scitex-config 0.3.4

Configuration helpers (YAML + dotenv layered priority) — standalone module from the SciTeX ecosystem

scitex-config

Configuration + path management with `direct → yaml → env → default` priority cascade.

Full Documentation · uv pip install scitex-config[all]

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Problem and Solution

#	Problem	Solution
1	Config values come from many sources (CLI flags, YAML files, env vars, hard-coded defaults) and ad-hoc precedence rules drift between scripts.	PriorityConfig.resolve() enforces a single direct → yaml → env → default cascade with a resolution log.
2	Runtime directories (cache, logs, sessions) get hardcoded to ~/.cache/<pkg>/ and ignore the user's $SCITEX_DIR.	get_paths() / ScitexPaths roots every directory at $SCITEX_DIR (default ~/.scitex) and exposes typed accessors.
3	.env loading is reinvented per project (cwd-only, no walk-up, silent override of process env).	load_dotenv(walk_up=True) walks parents to $HOME, never overrides existing process env, and returns a boolean status.

Installation

pip install scitex-config

Architecture

scitex-config/
├── src/scitex_config/
│   ├── __init__.py              # get_config, get_paths, PriorityConfig
│   ├── _config.py               # YAML loader + dotted-path resolve()
│   ├── _paths.py                # ~/.scitex/cache, function_cache, ...
│   ├── _priority.py             # PriorityConfig: direct > yaml > env > default
│   └── _bridge.py               # sys.modules alias -> scitex.config
└── tests/

Quick Start

import scitex_config as cfg

config = cfg.get_config()
log_level = config.resolve("logging.level", default="INFO")

paths = cfg.get_paths()
print(paths.cache)            # ~/.scitex/cache

1 Interfaces

Python API

import scitex_config as cfg

# YAML-based (recommended)
config = cfg.get_config()
print(config.MY_KEY)
log_level = config.resolve("logging.level", default="INFO")

# Path resolution
paths = cfg.get_paths()
paths.function_cache       # ~/.scitex/cache/function/...

# Layered priority cascade (direct > yaml > env > default)
pc = cfg.PriorityConfig(yaml_path="config/app.yaml")
db_url = pc.resolve(
    direct=cli_arg,
    key="database.url",
    env_var="DATABASE_URL",
    default="sqlite:///dev.db",
)

Demo

flowchart LR
    D[direct=cli_arg] -->|wins if not None| R[PriorityConfig.resolve]
    Y["yaml: config/app.yaml<br/>database.url"] -->|2nd| R
    E["env: DATABASE_URL"] -->|3rd| R
    F["default='sqlite:///dev.db'"] -->|fallback| R
    R --> V["resolved value"]

Status

Standalone fork of scitex.config. Only dep is PyYAML. The umbrella package's scitex.config import path is preserved via a sys.modules-alias bridge.

Part of SciTeX

scitex-config is part of SciTeX. Install via the umbrella with pip install scitex[config] to use as scitex.config (Python) or scitex config ... (CLI).

Four Freedoms for Research

0. The freedom to run your research anywhere — your machine, your terms.
1. The freedom to study how every step works — from raw data to final manuscript.
2. The freedom to redistribute your workflows, not just your papers.
3. The freedom to modify any module and share improvements with the community.

AGPL-3.0 — because we believe research infrastructure deserves the same freedoms as the software it runs on.

License

AGPL-3.0-only (see LICENSE).

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