lib/libbsdconf/bsdconf_format.3

.\" Copyright (c) 2013-2026 Devin Teske <dteske@FreeBSD.org>
.\" Copyright (c) 2021-2026 Faraz Vahedi <kfv@FreeBSD.org>
.\"
.\" SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-2-Clause
.\"
.Dd August 2, 2026
.Dt BSDCONF_FORMAT 3
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Nm bsdconf_format_derive ,
.Nm bsdconf_format_files ,
.Nm bsdconf_format_files_free ,
.Nm bsdconf_format_find ,
.Nm bsdconf_format_guess ,
.Nm bsdconf_format_lookup ,
.Nm bsdconf_format_path ,
.Nm bsdconf_format_processing ,
.Nm bsdconf_format_put ,
.Nm bsdconf_format_register
.Nd configuration format descriptors and discovery
.Sh LIBRARY
.Lb libbsdconf
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.In bsdconf.h
.Ft int
.Fo bsdconf_format_derive
.Fa "enum bsdconf_format base"
.Fa "struct bsdconf_format_def *def"
.Fc
.Ft int
.Fo bsdconf_format_files
.Fa "enum bsdconf_format format"
.Fa "const char *rootdir"
.Fa "const char *module"
.Fa "const char *defaults"
.Fa "char ***filesp"
.Fa "size_t *nfilesp"
.Fa "size_t *write_idxp"
.Fc
.Ft void
.Fo bsdconf_format_files_free
.Fa "char **files"
.Fa "size_t nfiles"
.Fc
.Ft int
.Fo bsdconf_format_find
.Fa "const char *keyword"
.Fa "enum bsdconf_format *format"
.Fc
.Ft "enum bsdconf_format"
.Fo bsdconf_format_guess
.Fa "const char *path"
.Fc
.Ft "const struct bsdconf_format_def *"
.Fo bsdconf_format_lookup
.Fa "enum bsdconf_format format"
.Fc
.Ft "const char *"
.Fo bsdconf_format_path
.Fa "enum bsdconf_format format"
.Fc
.Ft uint16_t
.Fo bsdconf_format_processing
.Fa "enum bsdconf_format format"
.Fc
.Ft uint16_t
.Fo bsdconf_format_put
.Fa "enum bsdconf_format format"
.Fc
.Ft int
.Fo bsdconf_format_register
.Fa "const struct bsdconf_format_def *def"
.Fa "enum bsdconf_format *format"
.Fc
.Sh DESCRIPTION
Every supported configuration file format is described by the same small
format descriptor
.Pq introduced in Xr bsdconf 3 :
.Bd -literal -offset indent
struct bsdconf_format_def {
    const char	*keyword;    /* target keyword (or NULL) */
    const char	*path;       /* default write path (or NULL) */
    const struct bsdconf_source
		*sources;    /* ordered sources (or NULL) */
    const char	*defaults;   /* defaults file (or NULL) */
    const char	*defaults_env;     /* environment override */
    const char	*files_directive;
			     /* directive listing conf files */
    const char	*dirs_directive;
			     /* directive listing drop-in dirs */
    const char	*local_directive;
			     /* directive listing local files */
    uint16_t	processing;  /* processing_options bitmask */
    uint16_t	put;         /* put_options bitmask */
};

enum bsdconf_source_type {
    BSDCONF_SOURCE_FILE = 0,  /* a single file */
    BSDCONF_SOURCE_DIR,       /* each `*.conf' in a directory */
    BSDCONF_SOURCE_MODDIR,    /* `<module>.conf' in a directory */
};

struct bsdconf_source {
    enum bsdconf_source_type type;  /* how to interpret path */
    const char	*path;              /* file or directory path */
};
.Ed
.Pp
There is exactly one parsing and writing engine;
a format descriptor merely parameterizes it.
The built-in formats,
with their target keywords and default write paths,
are:
.Bl -column "BSDCONF_FORMAT_GENERIC" "keyword" "/boot/loader.conf"
.It Sy format Ta Sy keyword Ta Sy "default write path"
.It Dv BSDCONF_FORMAT_GENERIC Ta generic Ta \&-
.It Dv BSDCONF_FORMAT_LOADER Ta loader Ta /boot/loader.conf
.It Dv BSDCONF_FORMAT_SYSCTL Ta sysctl Ta /etc/sysctl.conf
.It Dv BSDCONF_FORMAT_MAKE Ta make Ta /etc/make.conf
.It Dv BSDCONF_FORMAT_SRC Ta src Ta /etc/src.conf
.El
.Pp
The default write path
.Pq the Va path member
answers only the question of where a
.Em new
directive lands:
the file to which a directive not yet present anywhere is appended.
Which files are
.Em consulted
is a separate and potentially broader question,
answered by the
.Va sources
member.
When
.Va sources
is NULL
.Pq as for Dv BSDCONF_FORMAT_MAKE
the default write path is the format's one and only file and the two
questions collapse into one.
Otherwise
.Po
.Dv BSDCONF_FORMAT_LOADER ,
.Dv BSDCONF_FORMAT_SYSCTL ,
and
.Dv BSDCONF_FORMAT_SRC
.Pc
the format is backed by several files and
.Va sources
lists them:
an ordered,
NULL-path terminated array in which each entry contributes a single file
.Pq Dv BSDCONF_SOURCE_FILE ,
every
.Ql *.conf
found in a drop-in directory
.Pq Dv BSDCONF_SOURCE_DIR ,
or the file
.Ql <module>.conf
in a directory keyed by kernel module name
.Pq Dv BSDCONF_SOURCE_MODDIR .
The order matches the order in which the system sources the files at boot,
so a directive in a later file overrides the same directive in an earlier
one and the last file listing a directive is the authoritative source of
its value.
The built-in source lists are:
.Bl -tag -width BSDCONF_FORMAT_LOADER -offset indent
.It Dv BSDCONF_FORMAT_LOADER
discovered from
.Pa /boot/defaults/loader.conf
.Pq see below ;
on a stock system
.Pa /boot/device.hints ,
.Pa /boot/loader.conf ,
each
.Pa *.conf
in
.Pa /boot/loader.conf.d ,
then
.Pa /boot/loader.conf.local
.Pq see Xr loader.conf 5 ;
.It Dv BSDCONF_FORMAT_SYSCTL
.Pa /etc/sysctl.conf ,
.Pa /etc/sysctl.conf.local ,
then
.Pa /etc/sysctl.kld.d/<module>.conf
.Pq see Xr sysctl.conf 5 ;
.It Dv BSDCONF_FORMAT_MAKE
.Pa /etc/make.conf
alone;
.It Dv BSDCONF_FORMAT_SRC
.Pa /etc/src-env.conf ,
.Pa /etc/make.conf ,
then
.Pa /etc/src.conf
.Pq the /usr/src build triad; see Xr src.conf 5 ;
new writes prefer
.Pa src.conf .
.El
.Pp
A format whose backing files are themselves configuration data describes
that machinery with the descriptor's
.Va defaults
member quintet rather than a static list alone.
The boot loader hardcodes only
.Pa /boot/defaults/loader.conf
and discovers every other file from the
.Va loader_conf_files ,
.Va loader_conf_dirs ,
and
.Va local_loader_conf_files
directives it encounters along the way
.Pq see Xr loader.conf 5 ,
and
.Dv BSDCONF_FORMAT_LOADER
names that defaults file and those three directives so that
.Fn bsdconf_format_files
matches that discovery:
the defaults file is read,
.Va loader_conf_files
is chased
.Po
re-read after every file, as the loader does when a file queues
additional names
.Pc ,
and the drop-in directories and local files named by the final
.Va loader_conf_dirs
and
.Va local_loader_conf_files
values are appended
.Pq the loader likewise applies those only after the file-list walk .
The defaults file itself is deliberately excluded from the resolved list,
mirroring how
.Xr sysrc 8
excludes
.Pa /etc/defaults/rc.conf ;
the static
.Va sources
list serves as the fallback when the defaults file is missing.
.Pp
.Fn bsdconf_format_files
resolves the backing files of
.Fa format
into a newly allocated array of paths stored through
.Fa filesp
.Pq with the count stored through Fa nfilesp ,
each prefixed with
.Fa rootdir
unless NULL or empty.
When
.Fa defaults
is non-NULL,
it overrides the descriptor's defaults file for discovery and is used
verbatim
.Po
not prefixed with
.Fa rootdir ;
it is ignored for formats without one
.Pc .
When
.Fa write_idxp
is non-NULL,
the index of the file recommended for directives found in no file at all
is stored through it:
the format's default write path,
or the last regular
.Pq non-drop-in, non-local
configuration file when discovery is in play.
Sources of type
.Dv BSDCONF_SOURCE_FILE
.Pq and files named by a file-list directive
are always listed,
whether or not the file exists;
directory sources contribute only the entries present on disk
.Pq sorted ;
module sources contribute
.Ql <module>.conf
only when
.Fa module
is non-NULL.
The caller releases the result with
.Fn bsdconf_format_files_free .
.Pp
The formats also differ in quoting on output,
each honoring the full syntax its consumer accepts:
.Xr loader.conf 5
values are always written quoted
.Pq quoted or unquoted input is accepted when parsing
and no whitespace is permitted around the equals sign,
as demanded by the boot loader's reader;
.Xr sysctl.conf 5
follows the file parser of
.Xr sysctl 8 ,
which trims whitespace around the equals sign and strips one pair of quotes
around the value,
so values are written unquoted unless quoting is required
.Pq embedded whitespace or a comment character ;
.Pa make.conf
follows
.Xr make 1
syntax where values are never quoted
.Pq the value runs to the end of the line
and assignment modifiers such as
.Ql +=
are recognized.
The
.Dv BSDCONF_FORMAT_SRC
triad
.Po
.Pa src-env.conf ,
.Pa make.conf ,
.Pa src.conf
.Pc
shares that
.Pa make.conf
syntax exactly
.Pq all three are read by Xr make 1 when building /usr/src ,
including the empty value,
which for
.Pa src.conf
is the idiom for the value-less
.Ql WITH_*
and
.Ql WITHOUT_*
build knobs.
.Pp
.Fn bsdconf_format_find
maps a target keyword
.Pq e.g., Dq loader
to its format.
.Fn bsdconf_format_guess
guesses the format of an arbitrary file from the basename of
.Fa path ,
matching
.Ql <keyword>.conf
with an optional trailing suffix
.Pq e.g., Pa /etc/sysctl.conf.local .
The guess is advisory and offered for consumers that opt into it
.Pq an interactive picker suggesting a default, for example ;
where a wrong format silently misformats a file,
as when writing,
the caller should require the format to be stated explicitly instead,
as
.Xr sysconf 8
does with its
.Ar target
keyword.
.Fn bsdconf_format_lookup
returns the format descriptor for a format handle.
.Fn bsdconf_format_path ,
.Fn bsdconf_format_processing ,
and
.Fn bsdconf_format_put
return the default file path and the two option bitmasks,
respectively.
.Sh ADDING FORMATS
Before adding a format,
consider whether one is needed at all:
the parser hands each statement's raw directive and value to the caller's
callbacks and imposes no semantics of its own,
so a file whose directives mean something unusual
.Po
cumulative directives that legitimately repeat,
for example,
which a
.Fn parse
callback accumulates rather than overwrites;
see
.Xr bsdconf 3
.Pc
is read with the stock engine and bespoke callbacks;
no format descriptor,
flag,
or engine change is required.
A format descriptor parameterizes only tokenization and writing;
reach for one when a file needs a
.Xr sysconf 8
target keyword,
a source list,
or distinct quoting on output.
Rewriting files built from cumulative directives,
where a change is additive rather than a replacement,
is only partly covered by
.Va match_line
selection in
.Xr bsdconf_put 3 ;
higher-level additive policy remains the caller's concern
.Pq see that page's Sx LIMITATIONS .
.Pp
Beyond callbacks,
the format descriptor is the entire definition of a format;
no format has private parsing or writing code.
Support for a new configuration file format is therefore a data problem,
approached one of two ways.
.Pp
An application whose format is mostly like an existing one bolts it on at
runtime without duplicating any logic
.Pq see Sx EXAMPLES :
.Fn bsdconf_format_derive
copies the format descriptor of the nearest
.Fa base
format into
.Fa def ,
the caller adjusts only the members that differ
.Pq typically the keyword, the paths, and one or two bitmask flags ,
and
.Fn bsdconf_format_register
registers the result and returns a new format handle through
.Fa format .
The format descriptor is copied by value but the strings and arrays it
references
.Po
.Va keyword ,
.Va path ,
.Va sources ,
and the
.Va defaults
member quintet
.Pc
are not;
they must remain valid for the life of the registration.
Registered formats participate in keyword and basename resolution exactly
like built-ins,
including target resolution in
.Xr sysconf 8 Ns -style
consumers.
Registration is intended to occur during program initialization and is not
thread-safe.
.Pp
Within the library,
each built-in format is a self-contained translation unit
.Pa ( bsdconf_format_<keyword>.c )
that documents the format's syntax rules,
cites the authority for them
.Pq the consumer whose reader defines what is legal ,
and defines its format descriptor,
including its ordered source list.
Promoting a format into the library therefore touches no existing parsing
or writing code:
a new file of the same shape is dropped in,
its descriptor is declared alongside its siblings,
one
.Dv BSDCONF_FORMAT_*
constant is appended to
.Vt enum bsdconf_format ,
one pointer is appended to the registry table,
the file is listed in the Makefile,
and this manual's
.Sx DESCRIPTION
section grows one row and one quoting note.
The keyword becomes a
.Xr sysconf 8
target automatically.
.Pp
Many formats need no new engine capability at all.
Formats whose statements are a space-separated directive and value with no
equals sign
.Pq the Apache-style directive files the ancestral parser was raised on
parse today:
with
.Dv BSDCONF_BREAK_ON_EQUALS
omitted,
the first whitespace-delimited token is the directive and the remainder of
the line is the raw value
.Po which a
.Fn parse
callback may split further by its own rules
.Pc ,
and directive matching is case insensitive unless
.Dv BSDCONF_CASE_SENSITIVE
is set.
Likewise
.Dv BSDCONF_BREAK_ON_SEMICOLON
already covers formats that terminate or chain statements with a
semicolon.
.Pp
A candidate format whose syntax the existing option flags cannot express
.Pq brace-grouped statement blocks being the canonical example
is handled by teaching the shared engine
.Pq the scanners in the parsing and writing cores
one new
.Va processing
or
.Va put
flag that the new format's descriptor is the first to set.
The capability lands once,
composes with every existing flag,
and becomes available to every other format
.Pq built-in, derived, or registered
rather than living in a private parser;
the new format itself remains nothing more than a format descriptor in its
own translation unit.
.Sh RETURN VALUES
.Fn bsdconf_format_derive
and
.Fn bsdconf_format_register
return zero on success;
otherwise -1 with
.Va errno
set to
.Er EINVAL
or
.Er ENOSPC .
.Fn bsdconf_format_find
returns zero on success;
otherwise -1.
.Fn bsdconf_format_files
returns zero on success;
otherwise -1 with
.Va errno
set to indicate the error
.Pq Er EINVAL for a format with no backing files .
.Sh EXAMPLES
Bolt on a new format at runtime by deriving from the built-in it most
resembles,
then set a directive in its file with full resilient write semantics:
.Bd -literal -offset indent
struct bsdconf_format_def def;
enum bsdconf_format myfmt;
struct bsdconf_option set[] = {
	{ .type = BSDCONF_TYPE_STR, .directive = "loglevel",
	  .value = { .str = "debug" },
	  .action = BSDCONF_ACTION_SET_VALUE },
	{ .directive = NULL }
};

if (bsdconf_format_derive(BSDCONF_FORMAT_SYSCTL, &def) != 0)
	err(1, "bsdconf_format_derive");
def.keyword = "myapp";
def.path = "/usr/local/etc/myapp.conf";
def.sources = NULL;	/* one file; path is the sole source */
if (bsdconf_format_register(&def, &myfmt) != 0)
	err(1, "bsdconf_format_register");

if (bsdconf_put(set, bsdconf_format_path(myfmt),
    bsdconf_format_processing(myfmt),
    bsdconf_format_put(myfmt)) != 0)
	err(1, "%s", bsdconf_format_path(myfmt));
.Ed
.Pp
Promoting such a format into the library itself
.Pq a compiled-in sibling of the built-ins
is the same data expressed as a translation unit;
see
.Sx ADDING FORMATS .
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr bsdconf 3 ,
.Xr bsdconf_put 3 ,
.Xr loader.conf 5 ,
.Xr src.conf 5 ,
.Xr sysctl.conf 5 ,
.Xr sysconf 8
.Sh HISTORY
The format descriptor interface first appeared in
.Fx 16.0
as part of
.Xr bsdconf 3 .
.Sh AUTHORS
.An Devin Teske Aq Mt dteske@FreeBSD.org
.An Faraz Vahedi Aq Mt kfv@FreeBSD.org