ReadTheYAML 3.0.0

Validate and document your YAML config files — so future-you doesn't have to guess.

ReadTheYAML

ReadTheYAML validates YAML config files against a schema, injects defaults, and returns a validated config object.

Installation

pip install ReadTheYAML

Local development install:

git clone https://github.com/TheRealMarVin/ReadTheYAML.git
cd ReadTheYAML
pip install -e .

What it supports

• Required and optional fields
• Default values for optional fields
• Primitive and composite types
• Nested sections
• Conditional fields/sections with when
• Strict mode (reject unknown keys) and non-strict mode (pass through unknown keys)
• Schema composition with $ref (local files and HTTP URLs)

Quick start

Schema (schema.yaml):

service_name:
  type: str
  description: service display name

port:
  type: int
  description: service port
  required: false
  default: 8080
  min_value: 1
  max_value: 65535

logging:
  $ref: ./shared/logging.yaml
  required: false

Config (config.yaml):

service_name: api-gateway

Python usage:

from readtheyaml.schema import Schema

schema = Schema.from_yaml("schema.yaml")
built, data_with_default = schema.validate_file("config.yaml", strict=True)

print(built)              # validated/built config
print(data_with_default)  # config with injected defaults

CLI usage

This repository currently exposes a CLI through main.py:

python main.py --schema schema.yaml --config config.yaml

# Generate HTML documentation from a schema
python main.py --schema schema.yaml --generate-doc --output schema-doc.html

The repository also includes a Tkinter-based config editor:

python main_editor.py --schema schema.yaml --config config.yaml --strict true

For editor behavior and UI details, see docs/editor.md.

Type syntax overview

Primitive types:

• any
• None
• bool
• int
• float
• str
• enum (requires values)

Composite types:

• list[T]
• tuple[T1, T2, ...]
• union[A, B] or A | B
• object[package.module.ClassName] (or object with _type_ in data)

Common field options:

• description
• required
• default
• min_value / max_value / value_range
• min_length / max_length / length_range

Conditions (when)

when exists so one schema can express conditional fields/sections without splitting into multiple schemas. It gates validation and output inclusion based on other config values known at schema-validation time.

Practical example (compile_enabled toggles a compile section):

compile_enabled:
  type: bool
  required: false
  default: false

compile:
  required: false
  when:
    field: compile_enabled
    op: eq
    value: true
  command:
    type: str
    description: Compile command
    required: true

If compile_enabled is false, compile is skipped. If compile_enabled is true, compile.command is validated and required.

Syntax reference:

• Atomic condition:
  • when: { field: some.path, op: eq, value: 123 }
• Logical combinators:
  • all: [...] (AND)
  • any: [...] (OR)
  • not: {...} (NOT)

Semantics:

• Active node (when is true):
  • validated normally
  • included in built
  • included in data_with_default (with defaults applied as needed)
• Inactive node (when is false):
  • not validated
  • omitted from built
  • removed/omitted from data_with_default
• If an optional subsection is missing and has no explicit section default, it is omitted (not auto-materialized from child defaults).
• If a subsection is inactive due to when, payload under that subsection is ignored when evaluating other when conditions.

Limitations / non-goals for this phase:

• when does not inspect runtime Python objects or object internals.
• when does not evaluate arbitrary Python expressions from YAML.

Full reference (operators, aliases, combinators): docs/conditions.md

Notes

• Field names cannot use reserved constructor keywords.
• Optional fields usually require a valid default.
• HTTP $ref resolution imports requests at runtime.

Documentation

See docs/index.md for the full reference, including type behavior and the editor guide.

Examples In This Repo

Use matching schema/config pairs from examples/:

• schema.yaml + config.yaml
• schema_composed.yaml + config_composed.yaml
• schema_all_types.yaml + config_all_types.yaml

Running tests

pytest

Status