# configTemplate
[](https://github.com/RealA10N/configTemplate/actions/workflows/build.yaml)
[](https://pypi.org/project/configTemplate/)
[](https://pypi.org/project/configTemplate/)
[](https://github.com/RealA10N/configTemplate)
_Easily define configuration file structures, and check if a given
configuration file matches the template._
## Installation
**configTemplate** is tested on CPython 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, and 3.9.
Simply install using pip:
```bash
pip install configTemplate
```
### Support for additional file formats
By default, _configTemplate_ only supports `JSON` configuration files, or
already loaded data (not directly from a configuration file). However, using
additional dependencies, _configTemplate_ supports the following file formats:
- JSON
- YAML
- TOML
To install _configTemplate_ with the additional required dependencies to support
your preferred file format, use:
```yaml
pip install configTemplate[yaml] # install dependencies for yaml files
pip install configTemplate[toml] # toml files
pip install configTemplate[json,toml] # json and toml files
pip install configTemplate[all] # all available file formats
```
## Usage
To create a template, you will need the basic `Template` module, and usually the
other three basic modules `TemplateList`, `TemplateDict`, and `Optional`.
```python
from configTemplate import Template, TemplateList, TemplateDict, Optional
```
Now, let's create a basic template that represents a single user:
```python
TemplateUser = TemplateDict( # a dictionary with 2 required values
username=Template(str), # username must be a string
passcode=Template(int, str), # can be a string or an integer.
nickname=Optional(Template(str)), # optional - if provided, must be a string.
)
```
Check if data matches your template using the `check` method:
```python
errors = TemplateUser.check({'username': 'RealA10N', 'passcode': 12345})
# the check method returns a `TemplateCheckErrorManager` instance
# read full documentation for more information.
if errors:
print(f'Found {errors.count} conflicts:')
print(errors) # prints a detailed and colored error list
else:
print('data follows the template!')
```
## Using configTemplate as a dependency
**configTemplate** is still under active development, and some core features
may change substantially in the near future.
If you are planning to use **configTemplate** as a dependency for your project,
we highly recommend specifying the exact version of the module you are using
in the `requirements.txt` file or `setup.py` scripts.
For example, to pinpoint version _v0.3.2_ use the following line in your
`requirements.txt` file:
```yaml
configTemplate==0.3.2
configTemplate[yaml]==0.3.2 # If using extra file formats
```
