diff --git a/nbdev/_modidx.py b/nbdev/_modidx.py
index 0080af3a5..83b2343ba 100644
--- a/nbdev/_modidx.py
+++ b/nbdev/_modidx.py
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@
                                    'nbdev_release_both=nbdev.release:release_both\n'
                                    'nbdev_help=nbdev.shortcuts:chelp',
                 'copyright': '2020 onwards, Jeremy Howard',
+                'custom_quarto_yml': 'False',
                 'custom_sidebar': 'True',
                 'description': 'Create delightful software with Jupyter Notebooks',
                 'dev_requirements': 'nbdev-numpy nbdev-stdlib pandas matplotlib black',
diff --git a/nbdev/clean.py b/nbdev/clean.py
index d6a89edf4..9b9434681 100644
--- a/nbdev/clean.py
+++ b/nbdev/clean.py
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ def nbdev_trust(
         warnings.warn("Please install jupyter and try again")
         return
 
-    fname = Path(fname if fname else config_key("nbs_path"))
+    fname = Path(fname if fname else get_config().path('nbs_path'))
     path = fname if fname.is_dir() else fname.parent
     check_fname = path/".last_checked"
     last_checked = os.path.getmtime(check_fname) if check_fname.exists() else None
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ def nbdev_clean(
     _write = partial(process_write, warn_msg='Failed to clean notebook', proc_nb=_clean)
     if stdin: return _write(f_in=sys.stdin, f_out=sys.stdout)
     
-    if fname is None: fname = config_key("nbs_path")
+    if fname is None: fname = get_config().path('nbs_path')
     for f in globtastic(fname, file_glob='*.ipynb', skip_folder_re='^[_.]'): _write(f_in=f, disp=disp)
 
 # %% ../nbs/11_clean.ipynb 30
diff --git a/nbdev/cli.py b/nbdev/cli.py
index d5637587a..8115b7b1a 100644
--- a/nbdev/cli.py
+++ b/nbdev/cli.py
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ def nbdev_ghp_deploy():
     except:
         warnings.warn('Please install ghp-import with `pip install ghp-import`')
         return
-    ghp_import(config_key('doc_path'), push=True, stderr=True, no_history=True)
+    ghp_import(get_config().path('doc_path'), push=True, stderr=True, no_history=True)
 
 # %% ../nbs/10_cli.ipynb 7
 _def_file_re = '\.(?:ipynb|qmd|html)$'
@@ -60,8 +60,8 @@ def nbdev_sidebar(
     returnit:bool=False  # Return list of files found
 ):
     "Create sidebar.yml"
-    if not force and str2bool(config_key('custom_sidebar', path=False)): return
-    path = config_key("nbs_path") if not path else Path(path)
+    if not force and str2bool(get_config().custom_sidebar): return
+    path = get_config().path('nbs_path') if not path else Path(path)
     files = nbglob(path, func=_f, symlinks=symlinks, file_re=file_re, folder_re=folder_re, file_glob=file_glob,
                    skip_file_glob=skip_file_glob, skip_file_re=skip_file_re, skip_folder_re=skip_folder_re).sorted(key=_sort)
     lastd,res = Path(),[]
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ def refresh_quarto_yml():
     p = cfg.path('nbs_path')/'_quarto.yml'
     vals = {k:cfg.get(k) for k in ['doc_path', 'title', 'description', 'branch', 'git_url', 'doc_host', 'doc_baseurl']}
     # Do not build _quarto_yml if custom_quarto_yml is set to True
-    if str2bool(config_key('custom_quarto_yml', default="False", path=False)): return
+    if str2bool(get_config().custom_quarto_yml): return
     if 'title' not in vals: vals['title'] = vals['lib_name']
     yml=_quarto_yml.format(**vals)
     p.write_text(yml)
@@ -318,14 +318,14 @@ def _sprun(cmd):
 def _doc_paths(path:str=None, doc_path:str=None):
     cfg = get_config()
     cfg_path = cfg.config_path
-    path = config_key("nbs_path") if not path else Path(path)
-    doc_path = config_key("doc_path") if not doc_path else Path(doc_path)
+    path = cfg.path('nbs_path') if not path else Path(path)
+    doc_path = cfg.path('doc_path') if not doc_path else Path(doc_path)
     tmp_doc_path = path/f"{cfg['doc_path']}"
     return cfg,cfg_path,path,doc_path,tmp_doc_path
 
 # %% ../nbs/10_cli.ipynb 28
 def _render_readme(path):
-    idx_path = path/config_key('readme_nb', path=False)
+    idx_path = path/get_config().readme_nb
     if not idx_path.exists(): return
 
     yml_path = path/'sidebar.yml'
diff --git a/nbdev/doclinks.py b/nbdev/doclinks.py
index 252288963..c37248676 100644
--- a/nbdev/doclinks.py
+++ b/nbdev/doclinks.py
@@ -108,10 +108,10 @@ def _doc_link(url, mod, sym=None):
 # %% ../nbs/04b_doclinks.ipynb 27
 def build_modidx():
     "Create _modidx.py"
-    dest = config_key('lib_path')
+    dest = get_config().path('lib_path')
     if os.environ.get('IN_TEST',0): return
     _fn = dest/'_modidx.py'
-    nbs_path = config_key('nbs_path')
+    nbs_path = get_config().path('nbs_path')
     with contextlib.suppress(FileNotFoundError): _fn.unlink()
     cfg = get_config()
     doc_func = partial(_doc_link, urljoin(cfg.doc_host,cfg.doc_baseurl))
@@ -122,9 +122,9 @@ def build_modidx():
 @delegates(globtastic, but=['file_glob', 'skip_folder_re'])
 def nbglob(path=None, skip_folder_re = '^[_.]', file_glob='*.ipynb', recursive=True, key='nbs_path',
            as_path=False, **kwargs):
-    "Find all files in a directory matching an extension given a `config_key`."
-    path = Path(path or config_key(key))
-    if recursive is None: recursive=str2bool(config_key('recursive', path=False))
+    "Find all files in a directory matching an extension given a config key."
+    path = Path(path or get_config().path(key))
+    if recursive is None: recursive=str2bool(get_config().recursive)
     res = globtastic(path, file_glob=file_glob, skip_folder_re=skip_folder_re, **kwargs)
     return res.map(Path) if as_path else res
 
diff --git a/nbdev/migrate.py b/nbdev/migrate.py
index 9afb1a788..25de72b54 100644
--- a/nbdev/migrate.py
+++ b/nbdev/migrate.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 # %% ../nbs/15_migrate.ipynb 2
 from .process import first_code_ln
 from .processors import nb_fmdict, construct_fm, insert_frontmatter, is_frontmatter, yml2dict, filter_fm
-from .read import read_nb, config_key
+from .read import get_config, read_nb
 from .sync import write_nb
 from .clean import process_write
 from .showdoc import show_doc
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ def _subv1(s): return _alias.get(s, s)
 def _re_v1():
     d = ['default_exp', 'export', 'exports', 'exporti', 'hide', 'hide_input', 'collapse_show', 'collapse',
          'collapse_hide', 'collapse_input', 'hide_output',  'default_cls_lvl']
-    d += L(config_key('tst_flags', path=False)).filter()
+    d += L(get_config().tst_flags).filter()
     d += [s.replace('_', '-') for s in d] # allow for hyphenated version of old directives
     _tmp = '|'.join(list(set(d)))
     return re.compile(f"^[ \f\v\t]*?(#)\s*({_tmp})(?!\S)", re.MULTILINE)
@@ -123,5 +123,5 @@ def nbdev_migrate(
     _write = partial(process_write, warn_msg='Failed to replace directives', proc_nb=_migrate)
     if stdin: _write(f_in=sys.stdin, f_out=sys.stdout)
     _skip_re = None if no_skip else '^[_.]'
-    if fname is None: fname = config_key("nbs_path")
+    if fname is None: fname = get_config().path('nbs_path')
     for f in globtastic(fname, file_glob='*.ipynb', skip_folder_re=_skip_re): _write(f_in=f, disp=disp)
diff --git a/nbdev/read.py b/nbdev/read.py
index 185133587..cbf1209e5 100644
--- a/nbdev/read.py
+++ b/nbdev/read.py
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ def apply_defaults(
     lib_name:str=None, # Package name, defaults to local repo folder name
     branch='master', # Repo default branch
     git_url='https://github.com/%(user)s/%(lib_name)s', # Repo URL
-    custom_sidebar:bool_arg=False, # Create custom sidebar?
+    custom_sidebar:bool_arg=False, # Use a custom sidebar.yml?
     nbs_path='.', # Path to notebooks
     lib_path='%(lib_name)s', # Path to package root
     doc_path='_docs', # Path to rendered docs
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ def apply_defaults(
     allowed_cell_metadata_keys='', # Preserve the list of keys in cell level metadata
     jupyter_hooks=True, # Run Jupyter hooks?
     clean_ids=True, # Remove ids from plaintext reprs?
+    custom_quarto_yml=False, # Use a custom _quarto.yml?
 ):
     "Apply default settings where missing in `cfg`"
     if lib_name is None:
@@ -114,13 +115,9 @@ def get_config(cfg_name=_nbdev_config_name, path=None):
 
 # %% ../nbs/01_read.ipynb 21
 def config_key(c, default=None, path=True, missing_ok=None):
-    "Look for key `c` in settings.ini and fail gracefully if not found and no default provided"
-    if missing_ok is not None:
-        warn("`missing_ok` is no longer used. Don't pass it to `config_key` to silence this warning.")
-    cfg = get_config()
-    res = cfg.path(c, default) if path else cfg.get(c, default)
-    if res is None: raise ValueError(f'`{c}` not specified in {_nbdev_config_name}')
-    return res
+    "Deprecated: use `get_config().get` or `get_config().path` instead."
+    warn("`config_key` is deprecated. Use `get_config().get` or `get_config().path` instead.", DeprecationWarning)
+    return get_config().path(c, default) if path else get_config().get(c, default)
 
 # %% ../nbs/01_read.ipynb 24
 _init = '__init__.py'
@@ -147,7 +144,7 @@ def write_cells(cells, hdr, file, offset=0):
 # %% ../nbs/01_read.ipynb 29
 def basic_export_nb(fname, name, dest=None):
     "Basic exporter to bootstrap nbdev"
-    if dest is None: dest = config_key('lib_path')
+    if dest is None: dest = get_config().path('lib_path')
     fname,dest = Path(fname),Path(dest)
     nb = read_nb(fname)
 
diff --git a/nbdev/release.py b/nbdev/release.py
index f4222d37f..d7708680d 100644
--- a/nbdev/release.py
+++ b/nbdev/release.py
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ def release_conda(
     upload_user:str=None  # Optional user to upload package to
 ):
     "Create a `meta.yaml` file ready to be built into a package, and optionally build and upload it"
-    name = config_key('lib_name', path=False)
+    name = get_config().lib_name
     write_conda_meta(path)
     out = f"Done. Next steps:\n```\ncd {path}\n"""
     os.chdir(path)
@@ -268,7 +268,7 @@ def release_conda(
     print(f"conda {build} --no-anaconda-upload {build_args} {name}")
     res = _run(f"conda {build} --no-anaconda-upload {build_args} {name}")
     if skip_upload: return
-    if not upload_user: upload_user = config_key('conda_user', path=False)
+    if not upload_user: upload_user = get_config().conda_user
     if not upload_user: return print("`conda_user` not in settings.ini and no `upload_user` passed. Cannot upload")
     if 'anaconda upload' not in res: return print(f"{res}\n\Failed. Check auto-upload not set in .condarc. Try `--do_build False`.")
     return anaconda_upload(name, loc)
@@ -293,7 +293,7 @@ def release_pypi(
     repository:str="pypi" # Respository to upload to (defined in ~/.pypirc)
 ):
     "Create and upload Python package to PyPI"
-    _dir = config_key("lib_path").parent
+    _dir = get_config().path('lib_path').parent
     system(f'cd {_dir}  && rm -rf dist && python setup.py sdist bdist_wheel')
     system(f'twine upload --repository {repository} {_dir}/dist/*')
 
diff --git a/nbdev/test.py b/nbdev/test.py
index e27d49a22..912e7d622 100644
--- a/nbdev/test.py
+++ b/nbdev/test.py
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ def nbdev_test(
     ignore_fname:str='.notest' # Filename that will result in siblings being ignored
 ):
     "Test in parallel notebooks matching `fname`, passing along `flags`"
-    skip_flags = config_key('tst_flags', path=False).split()
+    skip_flags = get_config().tst_flags.split()
     force_flags = flags.split()
     files = nbglob(fname, recursive=recursive, file_re=file_re, folder_re=folder_re,
                    skip_file_glob=skip_file_glob, skip_file_re=skip_file_re, as_path=True, symlinks=symlinks)
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ def nbdev_test(
     if len(files)==0: return print('No files were eligible for testing')
 
     if n_workers is None: n_workers = 0 if len(files)==1 else min(num_cpus(), 8)
-    os.chdir(config_key("nbs_path"))
+    os.chdir(get_config().path('nbs_path'))
     if IN_NOTEBOOK: kwargs = {'method':'spawn'} if os.name=='nt' else {'method':'forkserver'}
     else: kwargs = {}
     results = parallel(test_nb, files, skip_flags=skip_flags, force_flags=force_flags, n_workers=n_workers,
diff --git a/nbs/01_read.ipynb b/nbs/01_read.ipynb
index c3ae2f5a3..0dfcde041 100644
--- a/nbs/01_read.ipynb
+++ b/nbs/01_read.ipynb
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@
     "    lib_name:str=None, # Package name, defaults to local repo folder name\n",
     "    branch='master', # Repo default branch\n",
     "    git_url='https://github.com/%(user)s/%(lib_name)s', # Repo URL\n",
-    "    custom_sidebar:bool_arg=False, # Create custom sidebar?\n",
+    "    custom_sidebar:bool_arg=False, # Use a custom sidebar.yml?\n",
     "    nbs_path='.', # Path to notebooks\n",
     "    lib_path='%(lib_name)s', # Path to package root\n",
     "    doc_path='_docs', # Path to rendered docs\n",
@@ -172,6 +172,7 @@
     "    allowed_cell_metadata_keys='', # Preserve the list of keys in cell level metadata\n",
     "    jupyter_hooks=True, # Run Jupyter hooks?\n",
     "    clean_ids=True, # Remove ids from plaintext reprs?\n",
+    "    custom_quarto_yml=False, # Use a custom _quarto.yml?\n",
     "):\n",
     "    \"Apply default settings where missing in `cfg`\"\n",
     "    if lib_name is None:\n",
@@ -302,7 +303,7 @@
      "name": "stdout",
      "output_type": "stream",
      "text": [
-      "{'lib_name': 'T', 'branch': 'master', 'git_url': 'https://github.com/%(user)s/%(lib_name)s', 'custom_sidebar': 'False', 'nbs_path': '.', 'lib_path': '%(lib_name)s', 'doc_path': '_docs', 'tst_flags': '', 'version': '0.0.1', 'doc_host': 'https://%(user)s.github.io', 'doc_baseurl': '/%(lib_name)s', 'keywords': 'nbdev jupyter notebook python', 'license': 'apache2', 'copyright': 'None', 'status': '3', 'min_python': '3.7', 'audience': 'Developers', 'language': 'English', 'recursive': 'False', 'black_formatting': 'False', 'readme_nb': 'index.ipynb', 'title': '%(lib_name)s', 'allowed_metadata_keys': '', 'allowed_cell_metadata_keys': ''}\n"
+      "{'lib_name': 'T', 'branch': 'master', 'git_url': 'https://github.com/%(user)s/%(lib_name)s', 'custom_sidebar': 'False', 'nbs_path': '.', 'lib_path': '%(lib_name)s', 'doc_path': '_docs', 'tst_flags': '', 'version': '0.0.1', 'doc_host': 'https://%(user)s.github.io', 'doc_baseurl': '/%(lib_name)s', 'keywords': 'nbdev jupyter notebook python', 'license': 'apache2', 'copyright': 'None', 'status': '3', 'min_python': '3.7', 'audience': 'Developers', 'language': 'English', 'recursive': 'False', 'black_formatting': 'False', 'readme_nb': 'index.ipynb', 'title': '%(lib_name)s', 'allowed_metadata_keys': '', 'allowed_cell_metadata_keys': '', 'jupyter_hooks': 'True', 'clean_ids': 'True', 'custom_quarto_yml': 'False'}\n"
      ]
     }
    ],
@@ -321,13 +322,9 @@
    "source": [
     "#|export\n",
     "def config_key(c, default=None, path=True, missing_ok=None):\n",
-    "    \"Look for key `c` in settings.ini and fail gracefully if not found and no default provided\"\n",
-    "    if missing_ok is not None:\n",
-    "        warn(\"`missing_ok` is no longer used. Don't pass it to `config_key` to silence this warning.\")\n",
-    "    cfg = get_config()\n",
-    "    res = cfg.path(c, default) if path else cfg.get(c, default)\n",
-    "    if res is None: raise ValueError(f'`{c}` not specified in {_nbdev_config_name}')\n",
-    "    return res"
+    "    \"Deprecated: use `get_config().get` or `get_config().path` instead.\"\n",
+    "    warn(\"`config_key` is deprecated. Use `get_config().get` or `get_config().path` instead.\", DeprecationWarning)\n",
+    "    return get_config().path(c, default) if path else get_config().get(c, default)"
    ]
   },
   {
@@ -336,17 +333,18 @@
    "metadata": {},
    "outputs": [
     {
-     "name": "stdout",
+     "name": "stderr",
      "output_type": "stream",
      "text": [
-      "T\n"
+      "/var/folders/ft/0gnvc3ts5jz4ddqtttp6tjvm0000gn/T/ipykernel_5473/2105843470.py:4: DeprecationWarning: `config_key` is deprecated. Use `get_config().get` or `get_config().path` instead.\n",
+      "  warn(\"`config_key` is deprecated. Use `get_config().get` or `get_config().path` instead.\", DeprecationWarning)\n"
      ]
     }
    ],
    "source": [
     "#|hide\n",
     "# `config_key` returns defaults if no config file exists\n",
-    "with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as d, working_directory(d): print(config_key('lib_path', path=False))\n",
+    "with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as d, working_directory(d): assert config_key('lib_path', path=False) in ('T','tmp')\n",
     "get_config.cache_clear()"
    ]
   },
@@ -432,7 +430,7 @@
     "#|export\n",
     "def basic_export_nb(fname, name, dest=None):\n",
     "    \"Basic exporter to bootstrap nbdev\"\n",
-    "    if dest is None: dest = config_key('lib_path')\n",
+    "    if dest is None: dest = get_config().path('lib_path')\n",
     "    fname,dest = Path(fname),Path(dest)\n",
     "    nb = read_nb(fname)\n",
     "\n",
diff --git a/nbs/04b_doclinks.ipynb b/nbs/04b_doclinks.ipynb
index 7ec9fa679..efa4256e9 100644
--- a/nbs/04b_doclinks.ipynb
+++ b/nbs/04b_doclinks.ipynb
@@ -392,10 +392,10 @@
     "#|export\n",
     "def build_modidx():\n",
     "    \"Create _modidx.py\"\n",
-    "    dest = config_key('lib_path')\n",
+    "    dest = get_config().path('lib_path')\n",
     "    if os.environ.get('IN_TEST',0): return\n",
     "    _fn = dest/'_modidx.py'\n",
-    "    nbs_path = config_key('nbs_path')\n",
+    "    nbs_path = get_config().path('nbs_path')\n",
     "    with contextlib.suppress(FileNotFoundError): _fn.unlink()\n",
     "    cfg = get_config()\n",
     "    doc_func = partial(_doc_link, urljoin(cfg.doc_host,cfg.doc_baseurl))\n",
@@ -413,9 +413,9 @@
     "@delegates(globtastic, but=['file_glob', 'skip_folder_re'])\n",
     "def nbglob(path=None, skip_folder_re = '^[_.]', file_glob='*.ipynb', recursive=True, key='nbs_path',\n",
     "           as_path=False, **kwargs):\n",
-    "    \"Find all files in a directory matching an extension given a `config_key`.\"\n",
-    "    path = Path(path or config_key(key))\n",
-    "    if recursive is None: recursive=str2bool(config_key('recursive', path=False))\n",
+    "    \"Find all files in a directory matching an extension given a config key.\"\n",
+    "    path = Path(path or get_config().path(key))\n",
+    "    if recursive is None: recursive=str2bool(get_config().recursive)\n",
     "    res = globtastic(path, file_glob=file_glob, skip_folder_re=skip_folder_re, **kwargs)\n",
     "    return res.map(Path) if as_path else res"
    ]
diff --git a/nbs/10_cli.ipynb b/nbs/10_cli.ipynb
index 225fcbe68..87799cd35 100644
--- a/nbs/10_cli.ipynb
+++ b/nbs/10_cli.ipynb
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@
     "    except:\n",
     "        warnings.warn('Please install ghp-import with `pip install ghp-import`')\n",
     "        return\n",
-    "    ghp_import(config_key('doc_path'), push=True, stderr=True, no_history=True)"
+    "    ghp_import(get_config().path('doc_path'), push=True, stderr=True, no_history=True)"
    ]
   },
   {
@@ -116,8 +116,8 @@
     "    returnit:bool=False  # Return list of files found\n",
     "):\n",
     "    \"Create sidebar.yml\"\n",
-    "    if not force and str2bool(config_key('custom_sidebar', path=False)): return\n",
-    "    path = config_key(\"nbs_path\") if not path else Path(path)\n",
+    "    if not force and str2bool(get_config().custom_sidebar): return\n",
+    "    path = get_config().path('nbs_path') if not path else Path(path)\n",
     "    files = nbglob(path, func=_f, symlinks=symlinks, file_re=file_re, folder_re=folder_re, file_glob=file_glob,\n",
     "                   skip_file_glob=skip_file_glob, skip_file_re=skip_file_re, skip_folder_re=skip_folder_re).sorted(key=_sort)\n",
     "    lastd,res = Path(),[]\n",
@@ -470,7 +470,7 @@
     "    p = cfg.path('nbs_path')/'_quarto.yml'\n",
     "    vals = {k:cfg.get(k) for k in ['doc_path', 'title', 'description', 'branch', 'git_url', 'doc_host', 'doc_baseurl']}\n",
     "    # Do not build _quarto_yml if custom_quarto_yml is set to True\n",
-    "    if str2bool(config_key('custom_quarto_yml', default=\"False\", path=False)): return\n",
+    "    if str2bool(get_config().custom_quarto_yml): return\n",
     "    if 'title' not in vals: vals['title'] = vals['lib_name']\n",
     "    yml=_quarto_yml.format(**vals)\n",
     "    p.write_text(yml)"
@@ -549,8 +549,8 @@
     "def _doc_paths(path:str=None, doc_path:str=None):\n",
     "    cfg = get_config()\n",
     "    cfg_path = cfg.config_path\n",
-    "    path = config_key(\"nbs_path\") if not path else Path(path)\n",
-    "    doc_path = config_key(\"doc_path\") if not doc_path else Path(doc_path)\n",
+    "    path = cfg.path('nbs_path') if not path else Path(path)\n",
+    "    doc_path = cfg.path('doc_path') if not doc_path else Path(doc_path)\n",
     "    tmp_doc_path = path/f\"{cfg['doc_path']}\"\n",
     "    return cfg,cfg_path,path,doc_path,tmp_doc_path"
    ]
@@ -564,7 +564,7 @@
    "source": [
     "#|export\n",
     "def _render_readme(path):\n",
-    "    idx_path = path/config_key('readme_nb', path=False)\n",
+    "    idx_path = path/get_config().readme_nb\n",
     "    if not idx_path.exists(): return\n",
     "\n",
     "    yml_path = path/'sidebar.yml'\n",
diff --git a/nbs/11_clean.ipynb b/nbs/11_clean.ipynb
index 36cb284ec..343138d57 100644
--- a/nbs/11_clean.ipynb
+++ b/nbs/11_clean.ipynb
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@
     "        warnings.warn(\"Please install jupyter and try again\")\n",
     "        return\n",
     "\n",
-    "    fname = Path(fname if fname else config_key(\"nbs_path\"))\n",
+    "    fname = Path(fname if fname else get_config().path('nbs_path'))\n",
     "    path = fname if fname.is_dir() else fname.parent\n",
     "    check_fname = path/\".last_checked\"\n",
     "    last_checked = os.path.getmtime(check_fname) if check_fname.exists() else None\n",
@@ -377,7 +377,7 @@
     "    _write = partial(process_write, warn_msg='Failed to clean notebook', proc_nb=_clean)\n",
     "    if stdin: return _write(f_in=sys.stdin, f_out=sys.stdout)\n",
     "    \n",
-    "    if fname is None: fname = config_key(\"nbs_path\")\n",
+    "    if fname is None: fname = get_config().path('nbs_path')\n",
     "    for f in globtastic(fname, file_glob='*.ipynb', skip_folder_re='^[_.]'): _write(f_in=f, disp=disp)"
    ]
   },
diff --git a/nbs/14_test.ipynb b/nbs/14_test.ipynb
index 074214daa..e6d89178f 100644
--- a/nbs/14_test.ipynb
+++ b/nbs/14_test.ipynb
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@
     "    ignore_fname:str='.notest' # Filename that will result in siblings being ignored\n",
     "):\n",
     "    \"Test in parallel notebooks matching `fname`, passing along `flags`\"\n",
-    "    skip_flags = config_key('tst_flags', path=False).split()\n",
+    "    skip_flags = get_config().tst_flags.split()\n",
     "    force_flags = flags.split()\n",
     "    files = nbglob(fname, recursive=recursive, file_re=file_re, folder_re=folder_re,\n",
     "                   skip_file_glob=skip_file_glob, skip_file_re=skip_file_re, as_path=True, symlinks=symlinks)\n",
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@
     "    if len(files)==0: return print('No files were eligible for testing')\n",
     "\n",
     "    if n_workers is None: n_workers = 0 if len(files)==1 else min(num_cpus(), 8)\n",
-    "    os.chdir(config_key(\"nbs_path\"))\n",
+    "    os.chdir(get_config().path('nbs_path'))\n",
     "    if IN_NOTEBOOK: kwargs = {'method':'spawn'} if os.name=='nt' else {'method':'forkserver'}\n",
     "    else: kwargs = {}\n",
     "    results = parallel(test_nb, files, skip_flags=skip_flags, force_flags=force_flags, n_workers=n_workers,\n",
diff --git a/nbs/15_migrate.ipynb b/nbs/15_migrate.ipynb
index 1248e9636..995b114e0 100644
--- a/nbs/15_migrate.ipynb
+++ b/nbs/15_migrate.ipynb
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
     "#|export\n",
     "from nbdev.process import first_code_ln\n",
     "from nbdev.processors import nb_fmdict, construct_fm, insert_frontmatter, is_frontmatter, yml2dict, filter_fm\n",
-    "from nbdev.read import read_nb, config_key\n",
+    "from nbdev.read import get_config, read_nb\n",
     "from nbdev.sync import write_nb\n",
     "from nbdev.clean import process_write\n",
     "from nbdev.showdoc import show_doc\n",
@@ -425,7 +425,7 @@
     "def _re_v1():\n",
     "    d = ['default_exp', 'export', 'exports', 'exporti', 'hide', 'hide_input', 'collapse_show', 'collapse',\n",
     "         'collapse_hide', 'collapse_input', 'hide_output',  'default_cls_lvl']\n",
-    "    d += L(config_key('tst_flags', path=False)).filter()\n",
+    "    d += L(get_config().tst_flags).filter()\n",
     "    d += [s.replace('_', '-') for s in d] # allow for hyphenated version of old directives\n",
     "    _tmp = '|'.join(list(set(d)))\n",
     "    return re.compile(f\"^[ \\f\\v\\t]*?(#)\\s*({_tmp})(?!\\S)\", re.MULTILINE)\n",
@@ -730,7 +730,7 @@
     "    _write = partial(process_write, warn_msg='Failed to replace directives', proc_nb=_migrate)\n",
     "    if stdin: _write(f_in=sys.stdin, f_out=sys.stdout)\n",
     "    _skip_re = None if no_skip else '^[_.]'\n",
-    "    if fname is None: fname = config_key(\"nbs_path\")\n",
+    "    if fname is None: fname = get_config().path('nbs_path')\n",
     "    for f in globtastic(fname, file_glob='*.ipynb', skip_folder_re=_skip_re): _write(f_in=f, disp=disp)"
    ]
   },
diff --git a/nbs/17_release.ipynb b/nbs/17_release.ipynb
index a30c9453f..7bcd838f1 100644
--- a/nbs/17_release.ipynb
+++ b/nbs/17_release.ipynb
@@ -631,7 +631,7 @@
     "    upload_user:str=None  # Optional user to upload package to\n",
     "):\n",
     "    \"Create a `meta.yaml` file ready to be built into a package, and optionally build and upload it\"\n",
-    "    name = config_key('lib_name', path=False)\n",
+    "    name = get_config().lib_name\n",
     "    write_conda_meta(path)\n",
     "    out = f\"Done. Next steps:\\n```\\ncd {path}\\n\"\"\"\n",
     "    os.chdir(path)\n",
@@ -643,7 +643,7 @@
     "    print(f\"conda {build} --no-anaconda-upload {build_args} {name}\")\n",
     "    res = _run(f\"conda {build} --no-anaconda-upload {build_args} {name}\")\n",
     "    if skip_upload: return\n",
-    "    if not upload_user: upload_user = config_key('conda_user', path=False)\n",
+    "    if not upload_user: upload_user = get_config().conda_user\n",
     "    if not upload_user: return print(\"`conda_user` not in settings.ini and no `upload_user` passed. Cannot upload\")\n",
     "    if 'anaconda upload' not in res: return print(f\"{res}\\n\\Failed. Check auto-upload not set in .condarc. Try `--do_build False`.\")\n",
     "    return anaconda_upload(name, loc)"
@@ -704,7 +704,7 @@
     "    repository:str=\"pypi\" # Respository to upload to (defined in ~/.pypirc)\n",
     "):\n",
     "    \"Create and upload Python package to PyPI\"\n",
-    "    _dir = config_key(\"lib_path\").parent\n",
+    "    _dir = get_config().path('lib_path').parent\n",
     "    system(f'cd {_dir}  && rm -rf dist && python setup.py sdist bdist_wheel')\n",
     "    system(f'twine upload --repository {repository} {_dir}/dist/*')"
    ]
diff --git a/settings.ini b/settings.ini
index 4c18a692d..c973ec992 100644
--- a/settings.ini
+++ b/settings.ini
@@ -64,4 +64,5 @@ allowed_metadata_keys =
 allowed_cell_metadata_keys = 
 jupyter_hooks = True
 clean_ids = True
+custom_quarto_yml = False