---
title: Disable automatic configuration updates
description: By default, IDM monitors files in the conf directory periodically for any changes to the configuration. This functionality is configured in the following properties in your conf/system.properties file:
component: pingidm
version: 8.1
page_id: pingidm:security-guide:disabling-auto-config-updates
canonical_url: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingidm/8.1/security-guide/disabling-auto-config-updates.html
keywords: ["Security", "Configuration", "Updates"]
section_ids:
  disable_configuration_file_writes: Disable configuration file writes
---

# Disable automatic configuration updates

By default, IDM monitors files in the `conf` directory periodically for any changes to the configuration. This functionality is configured in the following properties in your `conf/system.properties` file:

* `openidm.fileinstall.poll`

  Sets the interval at which files are polled for changes. `2000` milliseconds by default.

* `openidm.fileinstall.enabled`

  Specifies whether files should be monitored. `true` by default. In a production system, you should disable automatic polling for updates to prevent untested configuration changes from disrupting your identity service. Setting this property to `false` also disables the file-based configuration view, which means that IDM reads its configuration only from the repository.

  |   |                                                                                                                                             |
  | - | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
  |   | If `openidm.fileinstall.enabled=true`, IDM immediately uses any changes made to scripts embedded directly in your JSON configuration files. |

* `openidm.config.bootstrap.enabled`

  Allows IDM to start up and load configuration when there aren't currently any configs stored in the repository. `true` by default.

* `openidm.fileinstall.filter`

  Specify which file types should be monitored (if `openidm.fileinstall.enabled=true`). File types are specified in a pipe-separated list, for example:

  ```properties
  openidm.fileinstall.filter=.*\\.cfg|.*\\.json
  ```

## Disable configuration file writes

To disable *writes* to configuration files, set the following property to `false` in your `conf/config.properties` file:

```properties
felix.fileinstall.enableConfigSave=false
```

This setting is suitable for read-only installations.