---
id: config-parser
version: "0.0.1"
license: GNU GPLv3
license_treatment: agpl
maintenance: abandoned
---

# config-parser — Configuration library wrappers

License: agpl · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 972.3K/mo

## What it is and what it does

config-parser is a thin wrapper around argparse that reads argument definitions from YAML or JSON files and merges configuration from multiple sources—defaults, config files, environment variables, and runtime arguments—in a fixed order. It simplifies the boilerplate of setting up command-line argument parsing when your definitions live in external files rather than in code.

The package depends only on PyYAML and installs as a pure Python wheel with low friction. However, it has been abandoned since its initial release in January 2019 and has received no updates or maintenance since then. The fixed precedence order cannot be customized, which may or may not align with your application's needs.

Use it for:

- Loading application settings from a YAML config file with environment variable overrides for deployment.
- Defining CLI arguments in a YAML file to keep argument definitions separate from Python code.
- Layering defaults, user config, and environment variables in a predictable order for a CLI tool.
- Wrapping argparse definitions to reduce boilerplate in configuration-heavy applications.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Merges configuration from YAML/JSON files, environment variables, and runtime arguments into a single parsed configuration object, applying them in a fixed precedence order.

No. The package is abandoned (no updates since 2019) and carries an AGPLv3+ license that restricts use in proprietary projects. For modern Python applications, use standard argparse with a dedicated config library (e.g., configparser, pydantic, or hydra) that is actively maintained and offers more flexibility.

## Install

pip install config-parser
uv add config-parser
poetry add config-parser

## Installing config-parser

Before you install: Package is abandoned—last release was 2019-01-21 with no updates since. Low install friction (pure Python wheel, single dependency on PyYAML), but no active maintenance or security monitoring.

License in practice: Licensed under GNU AGPLv3+, which requires derivative works and modifications to be distributed under the same license. Use is restricted in proprietary or closed-source projects.

Quickstart:

pip install config-parser

from config_parser import Parser
p = Parser(argparse_file="argparse.yml").get()

Requires Python 3.6 or later; argparse definitions must be provided as a YAML or JSON file.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package actually works with modern Python versions (last tested in 2019).
- Whether PyYAML dependency is pinned to a specific version or accepts any version.
- Whether the fixed precedence order (defaults → config files → environment → runtime) meets typical use cases.

## Package facts

- License: GNU GPLv3 (agpl)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 972.3K/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

yaml config parser, environment variable configuration, runtime config merging, argparse yaml wrapper, layered configuration management, config file precedence, python config loader, abandoned, agpl-licensed

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