Dotbro is a tool which helps you install and keep your dotfiles up to date.
Create simple config. Run dotbro first time:
dotbro --config path/to/your/config.toml
Next time just execute:
dotbro
Read about dotfiles on GitHub page. I think this article by Lars Kappert will give you enough understanding. So, if you don't have your dotfiles repository yet, it's time to create it. Next, read further to explore an easy way to manage your dotfiles.
Dotfiles are generally stored in VCS and symlinked from repo directory to your $HOME - this is one of the best patterns because you can track changes easily and commit them to your dotfiles repo. However, this pattern does not offer you any way to install your dotfiles, so often people end up writing their own script e.g. in bash, which is not good for long-term purposes (I know that because I had one).
This tool was made to deal with dotfiles installation, so you don't waste your time writing your install scripts and focus only on your dotfiles themselves.
Dotbro takes on the routine. The main task - installing your dotfiles in one command on any of your machines.
All you need is simple configuration file in JSON or TOML format.
The other benefit is you do not need any special tooling if you use multiple different operation systems, e.g Linux and OS X. You can use one single dotfiles repository with multiple dotbro's configuration files inside - one for each OS. What can be easier?
You may want to (or you do already) store your dotfiles in a neat way using named directories like bash/bashrc.
Obviously, you want to symlink it to proper place $HOME/.bashrc.
This is easily done by writing such string in [mapping] section:
"bash/bashrc" = ".bashrc"
First time you run dotbro, specify the config file. Dotbro remembers path to this file and use it in further runs.
Dotbro cleans broken symlinks in your $HOME (or your another destination path).
Dotbro can automate routine of adding files to your dotfiles repo with one single command. It does a backup copy, moves the file and creates a symlink to your file. After that you only need to add this file to your dotbro config (I'm working on automation of this) and commit that file to your repo.
Configuration can be either TOML or JSON file. TOML is peferred, because it's a bit clearer and allows comments. However, JSON is good option for configs without mapping, it's short and simple.
Example of a simple configuration file in TOML format:
# Dotbro configuration file.
#
# Some points:
# - Almost all options have default value.
# - You can use $ENV_VARIABLE in paths.
[directories]
# Directory of your dotfiles repository.
# Default: directory of this config.
dotfiles = "$HOME/dotfiles"
# Destination directory - your dotfiles will be linked there.
# Default: $HOME
destination = "$HOME"
# Backup directory - your original files will be backuped there.
# Default: $HOME/.dotfiles~
backup = "$HOME/.dotfiles~"
[mapping]
# Binaries
"bin" = "bin"
# ZSH
"zsh/zprofile" = ".zprofile"
"zsh/zshrc" = ".zshrc"
"zsh/zshrc.d" = ".zshrc.d"
"zsh/zlogin" = ".zlogin"
# Vim
"vim/vimrc" = ".vimrc"
"git/commit_template" = ".gitcommit"
"git/config" = ".gitconfig"
"git/excludes" = ".gitexcludes"
"i3" = ".i3"
".keynavrc" = ".keynavrc"
".screenrc" = ".screenrc"See more examples in config_examples directory of this repo.
Config has 3 sections:
- directories
- mapping
- files
| Option | Description | Example | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| dotfiles | Directory of your dotfiles repository. | $HOME/dotfiles |
Directory of your config file. |
| sources | Directory relative to dotfiles where dotfiles are stored. You want to set this option if you keep your dotfiles in a subdirectory of your repo. By default this is empty, assuming your dotfiles are on the first level of dotfiles directory. |
src |
none |
| destination | Your dotfiles will be linked there. | $HOME |
$HOME |
| backup | Your original files will be backuped there. | $HOME/backups/dotfiles |
$HOME/.dotfiles~ |
Each option here represents source file and destination file.
Example: your dotfiles directory is $HOME/dotfiles. In that directory, you have folder vim and file vimrc in that folder, so path is $HOME/dotfiles/vim/vimrc.
In directories section you have already specified dotfiles = "$HOME/dotfiles". So to install your vimrc properly you need to specify such line in mapping section:
"vim/vimrc" = ".vimrc"
Also, mapping is optional. If you do not specify any mapping, dotbro will symlink all files from your dotfiles directory to your destination directory respectively. If you do want this approach, but want some files to be excluded, see Files section.
As said above, this section is for symlinking all dotfiles without mapping specification.
| Option | Description | Example | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| excludes | Files to exclude from being installed | excludes = ["README.md", "dotbro.toml"] |
none |
Summing up, your config without mapping will look like this:
# Dotbro configuration file.
[directories]
dotfiles = "$HOME/dotfiles"
[mapping]
excludes = [
"README.md",
"dotbro.toml"
]Using Go tools:
go install github.com/hypnoglow/dotbro@latest
This downloads the source code, builds and installs the latest version of dotbro.
Then you can use dotbro command right away.
dotbro package is available in AUR:
https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/dotbro/
Coming soon ...
Take a look at usage info running:
dotbro --help
If you haven't prepared your config file yet, it's time to do it. When your config is ready, run:
dotbro -c <config-path>
This installs your dotfiles.
Further runs you can omit config path parameter - dotbro have remembered it for you. So just run:
dotbro
To move a file to your dotfiles, perform an add command:
dotbro add ./path-to-file
If you experience any problems, please submit an issue and attach dotbro log file,
which can be found at $HOME/.dotbro/dotbro.log.