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Idle does not check user config for extention configuration #89520
Description
| BPO | 45357 |
|---|---|
| Nosy | @terryjreedy, @taleinat, @CoolCat467 |
| PRs |
Note: these values reflect the state of the issue at the time it was migrated and might not reflect the current state.
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GitHub fields:
assignee = 'https://github.com/terryjreedy'
closed_at = None
created_at = <Date 2021-10-03.21:42:22.903>
labels = ['expert-IDLE', 'type-feature', '3.11']
title = 'Idle does not check user config for extention configuration'
updated_at = <Date 2021-11-10.23:59:10.553>
user = 'https://github.com/CoolCat467'bugs.python.org fields:
activity = <Date 2021-11-10.23:59:10.553>
actor = 'CoolCat467'
assignee = 'terry.reedy'
closed = False
closed_date = None
closer = None
components = ['IDLE']
creation = <Date 2021-10-03.21:42:22.903>
creator = 'CoolCat467'
dependencies = []
files = []
hgrepos = []
issue_num = 45357
keywords = ['patch']
message_count = 5.0
messages = ['403112', '403457', '403483', '403487', '406140']
nosy_count = 3.0
nosy_names = ['terry.reedy', 'taleinat', 'CoolCat467']
pr_nums = ['28713']
priority = 'normal'
resolution = None
stage = 'test needed'
status = 'open'
superseder = None
type = 'enhancement'
url = 'https://bugs.python.org/issue45357'
versions = ['Python 3.11']Linked PRs
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CoolCat467 commentedon Oct 3, 2021
I was trying to write an extension for Idle, and was noticing extension keys defined in ~/.idlerc weren't being used, so I looked into it and found that in idlelib.config.idleConf,
GetExtensionKeys,__GetRawExtensionKeys, andGetKeyBindingwould never check for user keys, always assuming default keys have everything. This is not always true. In a system with multiple users, you would not want to modify the default config file for a custom extension, as that is used for everyone.terryjreedy commentedon Oct 8, 2021
I am puzzled by your report. As explained in the top of idlelib/confix-extensions.def, the options for four features are still defined there for compatibility reasons and user changes to those option *are* stored in ~/.idlerc/config-extensions.cfg and read on startup. At least on Windows with 3.9 and 3.11. I also tested changing options for test extension zzdummy and that works also. For instance, click enable, exit dialog, exit IDLE, reload, edit something, select Format, and the z options are listed. The default config is not changed. What tests did you run?
CoolCat467 commentedon Oct 8, 2021
Yes, changing settings on ZzDummy works correctly, but this is because an entry for it exists in the default config file. The problem is when if you attempt to add a new extension through the user config file. When IDLE is looking for extensions to load, it only checks the default config file, not the user config file. So if I add a new extension entry to my ~/.idlerc/config-extensions.cfg file, "[lintcheck]\nenable = True", and have a module installed on my system called "lintcheck", with a class named "lintcheck". Because IDLE is only looking in the default config file for extensions to load, it never finds lintcheck and therefore it is never loaded. On the contrary, if it were in the system default config file, IDLE would find it and "lintcheck" would be loaded.
terryjreedy commentedon Oct 8, 2021
The current configuration design is that user .idlerc config-x.cfg files contain changes from the idlelib config-x.def files. A proposal to change this is an enhancement request rather than a bugfix request. It will make the logic more complex, increase maintenance burden, and likely make changes to the configuration system harder.
If Python is installed for one user, any changes to config-extensions.def only apply to that one user, just as with additions to site-packages. If Python is installed for all users, why shouldn't extensions be available to all, just as with additions to site-packages? Assuming that extensions are by default not enabled, users will have to explicitly enable them, just as they have to explicitly import added packages.
On a system with non-admin users, such as in a classroom, I can imagine that the admin user(s) might not want non-admin users to be able to modify IDLE behavior. I am reluctant to open this can of worms and would not do so by myself.
18 remaining items
pythongh-89520: IDLE - Wrap long lines in zzdummy test files
pythongh-89520: IDLE - Preserve public API parameter names in config.py
pythongh-89520: IDLE - Preserve public API parameter names in config.py
gh-89520: Load extension settings and keybindings from user config (G…
gpshead commentedon Apr 12, 2026
cleaned up and merged, thanks!
pythongh-89520: Load extension settings and keybindings from user con…
[3.14] gh-89520: Load extension settings and keybindings from user co…
[3.13] gh-89520: Load extension settings and keybindings from user co…
Revert test changes from "pythongh-89520: Load extension settings and…