Allow for the config file to have a file extension

[thernstig]

It would be nice if the file placed at .config/bat/config allowed for a file extension. This helps editors to automatically syntax highlight the contents, such as VS Code.

I assume the language of the file is ini?

[keith-hall]

bat uses the bash syntax to highlight it's own config file.
You can use whatever file extension you like, just set the BAT_CONFIG_PATH env var as outlined at https://github.com/sharkdp/bat?tab=readme-ov-file#configuration-file

[thernstig]

@keith-hall understood, but it would make sense to add a file extension to indicate what file format it is? It is quite common for a plethora of other tools that use XDG_CONFIG_HOME/something/someconfig.ext, such as chezmoi, eza, uv etc.

The benefit is immediate recognition of the format without having to set any extra BAT_CONFIG_PATH. In addition it is possible XDG_CONFIG_HOME differs between machines in worst case, meaning you'd have to do an extra BAT_CONFIG_PATH per machine.

I think it makes far more sense to use a default extension.

Aside: Is the file format bash correct? E.g. ShellCheck complains if trying that:

[keith-hall]

Well the bat config format is really just arguments to the bat executable, so having bat at the beginning is kinda implied, so I can see why ShellCheck would complain. Especially as there's no need for line continuation characters either. But that perhaps also explains why it doesn't have an extension by default. It isn't really a bash script which can be executed directly.
If we did settle on a default extension, I imagine seamless backwards compatibility with existing extensionless config files could be hard or confusing to achieve...

[thernstig]

@keith-hall isn't the config though really adhering to the ini format? Or at least, a subset of it. Using ini in e.g. VS Code makes everything look nicely for the settings I have tried. Though I guess "it almost looks like ini" might not be a valid reason to set the default to ini.

Maybe using .toml would be a nice option for you to consider? If there is a file called bat.toml you would parse it as TOML? 🙂