DDEV v1.25.4 Adds Database Seeding and Global Configuration

Developers using DDEV can now populate an empty project database automatically from a stored snapshot in version 1.25.4. DDEV released the version on 2 September 2026, and its release announcement credits 142 pull requests from the project community. The release also adds global configuration options, MySQL 9.7 support, and new Linux package repositories hosted by Cloudsmith.

Drupal.org documentation identifies DDEV as the recommended environment for local site building and code development. The new database workflow lets a snapshot named seed populate an empty database automatically when a project starts. Developers can also select another snapshot with ddev start --seed-snapshot or discard the current database and start again with ddev start --reset-database.

Database seeding works with MariaDB, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. Snapshots can be read from locations outside the project rather than copied into it, and version 1.25.4 also adds uncompressed snapshots for cases where faster restoration is more important than disk usage. Snapshot listings now include database versions and sizes, while snapshots can also be shared across Git worktrees.

DDEV also introduces global Dockerfiles and environment files for configuration that should apply across projects on the same machine. Files under ~/.ddev/web-build/ and ~/.ddev/db-build/ can provide shared tools, packages, or certificates, while global environment files under ~/.ddev/ can define common variables. Project-level files take precedence when the same configuration is defined locally, allowing individual projects to override the shared defaults.

Database support now includes MySQL 9.7, while DDEV has moved its MySQL 8.0 and 8.4 builds from the unmaintained bitnamilegacy/mysql base to Docker Hardened Images. Linux APT and RPM packages are now published through Cloudsmith at packages.ddev.com as well as through Gemfury, with existing Gemfury configurations remaining supported during the transition.

The release also includes fixes affecting Drupal projects. Drupal 10, 11, and 12 projects can now handle unusually large HTTP headers that previously produced a 502 response during some test runs, and bundled settings for Drupal 11 and Drupal 12 have been refreshed from upstream. DDEV also removed an Nginx rule that intercepted /robots.txt, resolving a regression affecting sites that generate the path themselves, including those using Drupal's RobotsTxt module.