Pkl by Apple
Shares rank 8 of 9 configuration languages by recommenders
Recommended as a configuration language with programming-language features and a big step up from Helm, used internally at Apple for years. Critics note weaker adoption.
Recommended as a configuration language with programming-language features and a big step up from Helm, used internally at Apple for years. Critics note weaker adoption.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 83%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not 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
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 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
Used for real configuration work
“I use PKL for most of my configuration needs these days.”
Comment from 29 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: Externalized Properties, a modern Java configuration library” “after several years of using it internally at Apple”
Comment from 18 Oct 2026 in “A skeptic's first contact with Kubernetes (2024)”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Weaker adoption than alternatives
“would _still_ have better adoption if it was written in something else”
Comment from 31 Dec 2025 in “2026: The Year of Java in the Terminal”
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
All 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“after several years of using it internally at Apple”
“which look to solve these problems with a simple "configuration language"”
“I use PKL for most of my configuration needs these days.”
“would _still_ have better adoption if it was written in something else”
“just add features such as Pkl's extends keyword, moving us further round the complexity clock”
“looking like full-blown programming languages is a feature”
“as far as I've used it so far it's a pretty huge improvement over helm”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.