`ini`

INI and .env config file support - parse Windows-style [section] INI files to nested objects, serialise objects back to INI text, parse flat .env key=value files with $VAR and ${VAR} variable expansion, serialise to .env text, and load either format from a file path.

Load with: use ini

What this module does

ini handles two related flat-file config formats. INI files use [section] headers followed by key = value lines; the parser builds a nested object where each section is a sub-object. Lines starting with ; or # are comments.

.env files are flat KEY=VALUE pairs (no sections), with # comments and optional variable expansion - a value like BASE_URL=https://${HOST}:${PORT} references earlier keys. Both formats strip single and double quotes from values.

Quick example

use ini

# Parse INI
cfg = inipa("[server]\nhost = localhost\nport = 8080\n\n[db]\nname = mydb")
prn(cfg.server.host)  # "localhost"
prn(cfg.db.name)      # "mydb"

# Write INI
prn(iniwr(cfg))

# Parse .env (with variable expansion)
env = envpa("HOST=example.com\nPORT=443\nURL=https://${HOST}:${PORT}")
prn(env.URL)  # "https://example.com:443"

# Write .env
prn(envwr(env))

# Load from file
cfg2 = inilo("config/app.ini")
env2 = envlo(".env")

Functions

INI format

inipa(source)

Parses an INI string. Section headers create sub-objects. Lines before the first section go into the root object. Keys with spaces, =, #, or ; in their values are auto-quoted on write. Comments (; or #) and blank lines are skipped. Double-quoted values are unquoted.

iniwr(config)

Serialises a nested config object back to INI text. Global (non-object) keys are written first, then each section as [section_name] followed by its key-value pairs.

inilo(path)

Reads an INI file from path and parses it with inipa.

.env format

envpa(source)

Parses a .env string. Each KEY=VALUE line is added to a flat object. Values are unquoted (both single and double quotes). ${VAR} and $VAR references are expanded using already-parsed keys.

envwr(config)

Serialises a flat config object to .env text. Values containing spaces, #, or $ are double-quoted.

envlo(path)

Reads a .env file from path and parses it with envpa.

Notes

Variable expansion in .env files only references keys defined earlier in the same file.
Requires trl and txt.