Config - CLI for Manipulating Config Files

config is a CLI for reading and editing configuration files with a simple git config-like interface.

It is built for hand-written config files. Instead of parsing a file into a map and writing the whole thing back, config plans small source edits so comments, spacing, table style, YAML anchors, and nearby formatting can stay intact.

Current support includes TOML, YAML, JSON, and INI. TOML, YAML, and INI edits preserve comments and nearby formatting where possible. JSON edits rewrite the whole document in canonical pretty JSON.

Install

The simplest option is with eget:

eget dannyben/config

Additional installation methods, including Go, GitHub Release archives, and Linux .deb, .rpm, and .apk packages, are in INSTALL.md.

Highlights

• Read scalar values with script-friendly output.
• Set, unset, delete, and list values by dot path.
• Replace, add, and remove scalar array values with config array in TOML, YAML, and JSON files.
• Detect config formats for files with unknown extensions, with explicit comment hints for ambiguous TOML/INI files.
• Preserve comments and source formatting where possible.
• Infer common value types such as numbers, booleans, nulls, and dates where the file format supports them.
• Create missing parent mappings or tables when the edit is clear.
• Edit TOML, YAML, and JSON records selected by field value, such as --in servers --on name:api.
• Preview changes with --dry or --diff.
• Refuse ambiguous edits instead of silently rewriting the file.
• Includes shell completion for config keys in supported shells.

Usage

Supported config files:

• TOML: .toml
• YAML: .yaml, .yml
• JSON: .json
• INI: .ini

Run config help formats for format-specific behavior.

config get -f path/to/config.toml server.port
config set -f path/to/config.toml server.port 3000
config array add -f path/to/config.toml sandbox_workspace_write.writable_roots '$HOME/.cache'
config unset -f path/to/config.toml server.password
config list -f path/to/config.toml server

For repeated edits, set CONFIG_FILE once:

export CONFIG_FILE=~/.codex/config.toml
config get tui.keymap.composer.submit
config set tui.keymap.composer.submit tab
config edit

Use --diff or --diff --color (-dc) to preview an edit:

config set -f config.yaml server.port 3000 -dc

Use --string when a value should remain text even if it looks like a typed literal:

config set -f config.toml version 1.0 --string

Use --in and --on to update records:

config set -f config.toml port 3000 --in servers --on name:api

Feature Specs

The features folder contains readable examples that also run as acceptance tests.