# Quickstart

## Parse, edit, dump

```python
import tomlrt

with open("pyproject.toml", "rb") as f:
    doc = tomlrt.load(f)

doc["project"]["version"] = "0.2.0"
doc["project"]["dependencies"].append("requests>=2")

with open("pyproject.toml", "wb") as f:
    tomlrt.dump(doc, f)
```

With `load` / `dump`, open files in binary mode (`rb` / `wb`) so that line endings are preserved. For strings, use `loads` / `dumps`:

```python
doc = tomlrt.loads(text)
text_again = tomlrt.dumps(doc)
assert text == text_again
```

Both `dumps` and `dump` also accept plain dictionaries.

## Reading values

A document and its tables behave like dictionaries; arrays behave like lists. Use ordinary indexing to read values:

```python
name = doc["project"]["name"]
dependencies = doc["project"]["dependencies"]
```

See [Reading documents](<https://dimbleby.github.io/tomlrt/reading/index.md>) for nested lookups and typed accessors.

## Writing values

Assign Python values to set or replace entries. A dictionary becomes an inline table (`key = { ... }`); a list becomes an array (`key = [...]`).

For `[section]` and `[[array.of.tables]]` blocks, see [Building documents](<https://dimbleby.github.io/tomlrt/building/index.md>) and [Editing documents](<https://dimbleby.github.io/tomlrt/editing/index.md>).