---
id: crossplane
version: "0.5.8"
license: Apache 2.0
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# crossplane — Reliable and fast NGINX configuration file parser.

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 3.4M/mo

## What it is and what it does

Crossplane is a parser and builder for NGINX configuration files. It reads NGINX configs and converts them into structured JSON, making it possible to programmatically analyze, validate, or regenerate configurations. It also provides command-line utilities to parse, build, lex, format, and minify NGINX configs. The package has no runtime dependencies and works as both a Python module and a standalone CLI tool.

The parser handles the full NGINX config syntax including nested blocks, includes, and arguments, and can optionally exclude sensitive directives for privacy. It's commonly used in infrastructure tooling, configuration management, and the NGINX Amplify Agent for analyzing server configurations without exposing secrets.

Use it for:

- Programmatically analyze NGINX configurations in Python to audit settings or extract values.
- Convert NGINX configs to JSON for storage, comparison, or transmission to other systems.
- Rebuild NGINX configs from JSON payloads in automated deployment or configuration management workflows.
- Format or minify NGINX configuration files from the command line.
- Extract and validate NGINX directives while filtering out sensitive data like certificates or passwords.

## Worth the install?

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

Parses NGINX configuration files into JSON and rebuilds them from JSON, with command-line tools for parsing, building, lexing, formatting, and minifying configs.

Yes. Crossplane is actively maintained, has no dependencies, and fills a specific need for NGINX config parsing and manipulation. It's widely used (top 5000 PyPI packages) with no known vulnerabilities. Install it if you need to programmatically work with NGINX configurations or provide config analysis tooling.

## Install

pip install crossplane
uv add crossplane
poetry add crossplane

## Installing crossplane

Before you install: Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. Actively maintained as of 2026-03-31 with 762 repository stars. Supports Python 2.7 and Python 3.6 through 3.10.

License in practice: Apache 2.0 permissive license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

pip install crossplane

import crossplane
result = crossplane.parse('/etc/nginx/nginx.conf')
print(result['status'])

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package handles all NGINX directive types or has known limitations with newer NGINX versions.
- Current compatibility status with Python 3.11+ given the latest release was 2022-09-22.

## Package facts

- License: Apache 2.0 (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 3.4M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

nginx config parser, parse nginx configuration, nginx to json, nginx config builder, nginx configuration tool, nginx config formatter, nginx lexer, nginx, configuration-management, cli-tool

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/crossplane) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/crossplane/)