Manage dotfiles with git

Manage dotfiles with git.md

Manage dotfiles with git

Manage dotfiles with git using a bare repository and shell alias.

Based on information on various proposals:

• https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11070797
• https://fwuensche.medium.com/how-to-manage-your-dotfiles-with-git-f7aeed8adf8b
• https://www.atlassian.com/git/tutorials/dotfiles

Setup

git init --bare $HOME/.dotfiles

Create alias (add to .bashrc or .zshrc)

alias dotfiles='/usr/bin/git --git-dir=$HOME/.dotfiles/ --work-tree=$HOME'

Hide untracked files

dotfiles config --local status.showUntrackedFiles no

Add files

dotfiles add .bashrc
dotfiles commit -m "..."

Pushing

dotfiles remote add origin <URI>
dotfiles push origin main

Cloning on a new computer

git clone --bare <URI> $HOME/.dotfiles
alias dotfiles='/usr/bin/git --git-dir=$HOME/.dotfiles/ --work-tree=$HOME'
dotfiles checkout --force
dotfiles config --local status.showUntrackedFiles no