SYNX — Active Data Format

The Problem

Every data format forces you to write noise:

{
  "server": {
    "host": "0.0.0.0",
    "port": 8080,
    "ssl_enabled": false
  }
}

Quotes. Commas. Braces. Colons. 40+ characters of pure syntax junk.

The Solution

server
  host 0.0.0.0
  port 8080
  ssl_enabled false

Same data. Zero junk. Your code reads it just like JSON:

const Synx = require('@aperturesyndicate/synx');
const data = Synx.loadSync('config.synx');
console.log(data.server.port); // 8080

from synx import Synx
data = Synx.load('config.synx')
print(data['server']['port'])  # 8080

Why SYNX?

!active Mode

!active

port:env:default:8080 PORT
boss_hp:calc base_hp * 5
greeting:random
  - Welcome!
  - Let's go!
  - Game on!

loot:random 70 20 10
  - common
  - rare
  - legendary

No extra libraries. No custom code. The format handles it.

Performance

How do data formats compare in real-world usage?

• JSON — fastest parsing (native V8/CPython), but heaviest syntax
• YAML — human-friendly, but complex rules and slowest parsing
• TOML — clean for flat configs, but verbose with nesting
• SYNX — near-JSON speed, 60% fewer tokens, built-in logic with !active

Packages

Basic Syntax (always works)

Key–Value Pairs

Everything after the first space is the value. No quotes.

name John
age 25
phrase I love programming and coffee!

Nesting

2 spaces of indent = nested object.

server
  host 0.0.0.0
  port 8080
  ssl
    enabled true
    cert /etc/ssl/cert.pem

Lists

inventory
  - Sword
  - Shield
  - Health Potion

Lists of Objects

garage
  - make BMW
    color black
    year 2023
  - make Audi
    color white
    year 2021

Multiline Text

description |
  This is a long description
  that spans multiple lines.

Comments

# Python/YAML style comment
// JS/C++ style comment
name John  # Inline comment

Type Casting

Force a specific type for any value with (type) right after the key name:

zip_code(string) 90210
id(int) 007
ratio(float) 3.0
enabled(bool) true

Without casting, 90210 would auto-detect as a number. With (string) it stays a string. Without casting, 007 would become 7. With (int) it keeps the numeric parse but stays explicit.

Supported types: (int), (float), (bool), (string)

The (type) annotation is highlighted in the editor — key name, type cast, and value each get a distinct color so you can instantly see what's what.

!active Functions

Functions only work when !active is the first line of the file.

:random — Random Selection

!active
greeting:random
  - Hello!
  - Welcome!
  - Hey there!

:random — Weighted

!active
loot:random 70 20 10
  - common
  - rare
  - legendary

:calc — Arithmetic

!active
price 100
tax:calc price * 0.2
total:calc price + tax

Operations: +, -, *, /, %, (, ). No eval() — safe.

:env — Environment Variables

!active
port:env PORT
port:env:default:8080 PORT

:alias — Key Reference

!active
admin_email alex@example.com
support_email:alias admin_email

:secret — Hidden Value

!active
api_key:secret sk-1234567890

Shows [SECRET] in logs/serialization, real value in code.

:unique — Deduplicate List

!active
tags:unique
  - action
  - rpg
  - action

Result: ["action", "rpg"]

:include — Include File

!active
database:include ./db.synx

:default — Fallback Value

!active
theme:default dark

:geo — Value by Region

!active
currency:geo
  - US USD
  - EU EUR
  - GB GBP

:template — String Interpolation

!active
first_name John
last_name Doe
greeting:template Hello, {first_name} {last_name}!

Supports dot-path references: {server.host}

:split — Split String into Array

!active
colors:split red, green, blue
words:split:space hello world foo

Default delimiter: comma. Keywords: space, pipe, dash, dot, semi, tab

:join — Join Array into String

!active
tags:join
  - action
  - rpg
  - adventure

Default delimiter: comma. Same keywords as :split

!active Constraints

[min:N] / [max:N] — Min/Max

!active
app_name[min:3, max:30] TotalWario
volume[min:1, max:100] 75

[required] — Required Field

!active
api_key[required]:env API_KEY

[type:X] — Type Enforcement

!active
max_players[type:int] 16

[enum:a|b|c] — Allowed Values

!active
theme[enum:light|dark|auto] dark

[pattern:regex] — Regex Validation

!active
country_code[pattern:^[A-Z]{2}$] US

[readonly] — Read Only

!active
version[readonly] 2.0.0

Combining Constraints

!active
password[required, min:8, max:64, type:string] MyP@ssw0rd

Functions Summary

Constraints Summary

Quick Reference

KEY VALUE                        → simple pair
key                              → empty object (group)
  nested_key value               → nesting (2 spaces)
key |                            → multiline text block
list                             → list
  - item
# comment                       → comment
// comment                      → comment

─── Only with !active ──────────────────────
key:random                       → random item
key:random 70 20 10              → weighted random
key:calc A * B                   → arithmetic
key:env VAR                      → env variable
key:env:default:X VAR            → env + fallback
key:alias other_key              → key reference
key:secret value                 → hidden value
key:unique                       → deduplicate list
key:include ./file.synx          → include file
key:template Hello, {name}!      → string interpolation
key:split red, green, blue       → split string → array
key:join                         → join array → string
key[min:N, max:N]                → min/max
key[type:int]                    → type
key[required]                    → required
key[enum:a|b|c]                  → allowed values
key[pattern:regex]               → regex
key[readonly]                    → read only