> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.otter-shell.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Advanced features

> Nested structs, custom types, Dynamic fields, and import in otter-conf.

## Nested structs

Sub-structs flatten with a prefix:

```zig theme={null}
const ClockConfig = struct {
    enabled: bool = true,
    text_color: Color = Color.white,
};

const Config = struct {
    clock: ClockConfig = .{},
};
```

```conf theme={null}
clock_enabled = true
clock_text_color = "#FF0000FF"
```

Direct field names win over prefix matches.

## Custom value types

Structs with `parse` and `toStr` parse as single string values:

```zig theme={null}
const Color = packed struct(u32) {
    pub fn parse(str: []const u8) !Color { ... }
    pub fn toStr(self: Color) [9]u8 { ... }
};
```

```conf theme={null}
background = "#FFFFFFFF"
```

Parse errors keep the field default.

## Dynamic collections

`Dynamic(T, prefix)` is for indexed bind maps and similar tables:

```zig theme={null}
const Bind = struct {
    mods: u32 = 0,
    key: []const u8 = "",
    action: []const u8 = "",
};

const Config = struct {
    binds: otter_conf.Dynamic(Bind, "bind") = .{},
};
```

Accepted forms:

```conf theme={null}
bind = "Super+q,killclient"
bind_0 = "Super+Return,spawn,kitty"
bind_1_mods = 4
bind_1_key = "q"
bind_1_action = "killclient"
```

Call `config.binds.deinit(gpa)` to free the arena-backed slice.

## Import

Split config across files:

```conf theme={null}
import = "binds.conf"
import = "rules.conf"
name = "main"
```

```zig theme={null}
var res = try otter_conf.loadWithImports(Config, gpa, path, .{});
defer res.deinit(gpa);
```

Relative imports resolve from the parent file's directory. Circular imports return `error.CircularImport`. Nesting is capped at 128 files.