I have rewrote this tool in go, you can still find the old python 2.x version of this tool on the
releases/1.x
branch. The readme below is still for the 1.x version of this tool!
TODO: Add contents section here
In the desktop *nix world "dotfiles" are the life and blood behind the customization of your environment. Everything from custom bash prompts to window manager configurations, dotfiles define your work flow. Because of this, it has become a very common practice to keep your dotfiles in a git repository and even make the repository available on GitHub for the community to explore.
Keeping your dotfiles in a git repository can prove to be rather difficult
however. Because dotfiles can be spread all across the users $HOME
the
process of tracking these files can be tedious. A few strategies have emerged
within the community that offers command over dotfiles:
-
Keeping
$HOME
under git version control - This can be difficult and dangerous as every directory under your$HOME
now appears to be in version control, so running agit
command will never fail. -
Keeping the
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME
directory under version control and using environment variables and scripts to force programs to read their configurations from the$XDG_CONFIG_HOME
directory - A great overall strategy that keeps dotfiles more organized than keeping them in$HOME
. -
Keeping dotfiles in a directory under
$HOME
and writing an 'installation' script to symbolically link the files to their appropriate location in the users$HOME
- While this method is rather robust, it can be difficult to manage a installation script specifically for your dot files, and may impose limits in how you organize your dotfiles.
However, none of these methods offer any sort of ability to manage dot files across multiple machines and environments. While you can use any one of these strategies to effectively manage dotfiles for a single machine, using the same dotfiles on another machine will be convoluted and cumbersome.
For example, say you manage a set of dotfiles for your desktop machine that includes configuration for bash, Vim, a window manager, and GTK theme settings. If you would like to use these dotfiles in a headless server environment then you would obviously not need your window manager and GTK configurations. Even worse, changes may need to be made to some of the configuration files for that specific environment.
The dots
utility aims to help make the installation, revision control, and
organization of dot files easy and intuitive. The dots utility solves all of the
problems that the solutions mentioned above solve while also facilitating the
ability to maintain a single repository of dotfiles that can be installed on any
machine you access and would like to have your environment configured in a snap.
dots
offers the following features:
-
Configuration groups
When installing your dotfiles onto a new machine,dots
offers you the ability to select a specific 'group' of dotfiles that you would like to have installed into that environment. By organizing your dotfiles into logical groups (such as 'machine' groups) it's possible to only install the dotfiles that are required by that environment. -
Cascading file structure
By selecting multiple configuration groups there is the possibility that two groups both contain a dotfile with matching names. For example, if two configuration groups both contain abashrc
file then thedots
utility will automatically merge these two files together. A special syntax is also offered to allow for one file to override another or for the cascading files to be merged into the files at specific points. -
Follows XDG Base Directory Standard
The XDG Base Directory Standard specifies that all configuration files should be located in the$XDG_CONFIG_HOME
directory. By default, this is where all configuration files and directories will be installed. While this does require a little extra work to ensure all programs read their configuration files from here it offers a much more organized view of user dotfiles. -
Post installation scripts per file
It's possible to include a.install
script with any specific dotfile or directory. This installation script will be executed any time the specific dotfile is installed. This is useful for situations where you need to symbolically link a configuration file into$HOME
or if something needs to be done after installation (for example executing :BundleInstall for VIM).
These features are expanded on below.
NOTE: For a quick and easy way to get going managing your dot files more effectively see the dots-template repository that offers instructions for getting setup.
It's recommended to read through the entirety of this README to have a good understanding of how the dots management utility works. Here are a few key points to keep in mind however:
- Configuration files will be installed into
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME
. - Configuration group directories are to be located in
$HOME/.local/etc
. - A PKGBUILD file is also available for Arch Linux on the AUR.
- The
dots
binary should be made available in yourPATH
. - The
dots
binary should support Python > 2.7 / Python > 3.2. - See Evan Purkhisers personal dotfiles for an example configuration.
For details on using the dots
tool itself see the dots help
USAGE
output.
A initialization script is included in the contrib
directory, providing an easy way to initialize your dotfiles into the proper
directory, temporarily setup the PATH
for the dots, and temporarily source the
bash completion scripts. This way you can quickly setup your dotfiles, activate
your configuration groups, and install the dotfiles themselves
For example:
$ cd ~
$ git clone https://github.com/Your/Dotfiles
$ DOTS_CLONE_DIR=~/Dotfiles
$ source dots/contrib/initialize
This will do the following:
- Move the Dotfiles into
$HOME/.local/etc
- Symbolically link the dots executable into
$HOME/.local/bin
- Add
$HOME/.local/bin
into thePATH
if it's not already - Source the
contrib/bash_completion
script
You can then setup your dotfiles using the dots
command:
$ dots groups set base machines/desktop
$ dots install
A bash completion script is included and provides
completions for all aspects of the dots
command. If you would like to take
advantage of this it's recommended that you source this file in your bashrc
.
The primary feature of the dots utility is to allow for dotfiles to be organized into different "Configuration groups". These configuration groups can then be enabled or disabled for the specific environment that the dotfiles are being installed into.
Configuration groups are two-level directories containing configuration files
and directories that will be installed when the group is activated. The dots
utility also includes a special configuration group that is hard coded into the
utility: The base
group is a single-level directory, so all files and
directories located in the base
directory will be installed if the base group
is activated.
Configuration groups can override or extend files that are included in configuration groups specified prior to them.
If a configuration file in the base
group specifies most of what is needed,
but for the specific environment you're installing the configuration files into
requires a little extra configuration for that file it is possible to append to
it.
For example, if you would like to add more options to the bashrc
for your
machine/desktop
group, you can simply include the bash/bashrc
file and it
will automagically be appended to the base/bash/bashrc
file upon installation.
Shebangs will be removed from the first line of the file being appended.
You can completely override a configuration file included in a previous group. This is similar to extending a configuration file as described in the previous section, however the file will simply replace the file specified in the environment group.
Enable overriding for a file by appending .override
to the filename.
For each configuration file you may also include a .install
script. This file
will be executed when the specific configuration file has been installed. If the
destination file has not been changed from the compiled file then the install
script will not be executed.
The installation scripts will be executed with the destination directory as the current working directory. In order for the scripts to be executed, they must be executable and include a shebang.
For example: We have a base/vim/vimrc
configuration file. We could also
include a base/vim/vimrc.install
file that executes some commands when the
vimrc file is installed. The script will be executed with the
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vim/
as the working directory.