NavigableDict (aka. navdict)

A Python dictionary that supports both traditional key access (dict["key"]) and convenient dot notation (dict.key) for navigating nested data structures, plus some extras.

Features

• Dot Notation Access: Access nested dictionaries with data.user.name instead of data["user"]["name"]
• Backward Compatible: Works exactly like a regular dictionary for all standard operations
• Nested Structure Support: Automatically converts nested dictionaries to navdict objects
• Safe Attribute Access: Handles keys that conflict with dictionary methods gracefully
• Type Hints: Full typing support for better IDE integration
• Lightweight: Minimal overhead over standard dictionaries

and

• Automatic File Loading: Seamlessly load and parse data files (CSV, YAML, JSON, etc.) when accessing dictionary keys, eliminating manual file handling
• Dynamic Class Instantiation: Automatically import and instantiate classes with configurable parameters, enabling flexible object creation from configuration data

Installation

Always install packages into a virtual environment which you can create with

python3 -m venv .venv

or when you are already using uv:

uv venv --python 3.12

Then install the package in that environment:

source .venv/bin/activate
pip install navdict

or with uv, simply run the following, since uv will automatically use the environment.

uv pip install navdict

Installation in a project

When you want to use navdict in a project you are developing, add the dependency to your pyproject.toml manually, or using uv

uv add navdict