YINI Code Examples

Below are practical examples written in YINI, a text-based data format, showing how the format handles structure, data types, and readability — without relying on indentation-based syntax.

New to YINI format? See Intro to the YINI format

💡 Note: YINI uses indentation only for human readability. Section markers (^, ^^, ^^^) define the section nesting.

Basic example

// A small, practical YINI config.

// The App section starts here
^ App
name = "Demo App"
version = 1.2
features = ["search", "logs"]
debug = false    // on/off, yes/no would work too
pageSize = 25

    // Another section (sub-section of App)
    ^^ Server
    host = "localhost"
    port = 8080    # Can comment with # too
    useTLS = off

Section examples

Sections

/*
    sections.yini
    sections + key/value basics (no lists/objects).
*/

// Section named App
^ App
name = "Demo App"
version = "1.2.3"
debug = off

// Section named Server
^ Server
host = "0.0.0.0"
port = 8080
useTLS = false

// Section named Logging
^ Logging
level = "info"
file = "/var/log/demo-app.log"

^ Database
driver = "postgres"
host = "localhost"
port = 5432
username = "demo"
password = "change-me"
database = "demo_db"
poolSize = 10

Nested sections

# nested-sections.yini — clear section nesting without indentation rules.

// Indentation is optional — section markers (^, ^^, ^^^) define the section nesting.
^ App
name = "Demo App"
env = "production"

    // Nested sub-section of App
    ^^ Features
    caching = on
    telemetry = off

    // Another sub-section of App
    ^^ UI
    theme = "dark"
    language = "en"

        // This is sub-section of UI
        ^^^ Editor
        font = "Fira Code"
        tabWidth = 4
        autosave = true


// Back to sub-section of App
^ Server
host = "0.0.0.0"
port = 8080

    ^^ TLS
    enabled = false
    certPath = null
    keyPath = null

    ^^ Limits
    maxConnections = 200
    timeoutSeconds = 60

^ Logging
level = "info"

    ^^ Output
    format = "json"
    color = yes

Indentation examples

Indentation in YINI is only used for human readability — how you indent your YINI is up to you 🙂 However, it is recommended to stick to one style per file.

Indentation style 1: Indenting whole nested sections.

// Indentation example 1 of Basic App Config - indent-ex-conf1.yini

/*
 * Indentation is optional - section markers (^, ^^, ^^^)
 * define the section nesting.
 *
 * Style 1: indent the entire nested section, including the section header.
 */

^ App
name = "My Application"
version = "1.0.0"
debug = off // Disable debugging

    ^^ Database    // Nested section of App
    host = "localhost"
    port = 5432
    user = "admin"
    password = "secret"

        ^^^ Pool    // Nested section of Database
        min = 2
        max = 10
        idleTimeout = 300

    ^^ Logging      // Another section of App
    level = "info"
    logToFile = true
    filePath = "./logs/app.log"

Indentation style 2: Indenting only the section body in nested sections.

// Indentation example 2 of Basic App Config - indent-ex-conf2.yini

/*
 * Indentation is optional - section markers (^, ^^, ^^^)
 * define the section nesting.
 *
 * Style 2: indent only the section body, not the section header.
 */

^ App
    name = "My Application"
    version = "1.0.0"
    debug = off // Disable debugging

        ^^ Database    // Nested section of App
            host = "localhost"
            port = 5432
            user = "admin"
            password = "secret"

                ^^^ Pool    // Nested section of Database
                    min = 2
                    max = 10
                    idleTimeout = 300

        ^^ Logging      // Another section of App
            level = "info"
            logToFile = true
            filePath = "./logs/app.log"

Indentation style 3: Flat sections nesting, not indenting at all.

// Indentation example 3 of Basic App Config - indent-ex-conf3.yini

/*
 * Indentation is optional - section markers (^, ^^, ^^^)
 * define the section nesting.
 *
 * Style 3: no indentation for nested sections.
 */

^ App
name = "My Application"
version = "1.0.0"
debug = off // Disable debugging

^^ Database    // Nested section of App
host = "localhost"
port = 5432
user = "admin"
password = "secret"

^^^ Pool    // Nested section of Database
min = 2
max = 10
idleTimeout = 300

^^ Logging      // Another section of App
level = "info"
logToFile = true
filePath = "./logs/app.log"

Comments & compound types

Comments

# Line comments + inline comments + block comments.

/* App configuration. */

^ App
name = "Demo App"           // Inline comment (//)
debug = off                 # Inline comment (#)
pageSize = 25

; Semicolon comments are line comments (start of line only).

# You can also use full-line comments between entries.

      ^^ Logging
      level = "info"            // "debug" during development
      file = "logs/app.log"

      /* Another block comment:
         - Works across multiple lines
         - Good for documenting sections
      */

Lists and objects

// lists-and-objects.yini
// Arrays (lists) + objects + nesting.

// Indentation is optional — section markers (^, ^^, ^^^) define the section nesting.
^ App
name = "Demo App"
enabled = true

tags = ["demo", "config", "v1"]

ports = [80, 443, 8080]

features = [
    "search",
    "dark-mode",
    "metrics"
]

limits = { retries: 3, timeoutSeconds: 30, backoffMs: [250, 500, 1000] }

database = {
    type: "postgres",
    host: "localhost",
    port: 5432,
    credentials: { user: "app", pass: "change-me" },
    options: { ssl: off, pool: { min: 2, max: 10 } }
}

    ^^ Users
    allow = ["alice", "bob", "charlie"]
    roles = {
        alice: ["admin", "editor"],
        bob: ["editor"],
        charlie: ["viewer"]
    }

Numbers and nesting

Number formats

# number-formats.yini
# Numeric literals and where they're useful.

^ Numbers
    # Integers
    retries = 3
    max_connections = 200
    timeout_seconds = 60

    # Floats
    ratio = 0.75
    threshold = 1.25
    pi = 3.14159

    # Negatives
    offset = -12
    temperature_c = -7.5

    # Underscore separators (readability)
    big_int = 1000000
    bytes = 16384
    price = 12345.67

    # Hex (often used for colors, bitmasks, ids)
    primary_color = #336699
    feature_mask = 0x1F

    # Scientific notation (when specs/data use it)
    avogadro = 6.022e23
    small = 1e-6

    # Edge-ish values (still normal numbers)
    zero = 0
    one = 1

Nested and structured

/*
    nested-and-structured.yini

    Example: Nestable & Structured (without indentation ambiguity).
*/

// Indentation is optional — section markers (^, ^^, ^^^) define the section nesting.
^ App
name = "DemoApp"
features = ["search", "sync", "export"]

    ^^ Server
    host = "0.0.0.0"
    port = 8080
    options = { timeout: 30, secure: true }

    ^^ Database
    engine = "postgres"
    credentials = {
        user: "admin",
        password: "secret"
    }

        ^^^ Pool
        min = 5
        max = 50

More examples

The following full examples demonstrate how YINI scales from small configs to complete real-world setups.

File example 1: Web server configuration (sections, numbers, booleans)

/*

Features:
  - Section headers
  - Nested sections
  - Strings (single quotes)
  - Number values, booleans, nulls

*/

^ Server
host = '0.0.0.0'
port = 8080
enable_ssl = false
log_file = '/var/log/server.log'
max_connections = 200

    ^^ SSL
    enabled = false
    cert_path = null
    key_path = null

File example 2: User profile settings (objects, lists, and comments)

@yini

/*

Features:
  - Section nesting (up to 3 levels)
  - Strings (single/double quotes)
  - Strings, nulls, booleans
  - List

*/

^ profile
username = "robinkoda"
display_name = 'Robin Koda'
email = "robin@example.com"
avatar = null
is_active = true
roles = ["user", "editor"]
created_at = "2024-05-12T10:30:00Z"

    ^^ preferences
    theme = 'light'
    language = "en"
    notifications = true

        ^^^ editor
        font = "Fira Code"
        tab_width = 4
        autosave = on

File example 4: Build project configuration (real-world example)

/*

Features:
  - Sections
  - Nested sections
  - Lists
  - Strings (double quotes), booleans, 

*/

^ Build
entry = "src/index.ts"
output = "dist/"
source_map = true
minify = true
target = "ES2022"

    ^^ Plugins
    enabled = ["eslint", "prettier", "typedoc"]

    ^^ Env
    NODE_ENV = "production"
    API_URL = "https://api.example.com"
    DEBUG = false
Want more? See Advanced Examples (for optional and power-user features).

Next steps