Augeas - a configuration API

Augeas is a configuration editing tool. It parses configuration files in their native formats and transforms them into a tree. Configuration changes are made by manipulating this tree and saving it back into native config files.

Augeas is: An API provided by a C library

A command line tool to manipulate configuration from the shell (and shell scripts)

Language bindings to do the same from your favorite scripting language

Canonical tree representations of common configuration files

A domain-specific language to describe configuration file formats