Table: ini_key_value - Query Config INI Key Values using SQL

INI Key Values in Config are key-value pairs in INI configuration files. These are used to store configuration settings in a structured format that is easy to read and write. These key-value pairs can be used to configure the behavior of software applications, libraries, and drivers.

Table Usage Guide

The ini_key_value table provides insights into key-value pairs in INI configuration files within Config. As a DevOps engineer, explore key-value pair details through this table, including keys, values, and associated metadata. Utilize it to uncover information about configuration settings, such as those for software applications, libraries, and drivers.

This table will retrieve all key-value pairs from each file mentioned above, along with section names and comments, which you can then query directly:

select
  path,
  section,
  key,
  value,
  comment
from
  ini_key_value;

+----------------------------+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------+---------------------+
| path                       | section         | key                   | value               | comment             |
+----------------------------+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------+---------------------+
| /Users/myuser/defaults.ini | security        | admin_user            | admin               |                     |
| /Users/myuser/defaults.ini | DEFAULT         | instance_name         | my-instance         | # default section   |
| /Users/myuser/defaults.ini | auth.google     | client_secret         | 0ldS3cretKey        |                     |
| /Users/myuser/defaults.ini | plugin.grafana. | ignore_https_errors   | true                |                     |
| /Users/myuser/defaults.ini | analytics       | check_for_updates     | false               |                     |
| /Users/myuser/sample.ini   | DEFAULT         | app_mode              | development         |                     |
| /Users/myuser/sample.ini   | paths           | data                  | /home/git/grafana   |                     |
| /Users/myuser/sample.ini   | profile testing | aws_access_key_id     | foo                 |                     |
| /Users/myuser/sample.ini   | profile testing | aws_secret_access_key | bar                 |                     |
| /Users/myuser/sample.ini   | server          | enforce_domain        | true                |                     |
| /Users/myuser/sample.ini   | server          | host                  | http://localhost:99 | # Update host later |
| /Users/myuser/sample.ini   | server          | http_port             | 9999                |                     |
| /Users/myuser/sample.ini   | server          | protocol              | http                |                     |
+----------------------------+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------+---------------------+

or, you can query configurations of a particular file using:

select
  section,
  key,
  value,
  comment
from
  ini_key_value
where
  path = '/Users/myuser/defaults.ini';

+----------------------------+----------------+---------------------+--------------+-------------------+
| path                       | section        | key                 | value        | comment           |
+----------------------------+----------------+---------------------+--------------+-------------------+
| /Users/myuser/defaults.ini | security       | admin_user          | admin        |                   |
| /Users/myuser/defaults.ini | DEFAULT        | instance_name       | my-instance  | # default section |
| /Users/myuser/defaults.ini | auth.google    | client_secret       | 0ldS3cretKey |                   |
| /Users/myuser/defaults.ini | plugin.grafana | ignore_https_errors | true         |                   |
| /Users/myuser/defaults.ini | analytics      | check_for_updates   | false        |                   |
+----------------------------+----------------+---------------------+--------------+-------------------+

Examples

Query a simple file

This query allows you to explore the contents of a specific configuration file, which can help you understand and manage your application's settings. For instance, you might use this query to determine if certain security or analytics settings are configured as expected. Given the file defaults.ini with following configuration:

# default section
instance_name = my-instance

[security]
admin_user = admin

[auth.google]
client_secret = 0ldS3cretKey

[plugin.grafana]
ignore_https_errors = true

[analytics]
check_for_updates = false

and the query is:

select
  section,
  key,
  value
from
  ini_key_value
where
  path = '/Users/myuser/defaults.ini';

select
  section,
  key,
  value
from
  ini_key_value
where
  path = '/Users/myuser/defaults.ini';

+----------------+---------------------+--------------+
| section        | key                 | value        |
+----------------+---------------------+--------------+
| security       | admin_user          | admin        |
| DEFAULT        | instance_name       | my-instance  |
| auth.google    | client_secret       | 0ldS3cretKey |
| plugin.grafana | ignore_https_errors | true         |
| analytics      | check_for_updates   | false        |
+----------------+---------------------+--------------+

or, you can check the value for a particular key:

select
  section,
  key,
  value
from
  ini_key_value
where
  path = '/Users/myuser/defaults.ini'
  and section = 'analytics'
  and key = 'check_for_updates';

select
  section,
  key,
  value
from
  ini_key_value
where
  path = '/Users/myuser/defaults.ini'
  and section = 'analytics'
  and key = 'check_for_updates';

+-----------+-------------------+-------+
| section   | key               | value |
+-----------+-------------------+-------+
| analytics | check_for_updates | false |
+-----------+-------------------+-------+

Casting column data for analysis

Determine the areas in which automatic updates for analytics are disabled. This is useful to ensure that all analytics tools are up-to-date and running the latest versions. Text columns can be easily cast to other types:

select
  section,
  key,
  value :: bool
from
  ini_key_value
where
  path = '/Users/myuser/defaults.ini'
  and section = 'analytics'
  and key = 'check_for_updates'
  and not value :: bool;

select
  section,
  key,
  value in ('t', 'true', '1')
from
  ini_key_value
where
  path = '/Users/myuser/defaults.ini'
  and section = 'analytics'
  and key = 'check_for_updates'
  and not value in ('t', 'true', '1');

+-----------+-------------------+-------+
| section   | key               | value |
+-----------+-------------------+-------+
| analytics | check_for_updates | false |
+-----------+-------------------+-------+

Query a file with value interpolation

Determine the specific settings and configurations within a file to gain insights into its structure and content. This can be useful for understanding how a system or application is configured and identifying any potential issues or areas for improvement. Given the file defaults.ini with following configuration:

# default section
instance_name = ${HOSTNAME}

[security]
admin_user = admin

[auth.google]
client_secret = 0ldS3cretKey

[database]
port = 8080
url = http://localhost:%(port)s/

[plugin.grafana]
ignore_https_errors = true

and the environment variable HOSTNAME is set:

export HOSTNAME=my-instance

In the above INI file, the value for instance_name refers to an environment variable ${HOSTNAME} and url refers to other another value in the same section.

When querying values, the table will store the interpolated values, e.g., ${HOSTNAME} will be stored as my-instance.

select
  key,
  value
from
  ini_key_value
where
  path = '/Users/myuser/defaults.ini';

select
  key,
  value
from
  ini_key_value
where
  path = '/Users/myuser/defaults.ini';

+----------------+---------------------+------------------------+
| section        | key                 | value                  |
+----------------+---------------------+------------------------+
| plugin.grafana | ignore_https_errors | true                   |
| database       | port                | 8080                   |
| DEFAULT        | instance_name       | my-instance            |
| analytics      | check_for_updates   | false                  |
| auth.google    | client_secret       | 0ldS3cretKey           |
| security       | admin_user          | admin                  |
| database       | url                 | http://localhost:8080/ |
+----------------+---------------------+------------------------+

Schema for ini_key_value

Name	Type	Operators	Description
_ctx	jsonb		Steampipe context in JSON form.
comment	text		The short notes used to describe the key.
key	text		The name of the key.
path	text	=	Specifies the path of the INI file.
section	text		Specifies the name of the section.
sp_connection_name	text	=, !=, ~~, ~~, !~~, !~~	Steampipe connection name.
sp_ctx	jsonb		Steampipe context in JSON form.
value	text		The value of corresponding key.

Export

This table is available as a standalone Exporter CLI. Steampipe exporters are stand-alone binaries that allow you to extract data using Steampipe plugins without a database.

You can download the tarball for your platform from the Releases page, but it is simplest to install them with the steampipe_export_installer.sh script:

/bin/sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://steampipe.io/install/export.sh)" -- config

You can pass the configuration to the command with the --config argument:

steampipe_export_config --config '<your_config>' ini_key_value