Manage dotfiles using chezmoi

This note was created on 2020-11-05
This note was last edited on 2023-01-31

"chezmoi" helps you manage your personal configuration files (dotfiles, like ~/.bashrc) across multiple machines. It has strong support for security, allowing you to manage secrets (e.g. passwords, access tokens, and private keys) securely and seamlessly using a password manager of your choice or GnuPG encryption.
Source code available at GitHub: https://github.com/twpayne/chezmoi.

=== Installation ===
You can install "chezmoi" using your package manager or by runnig the following command:
$ curl -sfL https://git.io/chezmoi | sh
This will install correct binary in "./bin".

=== Upgrading ===
If you have installed a pre-built binary of chezmoi, you can upgrade it to the latest release with:
$ chezmoi upgrade

=== Basic usage ===
Initialize chezmoi repository:
$ chezmoi init
This will create a new git repository in "~/.local/share/chezmoi" with permissions 0700 where chezmoi will store the source state. chezmoi only modifies files in the working copy. It is your responsibility to commit changes.

Manage an existing file with chezmoi:
$ chezmoi add ~/.bashrc
This will copy "~/.bashrc" to "~/.local/share/chezmoi/dot_bashrc". Use "-r" to add whole folder.

Edit source state of configuration file:
$ chezmoi edit ~/.bashrc
This will open "~/.local/share/chezmoi/dot_bashrc" in your $EDITOR.

See what changes will be made:
$ chezmoi diff

Apply changes to actual dotfiles:
$ chezmoi -v apply
Add "-v" for verbose output and "-n" for dry run.

Restore dotfiles on another machine:
$ chezmoi init https://gitlab.com/username/dotfiles.git
$ chezmoi apply

Launch a shell in the source directory:
$ chezmoi cd

List the managed files in the destination directory:
$ chezmoi managed

Remove a target from the source state (stop managing):
$ chezmoi forget ~/.bashrc

Pull latest changes from repository:
$ chezmoi update

=== Read more ===
"chezmoi" have much more functionality. Read more on the official website: https://www.chezmoi.io/docs/how-to.