Quick Start

The minimal closed loop: init → scan → baseline → diff. Copy-paste friendly.

1. Install and initialize

pip install cfgdrift
cfgdrift init

This initializes the SQLite database (default ~/.cfgdrift/cfgdrift.db; override with CFGDRIFT_HOME or the global --store PATH option).

2. Scan and save a baseline

cfgdrift scan ./config --save-as-baseline prod

Scans a file or a whole directory, records history, and stores the snapshot as baseline prod. Directory scans recognize .json / .yaml|.yml / .toml / .ini|.cfg|.conf by extension; unknown extensions are skipped with a warning. For a single file with an unknown extension, pass an explicit --format.

3. Introduce a change, then diff

# ... edit your config ...
cfgdrift diff ./config --baseline prod          # exit code 1 = drift detected

The diff report lists each drift item with severity, key path, change type, and file:line location. CRITICAL/WARN items also carry a [hint] block (expected value + rollback command + provenance). Exit codes: 0 = no drift, 1 = drift detected, 2 = error.

4. (Optional) Open the Web dashboard

pip install "cfgdrift[web]"
cfgdrift serve                               # open http://127.0.0.1:8080

What's next?

• CLI Reference — every command in detail
• Consistency Constraints — range / enum / conditional_required / correlation / mutual_exclusion
• Gallery — three runnable end-to-end demos