Configuration

Add Comments settings to the array returned by config/app.php, or write them through Cake\Core\Configure. The example file at config/app.example.php is a starting point; the plugin does not load it automatically.

Public controller and access

Setting	Default	Effect
controllerModels	Empty	Allowed URL aliases mapped to table class names.
allowAnonymous	false	Permit comment creation without a user ID.
userIdField	id	Field read from an array-like identity, auth component, or session.
sessionKey	Auth.User	Session path used only without a loaded auth component, before the user ID field.
adminAccess	Unset	Closure receiving the request; literal true grants admin and elevated delete access.

Component

Per-component configuration overrides the global Comments settings:

$this->loadComponent('Comments.Comment', [
    'actions' => ['view'],
    'viewVariable' => 'post',
    'allowAnonymous' => false,
]);

Setting	Default	Effect
actions	Unset	Process every action when unset; otherwise limit to the named actions.
on	beforeRender	Process submitted comment data during this callback; startup is also supported.
viewVariable	Derived entity name	View variable holding the entity being commented on.
useEntity	true	Take the target ID from the view entity rather than submitted id.
userId	Unset	Explicit server-supplied user ID, before identity and session lookup.
userModelClass	Users	User model name passed when attaching the behavior.

Behavior

Setting	Default	Effect
commentClass	Comments.Comments	Comments table class used for the association.
model	Parent table alias	Exact stored identifier for reads, component/public-controller writes and replies. null resolves to the table alias.
modelClass	Parent table alias	Back-association to the parent table on the Comments table.
userModelAlias	Users	User association to add if absent.
userModelClass	Users	Class for a newly added user association.
userModel	Unset	Array of association options for a newly added user association.
countComments	false	Attach CounterCache to the Comments table. Requires a parent counter column.
fieldCounter	comments_count	Parent column used with countComments. The migration does not create it.
hiddenField	Unset	Optional visibility condition in the comments finder. Does not affect other queries.

Set model on each behavior when tables need different identifiers. A global Comments.model supplies the same default to behavior initialization and the public controller when no behavior is attached. Use that global value only for a single comment target. For multiple tables, configure distinct identifiers on each behavior; sharing one identifier also shares comments with the same record ID and dependent deletion scope. A behavior-specific value takes precedence. Attach or configure the behavior before processing comments; changing its setting after initialization does not rebuild association conditions.

The supplied Comments table already has a Users association and its save rule uses that association. Setting a different userModelClass alone does not replace it. Customize the Comments table and its associations if your application uses a different user model.

Historical options such as approval, threaded, titleField, spamField, nameField, and emailField do not implement the behavior suggested by their names. In particular, emailField => false does not enforce signed-in commenting, and userModelClass => false does not enable a guest-only mode. Use allowAnonymous for guest access and implement visibility rules explicitly.