Configuration files are a practical, and probably essential, thing to have your code run flexibly. A good configuration can prevent lots of tiny (or large!) errors, and make it easier for other people to use your code (or you yourself if you haven't used the code for a while).
Generally, there will be configuration files, to change things like
- starting configuration (of a simulation)
- output file names, directories or formats
- what to calculate or process (steps to take, steps to skip)
- what to output (some calculated parameters may not be interesting for most calculations)