I’m wondering if there is a new tool out there that I’m missing out on.
i don’t 😎
Git and symbolic links still.
Ive heard good things about GNU Stow.
If you’re using symlinks, you should definitely check out Stow.
That’s the way I do it, although I have a custom script that generates the symlinks for me. Not sure why I’d need anything more
https://www.chezmoi.io/ if you’ve got some complexity with your setup. otherwise, could be overkill.
What I really like about chezmoi is how it can retrieve secrets stored on Bitwarden. Your git history is clean of secrets but you can have them referenced on your dotfiles.
I adore chezmoi
it’s so useful! I used to have some terrible setup going with branches for different OSes in my dotfiles, and chezmoi really simplified the whole thing
Indeed, I use my dotfiles across several machines, architectures, and distributions and it’s fantastic
Had a homebrew Git setup for ages and recently started using Chezmoi. It’s only been a few weeks, but so far it’s been pretty great!
I prefer to keep tooling for that at a minimum. Therefore I use git only. My approach is taken from here: https://www.atlassian.com/git/tutorials/dotfiles The only difference: My git alias is
dotfiles
notconfig
. I find that to be less confusing. Additionally, I source system-specific configs, where appropriate. These are not stored in dotfiles. There is a small todo section in my readme.I do the same! It works quite well.
Like to see so many fellow nix(os)ers here, I think the amount/ratio of nixers here is quite a bit higher than previously on reddit.
🫡
I’m all in on nix with home-manager these days. Really seems like an ideal framework for my dotfiles and of all the systems I’ve tried over the years this is the one I’m happiest with.
Hell of a learning curve, though.
Yep it’s like maintaining a codebase that’s getting increasingly better. It’s a rabbit-hole and a timesink (kind of because you’re trying to get the best out of it, and thus configure likely more) but I think it’s worth it. It gets better overtime as well
I’m surprised it’s not already mentioned in these comments: https://yadm.io/
i take a Phoenix approach with my dotfiles.
Once a decade when my computer crashes and burns, from the ashes emerges a blank slate of dotfiles that is purged of all unnecessary hacks that have accumulated. With a tear and a hopeful outlook, I rush to set the settings I am actually dependent on.
I really need to take more interest in backing up my dotfiles 😭
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Are you me? I do the exact same thing… only I also made a Makefile to do all the stow commands for me.
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Or maybe you’re me, because that’s what I do. Git + Stow + Makefile.
Tried all the fancy ideas, never stuck with it. I just use git to track changes now and move on with my life. There are like four functions I carry around with me, then whatever path additions and init scripts I pile up. It’s so light it doesn’t really matter when I move to a new machine
I’ve done symlinks into a separate directory before, but by far my favorite method is to just let
~
be a git repo. It’s maximally simple, no other tooling needed besidesgit
.There are a few key steps to making this work well:
echo '*' > ~/.gitignore
: This waygit status
isn’t full of untracked files. I can stillgit add -f
what I actually want to track.git branch -m dots
: For clarity in my shell prompt.[ -d "$HOME/.local/$(hostname)/bin" ] && PATH=$PATH:$HOME/.local/$(hostname)/bin
and similar if there’s config I want to apply only to certain hosts.
Pretty happy with nixos these days, after the initial (crazy) learning curve. But I really like the creative simplicity of this idea
StoleForked this idea from Drew Devault.I’m looking at NixOS now for my server, and while I understand the host config, I’m curious whether I could integrate this into my config in some way.
They’re in git
I still put them in gists, with no real tooling. I pull them in selectively when I get a new machine.
https://github.com/technicalpickles/homesick
It’s a bit old (hasn’t been updated in 4 years), but works great.I used bare git repo before, then switch to GNU Stow + Nix home-manager.