# benhoyt/inih

Simple .INI file parser in C, good for embedded systems

Repository: https://github.com/benhoyt/inih
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/inih
Language: C++
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: ini, parser, configparser, embedded-systems, c
Last push: 2026-01-30T22:29:05+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 62/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 65, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4192, "days_push": 215, "days_rel": 356, "gap_med": 48, "n_releases_24m": 4}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3037, forks 571 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:39.143145+00:00)

## What it is
inih (INI Not Invented Here) is a small, simple .INI file parser written in C, designed to be just a couple pages of code. It parses INI files in a SAX-style callback manner, making it well-suited for low-memory embedded systems and compatible with Python's ConfigParser style.

## Use cases
- parse INI config files in a C program
- read configuration files on an embedded microcontroller
- parse INI files compatible with Python ConfigParser
- parse INI data from a string or custom stream
- handle multi-line and inline-comment INI syntax in C
- add lightweight config file support to a C library

## When to choose
- you need a tiny, dependency-free INI parser in C or C++
- you're targeting embedded or low-memory systems
- you want ConfigParser-style INI syntax with compile-time configurability
- you prefer a simple callback-based (SAX-style) parsing API

## When to avoid
- you need a full-featured configuration format like TOML or YAML
- you want a tree/DOM-style parsed config object rather than callbacks
- you need type conversion, validation, or schema support built in
- you're working in a higher-level language with native config parsing

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: parser, configuration-management, developer-tools
- domain: parsers, embedded-systems, developer-tools, files
- platform: c, cpp, embedded, cross-platform
- tags: ini-parser, configparser, embedded-friendly, single-file-library, sax-style, linux

## Member repositories
- benhoyt/inih (main) score 62

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:39.143145+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T07:29:17.400151+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/benhoyt/inih (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:39.143145+00:00, sha b78faed7dc73)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.