shyaml

library0.6.2pypypi✓ verified 22d ago

The original `shyaml` Python library (v0.6.2) is a command-line tool designed for reading and querying YAML files. It enables shell scripts to easily access YAML data using simple dot-notation paths. While it remains available on PyPI, this Python version is in a low-maintenance state with no new features planned. Active development has transitioned to `shyaml-rs`, a Rust rewrite that offers significant performance improvements and additional features like write capabilities, while maintaining command-line interface compatibility.

devops serialization

pip install shyaml

github ↗package ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · SHYAML

shyaml

devopspythonv0.6.2

Install

1.7s avg

Import

139ms

Disk

18MB

Pass rate

10/ 10

Env Coverage10 / 10

glibc

3.9–3.13

musl

3.9–3.13

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v0.6.2 · pip install

no network on importno background threads

Install × environment matrix

Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux

musl

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 0.0s · import 0.140s · 20MB

glibc

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 1.7s · import 0.138s · 21MB

18MB installed

● package 18MB

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

shyaml.do

✓ import shyaml # ... then call shyaml.do(stdin_stream, args)

The Python `shyaml` library is primarily intended as a command-line tool. While a Python API exists via `shyaml.do()`, its typical usage involves piping YAML data from standard input to the `shyaml` executable rather than direct Python imports for general-purpose YAML manipulation.

The primary use of `shyaml` is via the command line to extract values from YAML. It reads YAML from standard input and outputs the requested value to standard output. Paths are specified using dot notation.

cat <<EOF > config.yaml database: host: localhost port: 5432 credentials: username: admin password: ${DB_PASSWORD:-fallback_pass} EOF DB_PASSWORD="secure_pass" \ cat config.yaml | shyaml get-value database.credentials.password

shyaml --version

Debug

Known issues

gotchaThe Python `shyaml` library is in maintenance mode. `shyaml-rs`, a Rust rewrite, is the actively developed and recommended replacement. `shyaml-rs` is designed as a drop-in CLI replacement, offering 14-42x faster performance and new write capabilities (e.g., `set-value`, `del`, `apply`) not present in the Python version.

fix

Consider migrating to `shyaml-rs` for performance and new features. If you rely solely on CLI parsing, `shyaml-rs` should work seamlessly: `cargo install shyaml-rs` (if Rust is installed) or download a pre-built binary.

affects: All versions of Python shyaml

breakingHandling of missing paths changed significantly in version 0.3. Prior to 0.3, if a specified key was not found, `shyaml` would return an empty string by default. From version 0.3 onwards (inclusive), if a key is not found and no default value is explicitly provided as the third argument, `shyaml` will print an error message and exit.

fix

Always provide a default value as the third argument to `shyaml get-value` if the key might be missing and you don't want an error: `cat file.yaml | shyaml get-value some.path 'my_default_value'`

affects: < 0.3 vs. >= 0.3

breakingOrdered mappings behavior changed in version 0.4.0. Before 0.4.0, `shyaml` would alphabetically re-order keys in mappings. While YAML specification considers mappings unordered, this behavior could be unexpected for users. From version 0.4.0 onwards, `shyaml` preserves the order of keys in mappings.

fix

Ensure your scripts do not rely on a specific (or alphabetically sorted) order of keys if using older versions, or upgrade to 0.4.0+ if order preservation is critical. The current version (0.6.2) preserves order.

affects: < 0.4.0 vs. >= 0.4.0

gotchaBy default, `shyaml` outputs simple string or number values directly without YAML quotes for convenience. This means the output is not strictly valid YAML in all cases. If you need strict YAML output (e.g., for piping to another YAML processor), you must use the `--yaml` or `-y` option.

fix

Use `shyaml --yaml get-value ...` or `shyaml -y get-value ...` to ensure strict YAML output for all values.

affects: All versions

Errors

Common errors & fixes

shyaml: command not found

The `shyaml` command-line executable is not located in your system's PATH, typically due to an incomplete installation or the Python scripts directory not being added to PATH.

fix

Ensure `shyaml` is installed by running `pip install shyaml`. Verify your system's PATH environment variable includes the directory where pip installs scripts (e.g., `~/.local/bin` on Linux or `Scripts` in your Python installation directory).

shyaml: ERROR: Cannot find file "config.yaml"

The specified YAML file, `config.yaml`, does not exist at the given path, or `shyaml` does not have the necessary permissions to access it.

fix

Double-check the filename and its full or relative path. Confirm that `config.yaml` exists and that `shyaml` has read permissions for the file and its parent directories.

shyaml: ERROR: Cannot parse YAML file "data.yaml"

The YAML file, `data.yaml`, contains syntax errors (e.g., incorrect indentation, missing colons, or invalid structure) that prevent `shyaml` (which uses PyYAML) from parsing it successfully.

fix

Review `data.yaml` for any syntax issues. Use a YAML linter or validator to pinpoint and correct errors in the file's structure.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'shyaml'

The `shyaml` Python package is not installed in the currently active Python environment, or the Python interpreter is unable to locate it.

fix

Install the package by running `pip install shyaml` in your terminal. If you are using multiple Python environments, ensure the correct one is activated.

Upgrade

Version history

0.6.2latest on PyPI · released Dec 15, 2020

Audit

Dependencies

PyYAMLrequiredUsed for YAML parsing in the Python version.

Agent activity

10 hits · last 30 days

node

Resources

githubhttp://github.com/0k/shyaml ↗

packagehttps://pypi.org/project/shyaml/ ↗