all, I have the following: boost::make_recursive_variant<int, bool, std::string, std::map<std::string, boost::recursive_variant_>>::type node; I'm populating this tree. I'm using libucl because it has a relaxed JSON syntax but I wanted to have a tree-like configuration here. The std::map is a key:value pair obviously. So my questions: How do I get std::maps from this variant? I know boost::get exists, will it just return a pointer to std::map? does setting elements in the map set elements on the variant? I also didn't see any return info for what boost::get returns if the element does not exist. Will it just return null since it does return a T*? Finally, is there a way to see the type of the variant? I don't really care if it's a bool or string, although I would like to place some implicit checks on certain values when they're retrieved. PS: If there's a way to pull this off with boost::property_tree, I would love to know how. I'm looking at using libucl as mentioned before because it provides a nginx-like not really JSON-style configuration syntax. Any tips would be appreciated. HOpefully these questions are clear and make sense. -- Take care, Ty Twitter: @sorressean Web: https://tysdomain.com Pubkey: https://tysdomain.com/files/pubkey.asc