Calling Craft::$app->globals in a plugins config file causes global fields to return as NULL

[jamesmacwhite]

Description

I'm having a weird issue under Craft 3 where if I call Craft::$app->globals->getSetByHandle('handle') in a plugins config file, in this case: https://github.com/sjelfull/craft3-restrict config/restrict.php. When trying to return the value of a global field in from another set in an unrelated component i.e. a module, the value is always NULL even though it's a populated and valid field. It seems to be happening on PlainText fields, entry and category fields still seem to work fine, it's possible happening with other field types too.

I didn't think calling Craft::$app->globals->getSetByHandle() in a config file would be a problem, but it seems to cause issues.

To debug, I created a copy of index.php and called it debug.php and simply removed the last line $app->run(); line so I can execute Craft:: without the full app being run and I can see the NULL behaviour happening. If I disable the restrict plugin or simply remove the Craft::$app->globals call in the config file, the global field values are all returned correctly.

I'm not sure if this is a Craft bug or related to this specific plugin, I have found information eluding to a potential loading/initialisation problem previously, which seemed to be a bit of both scenario.

• Add methods or guidelines for plugin developers to avoid conflicts/loading order issues #3028
• Craft global set fields return NULL when SEOmatic is enabled nystudio107/craft-seomatic#108

I have also logged the issue with the plugin developer directly:

• Global fields returning NULL when using Craft::$app->globals in restrict.php sjelfull/craft3-restrict#9

Steps to reproduce

1. Install restrict CP plugin
2. Call Craft::$app->globals->getSetByHandle('handle') in config/restrict.php. It would appear, this doesn't need to be assigned into the config itself for this issue to occur.
3. Try and get a global field that is plaintext in another part of Craft, the returned output will return NULL, unless the restrict plugin is disabled or the Craft::$app->globals call is removed from the config file.

Additional info

• Craft version: 3.3.20.1
• PHP version: 7.2
• Database driver & version: MySQL 5.6
• Plugins & versions:

[brandonkelly]

That config file is loaded before Craft is fully initialized, and there are always going to be weird bugs like this if any element queries (such as loading a global set) are executed before Craft is finished initializing.

Instead, maybe create a custom module which listens for EVENT_INIT, and sets the Restrict settings from there.

use craft\web\Application;
use superbig\restrict\Restrict;

Craft::$app->on(Application::EVENT_INIT, function() {
    $global = Craft::$app->globals->getSetByHandle('handle');
    $plugin = Restrict::getInstance();
    $plugin->settings->settingName = $global->fieldHandle;
    // ...
});

[jamesmacwhite]

@brandonkelly Thanks for taking the time to reply and for confirming it's related to the initialisation process,

Is it a general recommendation to avoid calling Craft::$app in config files due to potential issues like this?

I'll look at using a module to set these settings instead.

Thanks again!

[brandonkelly]

Mainly just make sure you’re avoiding element queries there, since those rely on the application being fully initialized.

[jamesmacwhite]

Good to know, thank you!