Config File Formats: JSON, YAML, TOML, INI, HCL
Survey every major config file format: JSON, YAML, TOML, INI, HCL, and HOCON. Understand trade-offs in readability, type support, and tooling.
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Tags: configuration, data-formats, devops
Configuration File Formats: JSON, YAML, TOML, INI, and HCL Compared Every application needs configuration. How you store that config — and which format you choose — shapes how easy the app is to deploy, debug, and maintain. This guide surveys the five formats you'll encounter most often: INI, JSON, YAML, TOML, and HCL. You'll get a clear picture of each format's strengths, failure modes, and the specific contexts where each belongs. --- The Formats at a Glance | Format | Year | Designed For | Comments | Schema | Typing | |--------|------|-------------|----------|--------|--------| | INI | 1980s | Simple key-value app config | or | None | Strings only | | JSON | 2001 | Data interchange | None | JSON Schema | Strings, numbers, booleans, null, arrays, objects | | YAML | 2001 | Human-readable…
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