ColdFusion 2025 Cheat Sheet

Everything you need to look up, nothing you don't

Last updated: November 28, 20258 min read
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This is the page you'll keep coming back to. It's a compact reference for the commands, settings, and configurations that come up most often when working with ColdFusion 2025—designed to give you the answer quickly and get out of your way.

cfpm Package Manager Commands

cfpm listList all installed packages
cfpm search <package>Search for available packages
cfpm install <package>Install a package
cfpm uninstall <package>Remove a package
cfpm updateUpdate all packages
cfpm info <package>Show package details

JVM Tuning Quick Settings

Recommended JVM Arguments (Production)

# Heap Size (adjust based on application needs)
-Xms8g -Xmx8g

# Garbage Collector (G1GC for heaps > 4GB)
-XX:+UseG1GC
-XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=200
-XX:G1HeapRegionSize=16M

# GC Logging
-Xlog:gc*:file=/path/to/gc.log:time,uptime:filecount=5,filesize=20m

# JVM Modules (required for CF 2025)
--add-opens=java.base/java.lang=ALL-UNNAMED
--add-opens=java.base/java.io=ALL-UNNAMED
--add-opens=java.rmi/sun.rmi.transport=ALL-UNNAMED

# Performance Tuning
-XX:+UseStringDeduplication
-XX:+OptimizeStringConcat

Security Hardening Checklist

Run through this before any production deployment. Every unchecked box is a potential vulnerability.

Performance Optimization Quick Wins

Application Settings

  • sessionManagement=true
  • sessionTimeout=#createTimeSpan(0,0,30,0)#
  • enableRobustException=false (production)
  • requestTimeout=120 (seconds)
  • Enable trusted cache in production
  • Set template cache size appropriately

Database Best Practices

  • Use cfqueryparam always
  • Enable connection pooling
  • Set appropriate max connections
  • Use query caching strategically
  • Index frequently queried columns
  • Avoid SELECT *; specify columns

Troubleshooting Commands

cf healthCheck ColdFusion health status
cf startStart ColdFusion service
cf stopStop ColdFusion service
cf restartRestart ColdFusion service
cf versionDisplay CF version info
cf metricsShow current metrics

Common File Locations

Linux

  • Install Root:
    /opt/coldfusion2025/
  • Config:
    /opt/coldfusion2025/cfusion/lib/neo-*.xml
  • Logs:
    /opt/coldfusion2025/cfusion/logs/
  • JVM Config:
    /opt/coldfusion2025/cfusion/bin/jvm.config
  • Web Root:
    /opt/coldfusion2025/cfusion/wwwroot/

Windows

  • Install Root:
    C:\ColdFusion2025\
  • Config:
    C:\ColdFusion2025\cfusion\lib\neo-*.xml
  • Logs:
    C:\ColdFusion2025\cfusion\logs\
  • JVM Config:
    C:\ColdFusion2025\cfusion\bin\jvm.config
  • Web Root:
    C:\ColdFusion2025\cfusion\wwwroot\

Key Log Files

application.log

Application errors and exceptions

exception.log

Unhandled exceptions and stack traces

server.log

Server startup/shutdown, configuration changes

coldfusion-out.log

Standard output, system messages

coldfusion-error.log

Standard error output

security.log

Security events, failed logins

Performance Monitoring Metrics

Request Metrics

  • Active requests
  • Queued requests
  • Average request time
  • Slowest requests

Memory Metrics

  • Heap usage (< 80% recommended)
  • GC frequency
  • GC pause times (< 200ms target)
  • PermGen/Metaspace usage

Database Metrics

  • Active connections
  • Connection pool utilization
  • Slow query count
  • Failed queries

Essential Admin URLs

/CFIDE/administratorMain administrator
/CFIDE/administrator/monitor/index.cfmServer Monitor
/rest/servicesREST services list
/healthcheckHealth check endpoint

Emergency Response

When something's broken in production, you need a checklist, not a tutorial. Work through these steps in order.

High Memory Usage

  1. Check heap usage in metrics
  2. Review recent deployments
  3. Capture heap dump: jmap -dump:format=b,file=heap.hprof <pid>
  4. Restart ColdFusion if critical
  5. Analyze heap dump with MAT or VisualVM

Performance Degradation

  1. Check server metrics and active requests
  2. Review slow request log
  3. Check database connection pool
  4. Enable request throttling if needed
  5. Review recent code changes

Application Not Responding

  1. Check CF service status
  2. Review coldfusion-error.log
  3. Check JVM process is running
  4. Verify web server connector
  5. Restart CF service if needed

More Resources

ColdFusion 2025 Cheat Sheet | CFGuide