# The .json-formatted configuration file

The CFM uses a .json-formatted file to configure individual model runs. JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a data-interchange file format. It consists of a number of names, each associated with a value. Values can be strings, Booleans, integers, floats, or arrays. Comments are not allowed, but can be added by considering the comment as a name/value pair. For the CFM, it provides a file format that is both easy to read and easy to alter in order to specify parameters for a particular model run. The configuration file is passed to the CFM, and the name/value pairs are read by the model and incorporated into the model run. The file format is editable in any text editor, and the name/value pairs are given by name: value, and different name/value pairs are separated by commas.

The specific names that are in the configuration .json file for the CFM are as follows. If any of the name/value pairs are missing, the model will generally return a message that that that name/value pair is missing and will use a default instead. For some name/value pairs the model run will fail. Note that in the .json file true/false are lowercase, but in the .py files they are True/False (first letter capitalized). The model automatically converts this.