---
id: crudini
version: "0.9.6"
license: GPLv2
license_treatment: copyleft
maintenance: aging
---

# crudini — A utility for manipulating ini files

License: copyleft · Maintenance: aging · Downloads: 156.7K/mo

## What it is and what it does

crudini is a standalone command-line tool for manipulating INI configuration files without writing code. It wraps the iniparse library to provide get, set, delete, and merge operations on INI sections and parameters, with support for global parameters, list values, and multiple output formats (shell-parseable, ini, lines). It's typically used in shell scripts, deployment automation, and system administration tasks where configuration files need to be read or modified programmatically.

The tool handles edge cases like leading whitespace, section spacing, and list delimiters through command-line options. It can read from stdin, write to stdout or files, and perform multiple operations atomically. Because it's a single executable utility rather than a library, it's invoked as a subprocess from scripts or automation frameworks rather than imported into Python code.

Use it for:

- Automate configuration file updates in deployment or provisioning scripts without manual editing.
- Extract configuration values from INI files in shell scripts using shell-parseable output format.
- Merge configuration changes from environment variables or other INI files into a config file.
- Validate or reformat INI files to enforce consistent spacing and section layout.
- Compare two INI files by extracting and sorting their parameters for diff-based analysis.

## Worth the install?

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

crudini is a command-line utility for reading, writing, and modifying INI configuration files programmatically, supporting get, set, delete, and merge operations on sections and parameters.

Yes, if you need a lightweight, dependency-minimal command-line tool for INI file manipulation in scripts or automation. The low install friction, stable maturity, and no known vulnerabilities make it reliable for system administration tasks. The GPLv2 license is a consideration for proprietary use. Not necessary if you're writing Python code that can use iniparse directly.

## Install

pip install crudini
uv add crudini
poetry add crudini

## Installing crudini

Before you install: Low friction: pure Python wheel with a single runtime dependency (iniparse). Maintenance is aging—last release was 485 days ago—but the repository remains active and the package is marked Production/Stable.

License in practice: GPLv2 copyleft license: any derivative work or modification must be distributed under the same license. Suitable for internal tools and open-source projects, but may restrict commercial or proprietary use.

Quickstart:

pip install crudini

# Set a parameter in a config file
crudini --set config.ini section parameter value

# Get a parameter
crudini --get config.ini section parameter

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package works with modern Python versions beyond 2 and 3 (classifiers list both but requires_python is unspecified)

## Package facts

- License: GPLv2 (copyleft)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: aging
- Downloads: 156.7K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

ini file editor command line, config file manipulation tool, ini parser utility, edit configuration files, ini file get set delete, cli-tool, config-management, ini-files

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