If you want to allow a low-priviledged user on a Cisco router or a Switch to view the Startup Config then this can be done in Routers and Switches running Cisco IOS.

This infact is a simple 2 step procedure as follows:

Set Privileges to view Startup Config

From the Global configuration mode, set the permissions for the privilege level 3. This should allow the users set with privilege level 3 to view the startup config.

ciscorouter(config)# privilege exec level 3 show startup-config

Create User with the privilege

ciscorouter(config)# username operations priv 3 password opsuser

The above creates a new local user named "operations" on the Cisco router with password "opsuser"

Set privileges to view Running-config

To make the user view the running configuration. It gets a bit more complex. Set the privilege as follows:

ciscorouter(config)# privilege exec all level 3 show running-config

This will set the permissions to view the running config but only when viewed as follows

ciscorouter# show running-config view full

On the other hand, all the show commands will be enabled for the user.