Syntax Guide

Learn the complete Tauq syntax in 5 minutes. If you know JSON, you already know 80% of Tauq.

💡

The Core Idea

Tauq is JSON without the noise. No quotes around keys, no commas between values, no colons after keys. Just key value pairs separated by spaces or newlines.

JSON (47 characters)
{"name": "Alice", "age": 30, "active": true}
Tauq (27 characters)
name Alice age 30 active true

On This Page

01

Values & Types

Tauq automatically infers types from how you write values. No type annotations needed.

Strings

Barewords - no quotes needed for simple strings: 

name Alice
status active
role admin

Quoted - use quotes for spaces or special chars: 

greeting "Hello, World!"
path "/usr/local/bin"
email "alice@example.com"

Numbers

Integers and floats work exactly like JSON: 

age 28
price 99.99
count 1000000
temperature -40.5
scientific 6.022e23

Supports negative numbers, decimals, and scientific notation.

Booleans 

active true
deleted false
enabled true

Null 

metadata null
parent null
optional_field null

Type Inference at a Glance

You Write Tauq Type JSON Output
42 Integer 42
3.14 Float 3.14
true / false Boolean true / false
null Null null
hello String (bareword) "hello"
"hello world" String (quoted) "hello world"
02

Objects

Objects use curly braces { key value }. Key-value pairs are separated by spaces or newlines.

Tauq

database {
  host localhost
  port 5432
  name myapp_db
  credentials {
    username admin
    password secret123
  }
}

Equivalent JSON

{
  "database": {
    "host": "localhost",
    "port": 5432,
    "name": "myapp_db",
    "credentials": {
      "username": "admin",
      "password": "secret123"
    }
  }
}

Key Differences from JSON

  • ✓ No colons after keys: host localhost instead of "host": "localhost"
  • ✓ No commas between values: values are separated by spaces or newlines
  • ✓ No quotes around keys: host instead of "host"
  • ✓ Bareword values: localhost instead of "localhost"
03

Arrays

Arrays use square brackets [ ] with space-separated values. Simple and clean.

Simple Arrays

# Numbers
scores [95 87 92 88 91]

# Strings (barewords)
tags [frontend backend devops]

# Mixed types
mixed [42 "hello" true null 3.14]

Nested Collections

Arrays and objects can be nested arbitrarily: 

users [
  { id 1 name Alice roles [admin user] }
  { id 2 name Bob roles [user] }
]

matrix [
  [1 2 3]
  [4 5 6]
  [7 8 9]
]
04

Schemas

The Power Feature

Schemas eliminate repetitive keys by defining field names once, then writing only values. This is where Tauq really shines for tabular data.

The Problem Schemas Solve

✗ JSON: Keys repeated for every record 
[
  {"id": 1, "name": "Alice", "email": "alice@example.com", "role": "admin"},
  {"id": 2, "name": "Bob", "email": "bob@example.com", "role": "user"},
  {"id": 3, "name": "Carol", "email": "carol@example.com", "role": "user"}
]
~180 characters, keys repeated 3x
✓ Tauq: Keys defined once 
!def User id name email role
1 Alice alice@example.com admin
2 Bob bob@example.com user
3 Carol carol@example.com user
~95 characters, 47% smaller

How Schemas Work

1.

Define a schema with !def TypeName field1 field2 field3

This declares the field names in order

2.

Write records as space-separated values

Each line after !def is a new record with values in schema order

3.

Reuse schemas inside arrays with !use TypeName

Apply a previously defined schema in nested contexts

Schemas in Nested Structures

Use --- to separate schema definitions from your data structure, then apply schemas with !use: 

!def Product sku name price
!def OrderItem product_sku quantity
---
order {
  id "ORD-2024-001"
  customer {
    name "Jane Smith"
    email jane@example.com
  }
  items [
    !use OrderItem
    "LAPTOP-15" 1
    "MOUSE-BT" 2
  ]
  products [
    !use Product
    "LAPTOP-15" "ThinkPad X1" 1299.99
    "MOUSE-BT" "Wireless Mouse" 29.99
  ]
  total 1359.97
}

Pro tip: The --- separator clears the implicit schema scope. After it, you can write objects and arrays while still referencing schemas inside arrays with !use.

05

Advanced Features

Comments

Use # for comments. Unlike JSON, Tauq supports inline comments: 

# Database configuration
host localhost     # Development server
port 5432          # Default Postgres port
max_connections 100

Multiline Strings

Use triple quotes for multiline content: 

description """
This is a multiline string.
It preserves newlines and formatting.
Great for SQL, markdown, or templates.
"""

Escape Sequences

Standard escapes work in quoted strings: 

newline "line1\nline2"
tab "col1\tcol2"
quote "She said \"Hello\""

File Imports

Split configs across files: 

# main.tqn
!import ./database.tqn
!import ./logging.tqn

app_name "MyService"
environment production
06

Quick Reference

Values

  • 42 Integer
  • 3.14 Float
  • true / false Boolean
  • null Null
  • hello Bareword string
  • "Hello World" Quoted string
  • """multi""" Multiline string

Collections

  • [1 2 3] Array
  • { key value } Object
  • { outer { inner value } } Nested

Directives

  • !def Type f1 f2 Define schema
  • !use Type Use schema
  • --- Clear scope
  • !import ./file.tqn Import file
  • # comment Comment

Ready to Try It?

The best way to learn is by doing. Jump into the playground and experiment with Tauq syntax interactively.

Open Playground View Examples Installation Guide