my $kool = Kool::Widget->new( 'weasels' => 77, 'pigeons' => 0, 'heartburn' => 'yes', ); #Prep the widget, throws an exception if it fails. $kool->petrify('input_file' => '/path/to/file'); #returns a hashref my $baz = $kool->bazify(); #see what you've got print Data::Dumper($baz);