dotfiles

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What's a dotfile repo and why would I ever need one?

A dotfile, named so because the file name commonly starts with ".", is a file that contains user defined preferences and configurations for various programs in their development environment. Common dotfiles are .zshrc and .bashrc, .vimrc, .gitconfig, .gitignore, and files in the .config directory.

Setting up dotfiles that maximize efficiency and productivity is a time consuming and iterative process. A dotfiles repo allows these settings to be safely backed up and quickly recovered in the event of catastrophic local hardware failure or just moving to new hardware.

Having a public dotfiles repo is also an easy way for devs to share and explore alternate environment setups with others.

Setup:

Setting up a Repo:

1. Initialize a bare git repository:

$ git init --bare $HOME/.dotfiles

2. In your .zhrc or .bashrc, create an alias for updating your dotfiles repository. I use dot because I'm lazy and not that creative:

# ~/.zshrc
alias dot="git --git-dir=$HOME/.dotfiles/ --work-tree=$HOME" 

You now have a git like command exclusively for your dotfiles.

3. Configure your repo to not show untracked files:

$ dot config --local status.showUntrackedFiles no

4. Create a README.md file, then add it to your repo and commit. IMPORTANT NOTE: Never add new or changed files to your repo with dot add ., as this will attempt to stage EVERY file and directory in your $HOME directory.

$ touch README.md
$ dot add README.md
$ dot status
On branch main

No commits yet

Changes to be committed:
	(use "git rm --cached <file>..." to unstage)
		new file:	README.md

Untracked files not listed (use -u option to show untracked files)
$ dot commit -m "Initial commit" 

5. Set up a remote on GitHub and link it to your local repo:

$ dot remote add origin [email protected]:some-dev/dotfiles.git
$ dot remote -v
origin [email protected]:some-dev/dotfiles.git (fetch)
origin [email protected]:some-dev/dotfiles.git (push)
$ dot push -u origin main

Congratulations! You now have a dotfiles repo!

What should I put in my dotfiles?

As previously stated, avoid using dot add . when adding new files and changes. Likewise, ALWAYS check your files to ensure they do not contain any secrets or tokens BEFORE you commit them.

Brewfile (MacOS users)

If you use Homebrew, you can quickly and easily create a Brewfile, which is like a lock file for software managed by homebrew. Having a Brewfile in your dotfiles repo will allow you to quickly reinstall dependency software when needed.

To create a Brewfile, simply run brew bundle dump in your $HOME directory, then add it to your dotfiles repo.

rc files

If they don't contain any secrets, .zshrc and .bashrc files can be added to your repo. If they do contain tokens or secrets, you can extract them into other, untracked files and import them into your rc files using source syntax.

Further Resources:

Below are some resources that I used to create this repo:

• The best way to store your dotfiles: A bare Git repository
• Ask HN: What do you use to manage dotfiles?
• This README

Brewfile resources:

• brew bundle docs
• Brewfile: a Gemfile, but for Homebrew