress follows it.”
Next room	“In the rooms opened after the change; a room in progress keeps its own.”
At restart	“Read once at start: the instance must restart.”

Every setting the web may change applies live, except LIVE_MOTION, which applies to the next room. The settings that apply at restart are the ones set in .env only.

Change a setting

1. Find the setting. Its row has a control where the web may change it: a switch, a list, a number in its unit with its range, or an editable list.
2. Type the value. It is checked as it is typed against what the setting accepts, and on Save against the other settings.
3. Save. A level C2 change asks for a confirmation.

The page then says when it applies: “Saved: it applies now.”, “Saved: it applies to the rooms opened from now on.” The change is recorded in the audit, with the override it replaced: none (null) when the value came from .env.

A value changed here is checked more strictly than a value in .env: it must be within the setting’s range, where an .env value out of range is only reported.

Which value wins

default  <  .env  <  administration

A value changed here wins over .env. The values changed here are kept in the database, so they are backed up with it, and they survive a change to .env.

Button	What it does
Back to .env	On a row changed here: takes the change back. The .env value, or the default, applies again.
Export as .env	Gives every change made here as a .env excerpt: “To pin them in .env (then take them back here), or to move them to another instance”.
Take everything back	Removes every change made here, after a confirmation.

In the exported excerpt, a value with a space, #, $, a quote or a backslash comes in quotes, the way Docker Compose reads it literally. The standalone container, started with docker run --env-file, takes values without quotes: remove them there.

From the command line, on the server, in the instance’s folder:

./quizdock qd settings.list --key=GAME_READ_DELAY_MS
./quizdock qd settings.set --key=GAME_READ_DELAY_MS --value=4000
./quizdock qd settings.reset --key=GAME_READ_DELAY_MS      # back to .env
./quizdock qd settings.reset --all --yes                   # take everything back
./quizdock qd settings.export                              # the .env excerpt

The command line is not limited by ADMIN_WEB_SCOPE nor ADMIN_LOCK, but it follows the same levels: a C1 setting is changed in .env only.

Safe mode

When a value changed here went wrong, the operator can start the instance on .env alone. In .env, on the server:

ADMIN_OVERRIDES=ignore

then restart the instance. The page then says “Safe mode (ADMIN_OVERRIDES=ignore): the values changed here are kept but not applied.” and every row is read-only. Fix or take back the faulty value from a shell (qd settings.reset), then remove the line from .env and restart.

Questions

Why is every setting read-only?

The page says why at the top. Most often: “The web shows every setting and changes none (ADMIN_WEB_SCOPE=read).” That is the default. The operator sets ADMIN_WEB_SCOPE=write in .env and restarts the instance. See Troubleshooting for the other reasons.

I changed a value in .env and nothing changed.

.env is read when the instance starts: a change there applies after a restart. If the row’s Source still says “Changed here” after the restart, the value from the administration wins: Back to .env lets the .env value apply.