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CONFCTL(1)                       User Manuals                       CONFCTL(1)

NAME
       confctl - sysctl-like tool for config files

SYNOPSIS
       confctl [-CEIS] -a [-n] config-file
       confctl [-CEIS] [-n] config-file variable-name ...
       confctl [-CEIS] -w variable-name=value config-file
       confctl [-CEIS] -x variable-name config-file

DESCRIPTION
       confctl provides access to configuration files in C-like syntax via
       sysctl(8)-like interface, making it easy to use from shell scripts.

       The following options are available:

       -a     Show all the variables and their values.

       -n     Show only values, not names.

       -w     Change value of configuration variable and update the
              configuration file.  Variable is created if it doesn't yet
              exist.

       -x     Delete the variable and update the configuration file.

       -C     Recognize C++ double slash ('//') and slash star ('/* ... */')
              comment markers.

       -E     Use equals sign (' = ') to separate values from names.  Without
              this option, the equals sign is ignored, i.e. treated as
              whitespace.

       -I     Instead of writing a temporary file and then atomically
              replacing the configuration file, rewrite it in place.  It also
              makes confctl acquire a file lock when reading or writing the
              configuration file.

       -S     Use semicolon (';') after values.  Note that the semicolon is
              always treated as terminating character when parsing, regardless
              of this option.

EXAMPLES
       Say you have a configuration file that looks like this:

       interfaces {
            eth0 {
                 ip-address     192.168.1.1
                 mtu       9000
            }

            eth1 {
                 ip-address     192.168.2.1
                 description    "Uplink to Telia"
            }
       }

       You can access all the variables like this (note the -a option):

       % confctl -a config-file
       interfaces.eth0.ip-address=192.168.1.1
       interfaces.eth0.mtu=9000
       interfaces.eth1.ip-address=192.168.2.1
       interfaces.eth1.description="Uplink to Telia"

       You can also query individual variables:

       % confctl config-file interfaces.eth0.ip-address interfaces.eth1.ip-address
       interfaces.eth0.ip-address=192.168.1.1
       interfaces.eth1.ip-address=192.168.2.1

       To modify a variable, use the -w option:

       % confctl -w interfaces.eth0.ip-address=192.168.1.2 config-file

       You can pass the -w option multiple times to set several variables at
       once.  You use exactly the same syntax to add new variables:

       % confctl -w interfaces.eth2.ip-address=10.0.0.1 -w interfaces.eth2.netmask=24 config-file
       % confctl config-file interfaces.eth2
       interfaces.eth2.ip-address=10.0.0.1
       interfaces.eth2.netmask=24
       % cat config-file

       interfaces {
            eth0 {
                 ip-address     192.168.1.1
                 mtu       9000
            }

            eth1 {
                 ip-address     192.168.2.1
                 description    "Uplink to Telia"
            }

            eth2 {
                 ip-address     10.0.0.1
                 netmask        24
            }
       }

       Note that file modification preserves formatting and indentation.  It
       also preserves all the comments, including ones for variables modified
       in place.

       Also note that by default, modification is done by writing a temporary
       copy of the file, in the same containing directory, and then renaming
       it, replacing the old file.  This will fail if it's impossible to
       create new files, and won't do the right thing when the file name is a
       symlink.  In that case, use -I option to rewrite configuration file in
       place.

AUTHOR
       Edward Tomasz Napierala <trasz@FreeBSD.org>

SEE ALSO
       sysctl(8)

confctl                           20 May 2012                       CONFCTL(1)