I've managed my dotfiles (12 different configuration files all compatible with cygwin, wsl, linux, macOS) for the past decade in a git repo with a 50 LOC shell script that creates symlinks for me in an intelligent way. What am I missing?
Chezmoi also handles variations in config files for personal vs. Work machines, or even differences between machines themselves.
I agree it’s not a tremendous lift to write a bespoke solution for this (and I did so in the past) but at some point it becomes lower-effort to use something off the shelf.
My only big issue is how big ~/.config/ gets as a directory compared to how much I really want to keep/need in terms of a fresh setup. Similar for my ~/src/ directory, with all the ./.git/ files. I kind of wish there were a "smarter" backup/restore tool that could handle a few of these things better than ham-fisting and rsyncing all the things.. I was more selective in my restore when configuring my new computer earlier in the year.
Should it be an indicator of better stability? Or performance? And if so, am I interested in the performance of a dotfile tool?
Genuinely curious.
1. git is already there and familiar
2. sync dotfiles over ssh . no internet access or separate credentials needed (for github, s3 etc)
3. handles merge conflicts
4. easily push & pull subdirectories into /etc , /usr/local or wherever else you need configuration using git subtree.
git bare repo works for tracking files anywhere on the FS as well. (check debian etckeeper for automating that)
phren0logy•2h ago
gaweringo•2h ago
It also allows for including our not including a config based on an executable being available which can be useful. It requires some configuration, depending on how many of its features you use but I think it's worth it.
phren0logy•2h ago
vault•1h ago
https://www.atlassian.com/git/tutorials/dotfiles
tonymet•12m ago
daedalus_j•56m ago
I haven't looked at this one yet, but until someone compares it to Chezmoi and points out where it's better I'm not even looking attention I fear. Chezmoi is just that good.
mr_mitm•44m ago
skydhash•7m ago
I tarball /etc. On a new system, I restore config quite carefully.
announcer4614•20m ago
More does not necessarily equal better, though. I think that's a matter of personal preference. I tried Chezmoi for a while and ultimately decided it was just a lot more levers at my disposal than I really wanted to even think about.
Dotter, by contrast, is a lot more minimal. Dotter is little more than a symlink manager plus templating engine plus config files to declare what machines need what config.
Chezmoi is all that, and does a lot more: encryption/decryption (even has password manager integrations), automatic push/pull. It's also designed so that you can add or manage files regardless of what your current working directory is (via commands like `chezmoi edit/add`).
In my case, after deciding I wanted to go for the minimal end of things, I almost went for GNU Stow however, I wanted templating functionality and I liked dotter's "packages" system for defining what files a given computer needs.
And very much a personal bias here: I found the learning curve of Chezmoi templates not great. I'm also not a big fan of the fact that Chezmoi relies on you naming your source files in particular ways in order to determine what the target file permissions should be.
Shebanator•9m ago