Nickel configuration language
Ranked 6 of 9 configuration languages by recommenders
A typed configuration language that people find a clear improvement over XML-based alternatives, with sophisticated typing and transformation features.
A typed configuration language that people find a clear improvement over XML-based alternatives, with sophisticated typing and transformation features.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, 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
Seen as a good, interesting language
“nickel as language seems good alternative for nix btw.”
Comment from 21 Oct 2026 in “NixOS is making me less afraid” “I think it's a really interesting language.”
Comment from 22 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
6 of the 8 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“nickel as language seems good alternative for nix btw.”
“Personally I prefer Calibre + Nickel over KOReader on Kobo devices”
“I think it's a really interesting language.”
“Nickel, the stock firmware on Kobo, is pretty decent.”
“Compared to bespoke languages built on top of XML, it's an improvement in every way conceivable.”
“It has very sophisticated typing and transformation features. Highly recommended!”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.