This repository contains my personal dotfiles, managed using a bare Git repository approach. This approach allows for easy management and synchronization of dotfiles across multiple machines without the need for symbolic links or separate directory structures.
A bare repository in Git contains the version history of a project, without a working directory for staging files. This is particularly useful for managing dotfiles as it avoids potential conflicts and keeps the home directory clean. To manage the dotfiles, an alias is created which refers to a Git bare repository. This alias is used for all Git commands, making it a seamless process to manage and track dotfiles.
- Git
- Ensure you have Git installed on your machine.
- Before cloning the repo, you should backup any existing dotfiles in your HOME directory that may conflict with the files in this repository.
Clone this repository to your machine. You might choose to clone it to a hidden directory in your home directory for tidiness.
git clone --bare <your-repo-url> $HOME/.dotfilesAdd the following alias command to your shell's configuration file (e.g., ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, etc.). This alias allows you to use the dotfiles command to interact with your repository.
alias dotfiles='/usr/bin/git --git-dir=$HOME/.dotfiles/ --work-tree=$HOME'Source your shell's configuration file to apply the alias.
source ~/.bashrc # Or the appropriate file for your shell, e.g., ~/.zshrcBy default, git status will show all untracked files in your home directory. To hide untracked files, you can configure Git with the following command:
dotfiles config status.showUntrackedFiles noNow, checkout the files from the repository into your home directory.
dotfiles checkoutSwitch to the branch you need, e.g. arch, to pull the config files. This will fail if one of these files already exist. In this case remove or better backup those files and checkout again.
To automate the setup of your dotfiles on a new machine, use the init-dotfiles.sh script from the main branch.
This script will handle configuring Git to hide untracked files, and checking out the files from the repository into your home directory.
Here's a brief overview of how the script works:
Configure Git: The script configures Git to hide untracked files when you run git status with the dotfiles alias.
Branch Selection: The script prompts you to choose the branch that you want to checkout.
Checkout Files: Based on your branch selection, the script checks out the files from that branch into your home directory. It will replace the existing shell configuration file (e.g., ~/.bashrc) with the one from the repository, which includes the dotfiles alias, among other configurations.
Before running the script, ensure you have cloned the repository, checked out the main branch and made any backup you need:
git clone --bare <repository-url> $HOME/.dotfiles
alias dotfiles='/usr/bin/git --git-dir=$HOME/.dotfiles/ --work-tree=$HOME'
dotfiles checkout mainNow you can run the init-dotfiles.sh script to automate the rest of the setup:
chmod +x $HOME/.dotfiles/init-dotfiles.sh
$HOME/.dotfiles/init-dotfiles.shNow your dotfiles should be set up on your new machine, and you can manage them using the dotfiles command.
Use at your own risk =)
git init --bare ~/.dotfiles
alias dotfiles='/usr/bin/git --git-dir=$HOME/.dotfiles/ --work-tree=$HOME'
dotfiles config status.showUntrackedFiles noAdd the alias to .bashrc if not present.
Install bash-complete-alias to get git completions and add the following to .bashrc
complete -F _complete_alias dotfilesAdd the ~/.dotfiles/ directory to the gitignore as a security measure.
echo '.dotfiles' >> ~/.gitignoreSet upstream and push:
dotfiles remote add origin <your-github-url>/dotfiles.git
dotfiles push --set-upstream origin mainStart managing your dotfiles with the new alias like your used to with the normal git command.