Quote a string setting that YAML would read as a number (closes #229)

config set wrote every value as an unquoted YAML scalar, and config.Load
reads the file through untyped YAML, so an access key 00112233 loaded as
38043 and a hostname 007 as 7.

config set now looks the key up in config.Config by the fields' yaml
tags. A string setting is tagged !!str, which the encoder quotes
wherever YAML would read a number or a boolean. Other settings stay
unquoted, so compression_level 9 is still a number. A value that is not
valid UTF-8 stays untagged: the encoder refuses it as !!str and writes
it as !!binary, which loads back unchanged.

Judgement call: the type comes from reflection over config.Config.
Quoting every value YAML would change avoids that, but would also quote
odd numbers such as compression_level 03 and make them fail to load.

Model: opus-5-5

TODO.md

@@ -22,6 +22,14 @@ the tag exists and is exercised; what is left is merging `next` to
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- 2026-10-07: Made `config set` keep a string that looks like a number
+  ([issue #229](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/229)). It wrote
+  every value unquoted, and `config.Load` reads the file through untyped
+  YAML, so an access key `00112233` loaded as `38043` and a hostname `007`
+  as `7`. A value for a string setting in `config.Config` is now tagged as
+  a YAML string, which the file quotes wherever YAML would read a number or
+  a boolean; other settings are still written unquoted.
+
 - 2026-10-07: Made a backup notice a file rewritten with its size
   unchanged and a new mtime in the same second as the one in the index
   ([issue #226](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/226)). The

internal/cli/config.go

@@ -7,11 +7,14 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"reflect"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
+	"unicode/utf8"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"gopkg.in/yaml.v3"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/config"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/ui"
 )
 
@@ -31,6 +34,9 @@ const configDirMode = 0o755
 // yaml.Marshal's 4-space default.
 const configYAMLIndent = 2
 
+// yamlStringTag is YAML's tag for a string scalar.
+const yamlStringTag = "!!str"
+
 var (
 	errConfigExists     = errors.New("config file already exists")
 	errEmptyConfig      = errors.New("empty config file")
@@ -583,9 +589,58 @@ func yamlPathSet(root *yaml.Node, keys []string, value string) error {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// config.Load reads the file through untyped YAML, which turns an
+	// unquoted 00112233 into the number 38043 and 1e5 into 100000. Tagging
+	// a string setting as a string makes the encoder quote such a value.
+	// Other settings stay unquoted, so compression_level 9 is a number.
+	// The encoder refuses to write a value that is not valid UTF-8 as a
+	// string. Left untagged, such a value is written as base64 !!binary and
+	// loads back unchanged.
+	if configKeyIsString(keys) && utf8.ValidString(value) {
+		node.Tag = yamlStringTag
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }
 
+// configKeyIsString reports whether the dotted key names a string in
+// config.Config, following the fields' yaml tags, as s3.access_key_id and
+// snapshots.home.exclude.0 do.
+func configKeyIsString(keys []string) bool {
+	typ := reflect.TypeFor[config.Config]()
+
+	for _, key := range keys {
+		switch {
+		case typ.Kind() == reflect.Map || typ.Kind() == reflect.Slice:
+			// The key is a snapshot name or a list index.
+			typ = typ.Elem()
+		case typ.Kind() == reflect.Struct:
+			field, ok := yamlField(typ, key)
+			if !ok {
+				return false
+			}
+
+			typ = field.Type
+		default:
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+
+	return typ.Kind() == reflect.String
+}
+
+// yamlField returns the field of struct type typ whose yaml tag names key.
+func yamlField(typ reflect.Type, key string) (reflect.StructField, bool) {
+	for field := range typ.Fields() {
+		name, _, _ := strings.Cut(field.Tag.Get("yaml"), ",")
+		if name == key {
+			return field, true
+		}
+	}
+
+	return reflect.StructField{}, false
+}
+
 // yamlSetInMapping resolves (creating if needed) the value node for key
 // within a mapping node, setting it to value when it is the final path
 // element, and returns the node to descend into.

internal/cli/config_test.go

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -94,6 +95,110 @@ func TestConfigSetRecipientOnFreshConfig(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestConfigSetStringLooksLikeNumber sets string settings to values that
+// YAML reads as numbers or booleans when they are unquoted, and checks that
+// config.Load returns each one unchanged.
+func TestConfigSetStringLooksLikeNumber(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		key   string
+		value string
+		field func(cfg *config.Config) string
+	}{
+		{"s3.access_key_id", "00112233",
+			func(cfg *config.Config) string { return cfg.S3.AccessKeyID }},
+		{"s3.secret_access_key", "12345678901234567890123456789012",
+			func(cfg *config.Config) string { return cfg.S3.SecretAccessKey }},
+		{"hostname", "007",
+			func(cfg *config.Config) string { return cfg.Hostname }},
+		{"s3.prefix", "1e5",
+			func(cfg *config.Config) string { return cfg.S3.Prefix }},
+		{"s3.bucket", "true",
+			func(cfg *config.Config) string { return cfg.S3.Bucket }},
+		{"s3.region", "FALSE",
+			func(cfg *config.Config) string { return cfg.S3.Region }},
+		{"snapshots.home.exclude.0", "1.10",
+			func(cfg *config.Config) string { return cfg.Snapshots["home"].Exclude[0] }},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.key+"="+tt.value, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			cfg := loadAfterConfigSet(t, tt.key, tt.value)
+
+			got := tt.field(cfg)
+			if got != tt.value {
+				t.Errorf("%s = %q after config set %q", tt.key, got, tt.value)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestConfigSetNonUTF8Path checks that config set still accepts a value that
+// is not valid UTF-8, such as a path with a Latin-1 file name, and that
+// config.Load returns it unchanged.
+func TestConfigSetNonUTF8Path(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	const dir = "/srv/caf\xe9"
+
+	cfg := loadAfterConfigSet(t, "snapshots.home.paths.0", dir)
+
+	got := cfg.Snapshots["home"].Paths[0]
+	if got != dir {
+		t.Errorf("snapshots.home.paths.0 = %q, want %q", got, dir)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestConfigSetNumberStaysNumber checks that a number set for an integer
+// setting is still read as a number, not as a quoted string.
+func TestConfigSetNumberStaysNumber(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	const level = 9
+
+	cfg := loadAfterConfigSet(t, "compression_level", strconv.Itoa(level))
+
+	if cfg.CompressionLevel != level {
+		t.Errorf("compression_level = %d, want %d", cfg.CompressionLevel, level)
+	}
+}
+
+// loadAfterConfigSet writes the file `config init` writes, sets storage_url
+// to a local directory so that the file passes validation, applies
+// `config set key value` and returns what config.Load reads back.
+func loadAfterConfigSet(t *testing.T, key, value string) *config.Config {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	path := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "config.yml")
+
+	err := os.WriteFile(path, []byte(defaultConfigTemplate), configFileMode)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write config: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	out := ui.NewWithColor(&bytes.Buffer{}, false)
+
+	err = writeConfigSet(out, path, "storage_url", "file:///mnt/backups")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("config set storage_url: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	err = writeConfigSet(out, path, key, value)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("config set %s: %v", key, err)
+	}
+
+	cfg, err := config.Load(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("config.Load: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	return cfg
+}
+
 const testYAML = `# top comment
 compression_level: 3
 age_recipients: