Configuration Generator

A config file is an interface between a human operator and a running system. It should read like a document, not a database dump.

Step 1 — Identify the config consumer

The consumer dictates the format and the idioms. Don't guess.

Consumer	Format	Look for existing example at
Your own app	Whatever the loader expects — check the code	`config.py`, `settings.py`, `Config.java`
nginx / Apache	Custom block syntax	`/etc/nginx/sites-available/`
Postgres / MySQL	INI-like `key = value`	`postgresql.conf` / `my.cnf` — copy the header
Prometheus / Grafana	YAML	Their docs have a canonical minimal example — start there
Linters (eslint, ruff, golangci)	Tool-specific (JSON/TOML/YAML)	Run `<tool> --init` first; edit its output
Logging (log4j, logback, Python `logging`)	XML / YAML / `dictConfig`	The framework ships a default — diff against it