KDL
Ranked 7 of 9 configuration languages by recommenders
A small, readable document and configuration language with XML-like node semantics. People praise its explicit, uniform syntax and easy schema definition. One critic calls it niche.
A small, readable document and configuration language with XML-like node semantics. People praise its explicit, uniform syntax and easy schema definition. One critic calls it niche.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 88%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Small, readable syntax with little noise
“KDL is a small, pleasant document language with XML-like node semantics”
Comment from 29 Apr 2026 in “KDL – serialization format and a configuration language, like JSON, YAML, or XML” “it reads like code and you can easily define a schema too”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “DSLs Enable Reliable Use of LLMs” “the current one got rid of this quotation noise”
Comment from 21 Jul 2026 in “Hyprland 0.55 announced the switch to Lua for its config files”
Other configuration languages people recommend
The four most recommended other configuration languages, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 9 configuration languages, rankedWhat people said
7 of the 8 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It is picky, but picky is good. It's explicit which creates uniformity.”
“the current one got rid of this quotation noise”
“Example from kdl website without quotes”
“it's honestly pretty niche”
“it reads like code and you can easily define a schema too”
“lesser appreciated new open source tools”
“KDL is a small, pleasant document language with XML-like node semantics”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.