derivepassphrase wish pretty-print-json

Wish details: derivepassphrase vault should store and export the vault configuration in pretty-printed JSON

Class	wish	This is a request for an enhancement.
Present-in	0.1.0 0.1.1 0.1.2 0.2.0 0.3.0 0.3.1 0.3.2 0.3.3 0.4.0
Fixed-in	b05668d5614d47158c8f8f0ef5145775d5ee40d8 (0.5)

derivepassphrase vault stores and exports the vault configuration using the Python standard library’s json module, with default settings. This leads to very terse output in the configuration, particularly if it stores notes or SSH key references. This terse notation, as reported to me by a certain non-Github user, becomes an unnecessary obstacle when debugging the configuration or looking up information in it.

I agree with this assessment when it comes to exports of the vault configuration, because this is an expression of the transparency of the system. I do not agree for the stored vault configuration, which is a data file and which should not be touched by the user: that it uses the same JSON format as the export does is an implementation detail. However, as a stopgap measure until better built-in configuration querying capabilities are available, this request is reasonable.

Therefore, pretty-print the vault configuration in both exports and in the stored configuration files. The latter may be retired at a later date if replaced by better querying capabilities.