Parsing Configuration files in Python
Parsing Configuration files in Python
March 27, 2024
Introduction
configparser 1 is a module that provides functionality for working with config files in a standardized format.
Although storing configurations in formats like JSON, Yaml/Toml, environment variables or a database exists, configparser stands out to me as a pythonic approach, as it promotes simplicity and reduces dependencies.
Quick Start
[DEFAULT]
; this is a comment
user_name = super-user
passwd = secure-pass
[DATABASE]
host = localhost
port = 5432
database = mydb
[Logging]
; Logging configuration
log_level = INFO
log_file = /var/log/my_python_app.log
# importing module
import configparser
config = configparser.ConfigParser()
config['DEFAULT'] = {
'user_name' : 'super_user',
'passwd': 'secure-pass'
}
config['DATABASE'] = {}
config['DATABASE']['host'] = 'localhost'
config['DATABASE']['port'] = '5432'
config['DATABASE']['database'] = 'mydb'
config['LOGGING'] = {
'log_level': 'INFO',
'log_file': '/var/log/my_python_app.log'
}
with open('config.ini', 'w') as configfile:
config.write(configfile)
ℹ️
If you want to include a default section, you would typically add it to your
configuration file explicitly.
Accessing data
- Fetches sections, values. Note also that keys in sections are case-insensitive and stored in lowercase.
import configparser
config = configparser.ConfigParser()
config.sections()
config.read('config.ini')
sections = config.sections() # ['DATABASE', LOGGING']
user_name = config.get('DEFAULT', 'user_name' ) # super-user
password = config.get('DEFAULT', 'passwd' ) # secure-pass
db_name = config['DATABASE']['database'] # mydb- Config parsers do not guess datatypes of values in configuration files, always storing them internally as strings. This means that if you need other datatypes, you should convert on your own.
port_number = config['DATABASE']['port'] # <class 'str'>
PORT = int(port_number) # 5432
print(type(PORT)) # <class 'int'>