JSON Configuration
JSON is popular for application config files. Merge defaults with user overrides using dict unpacking or deep merge.
Python
Beginner
3 min read
Configuration with JSON
Example
import json
from pathlib import Path
def load_config(path: str, defaults: dict) -> dict:
cfg_path = Path(path)
user_cfg = json.loads(cfg_path.read_text()) if cfg_path.exists() else {}
return {**defaults, **user_cfg} # shallow merge
defaults = {"debug": False, "port": 8000, "db": {"host": "localhost", "port": 5432}}
config = load_config("config.json", defaults)
print(config["port"]) Pro Tip
For deeply nested configs, use recursive merge or consider TOML/YAML which support comments.