Use Git to manage dotfiles

Mogger · 2009-06-10 16:51:07

:: Disclaimer
I found some topics about placing ~ under version control, but none of the threads were specifically about dotfiles.
I'm completely new to Git and version control in general.

:: Problem
I want to version control some configuration files (.bashrc, .vimrc etc.) in ~ using Git. My reasons for this are as follows:
- Easy to backup files and discard changes.
- Share and synchronize configuration files between computers. I want to allow local customizations, more on this later.

Sounds pretty reasonable? The question is, how do I accomplish this? I did a little research, hoping to find a good article that described everything. What I found was a lot of articles[0-5], each describing its own way of using Git for dotfiles.

:: Solution?
I want to find an easy and straightforward way, that still allows flexibility. After some reading, I've come to the following conclusions:
- Having one git repository directly in ~ isn't a good idea. It's better to have one repo for each group of related files (e.g. all vim configuration).
- Some put the files in ~/dotfiles/* and symlink them, often using a script. This sounds rather complicated to me.
- There are already some scripts to handle everything: git-home and git-home-history. However, these seem to handle the whole ~, not specific dotfiles.
- My plan is to have a master branch where the common configuration are stored, and one branch for each computer for local customizations. (I haven't worked with branches before, but this is a pretty good opportunity to learn how, right?).

I like the sound of detached worktrees[5], but while it doesn't use symbolic links, it requires custom tools (scripts/mr tool). Maybe it's easier to go with the symbolic linking approach?

> Which method do you like the most, and are there any common pitfalls to look out for?

-
[0] http://psung.blogspot.com/2007/11/versi … emote.html
[1] http://wiki.debian-community.org/planet … directory/
[2] http://www.silassewell.com/blog/2009/03 … nd-github/
[3] http://robescriva.com/2009/01/manage-yo … -with-git/
[4] http://mnemonikk.org/2009/03/23/finally … n-control/
[5] http://tensixtyone.com/perma/the-versio … -directory

litemotiv · 2009-06-10 17:07:59

i think i would just make a single Master for ~, git-ignoring all non-dotfiles:

git help ignore

since there aren't that many dotfiles it isn't really useful to create separate branches. also, since you are always working in a particular branch, you would have to manually rebase them on Master every time (which is a lot of hassle).

Last edited by litemotiv (2009-06-10 17:12:48)

cinan · 2009-06-10 18:14:17

I started with http://daniel.debian.net/documents/cheatpages/git.html http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~bl … index.html and http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/ … orial.html.
Symlinks don't work with git how you'd expect (try and you'll see). I made new dir, called git. Then I hardlinked all config files. E.g.:
'ln ~/.vimrc ~/.bahshrc ~/.xinitc ~/git'. And I'm happy

Last edited by cinan (2009-06-10 18:14:46)

stabele · 2009-06-10 20:41:47

git-home looks promissing. Contrary to most other git-based solutions it stores permissions too.

Yannick_LM · 2009-06-10 20:58:13

- Some put the files in ~/dotfiles/* and symlink them, often using a script. This sounds rather complicated to me.

This can in fact work quite well.

Currently, I got git repos in
.config/vim, .config/zsh and .config/awesome

with some symlinks:
.zshrc -> .config/zsh/zshrc
.vim ->.config/vim
.vimrc -> .config/vim/vimrc

and so on...

I got a branch for work and a branch for home for each repo, and everything is fine.

timetrap · 2009-06-11 14:43:45

Yannick_LM wrote:

- Some put the files in ~/dotfiles/* and symlink them, often using a script. This sounds rather complicated to me.
This can in fact work quite well.
Currently, I got git repos in
.config/vim, .config/zsh and .config/awesome
with some symlinks:
.zshrc -> .config/zsh/zshrc
.vim ->.config/vim
.vimrc -> .config/vim/vimrc
and so on...
I got a branch for work and a branch for home for each repo, and everything is fine.

I have the same style set up. It makes everything much easier.

.emacs -> ~/configs/emacs

And emacs git mode makes it easier as well ...

WhiteMagic · 2009-06-11 16:27:24

I tried both gibak and git-home-history but for me they were more trouble then help so I went with a simple git repository in my home directory.
At first I had a remote branch for each computer but after some merging this got messy. Now I have a single remote branch with a local branch on each computer for computer specific customizations. I commit changes to my config files on the master branch which gets pushed to a remote repository. The local branches are updated by rebasing them to the master branch. So far this worked ok for me.

I also have a rather extensive .gitignore file deciding which files are synched by git.

Mr.Elendig · 2009-06-12 08:50:02

I just run a git repo directly in ~, and just add the files I want to it, instead of doing git add .

Mogger · 2009-06-14 17:27:44

Thanks for all the input! I think I'll try to put all dotfiles in a separate directory and hardlink.

Those of you who do it this way, do you have a script (preferable bash) or do you run ln 'manually'?

cinan · 2009-06-14 17:58:14

I just do 'git add .' 'git commit -a' and 'git push'. Manually

Urfaust · 2009-11-13 16:07:09

Hi

I'm playing around with git to manage my dotfiles. I set up a bare repo on my NAS and a local repository under ~/. I added the remote repo to the local one so I can push and pull. This works for files like .bashrc because it is stored under ~/. Now I want to hard link files like rc.conf and others stored under /etc. When I try to create a hardlink I get an error "invalid link across devices" because /home and / are on seperated partitions. So is it a good idea to softlink those files (ln -s)? Will this work, too?

Another question:
How could I restore all files if I lost them/set up a new machine? First thing would be to clone the repo from the server and then? I would have the ~/dotfiles/ repo will all files in it, do I have to manually cp the files in this directory to where they belong to (cp ~/dotfiles/rc.conf /etc/rc.conf and so on..)?
Thanks for answering my noob questions.

Mogger · 2009-11-13 16:27:24

Guess I should update this topic with the solution I arrived at:

I have a ~/.dotfiles directory now and create softlinks in ~ (e.g. ~/.bashrc -> ~/.dotfiles/bashrc, ~/.vim -> ~/.dotfiles/vim). To create the symlinks I use the following script:

#!/bin/bash

DIR=/home/hans/.dotfiles/

mkdir -p ~/dotfiles_old

cd $DIR
for i in *
do
    mv ~/.$i ~/dotfiles_old/
    ln -s $DIR/$i ~/.$i
done

rm ~/.make.sh

Not very beautiful but it works. (It's in ~/.dotfiles/, if you wonder what the last line is for).

The master branch contains common configuration for all computers. Each computer has a local branch to handle local customizations. When I want a change to apply globally, I checkout master or use cherry-pick, and finally rebase the local branch.

anrxc · 2009-11-13 16:37:54

I use this script to copy files that have changed into ~/dotfiles. For every file and directory in ~/dotfiles it checks if a .<name> exists in home, then compares and makes a copy. Main repo is on my workstation, every other machine has a branch with local changes. Workstation also has a public branch stripped of all sensitive data, so I can share my dotfiles with others.

Last edited by anrxc (2009-11-13 16:41:49)

Urfaust · 2009-11-13 16:58:02

Ehm, now I am confused.:D
Why are those scripts necessary? If I create a softlink, lets say

ln -s /etc/rc.conf ~/dotfiles/rc.conf

why do I need to run the script? The name of the file will not change, so why is it necessary to create the link again?

Mogger · 2009-11-13 17:40:08

It's not - the script is for the first time I set it up. Just a little convenient thing.

Urfaust · 2009-11-13 17:44:34

Ah ok, thought you run this everytime you change something.:rolleyes:
Thanks for your answers, folks.;)

Urfaust · 2009-11-15 10:08:05

Mhh, problems.

I did the following in my ~/, ~/dotfiles is the folder where the git repo is placed:

echo 'testtesttest'> testfile
ln -s ~/testfile ~/dotfiles/testfile
cd dotfiles/
git status

worked like expected:

git status 
# On branch master
# Your branch is ahead of 'origin/master' by 6 commits.
#
# Untracked files:
#   (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)
#
#    testfile
nothing added to commit but untracked files present (use "git add" to track)

then

git add .

git status 
# On branch master
# Your branch is ahead of 'origin/master' by 6 commits.
#
# Changes to be committed:
#   (use "git reset HEAD <file>..." to unstage)
#
#    new file:   testfile
#

git commit -m 'testfile'
[master 818fefe] testfile
 1 files changed, 1 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)
 create mode 120000 testfile

Ok, now for the problem.:D

cd ~/
nano testfile (modifying the testfile)
cd dotfiles/
git status
# On branch master
# Your branch is ahead of 'origin/master' by 7 commits.
#
nothing to commit (working directory clean)

I modified the testfile but git is not recognizing it?
I don't get it, also a 'git add .' did nothing. Why isn't git aware that I changed the testfile?

Thanks for help.

Mogger · 2009-11-15 10:15:02

I think you should do it the other way around - real files in ~/dotfiles (git repo) and symlinks in ~. For example, ~/.bashrc -> ~/dotfiles/bashrc.

Urfaust · 2009-11-15 10:22:43

Mhh, that's not really what I want. If I don't want to use the git repo anymore I delete ~/dotfiles and everything is gone. If I do it the other way round this is not possible..:/
Now I have a central folder with symlinks. Otherwise there would be a bunch of files in it and symlinks spread all over the filesystem.

Last edited by Urfaust (2009-11-15 10:25:36)

Mogger · 2009-11-15 10:40:48

Hm. In that case, have you tried hardlinks?

Urfaust · 2009-11-15 10:54:53

Mogger wrote:

Hm. In that case, have you tried hardlinks?

Yes, see Posting #11. But

Urfaust wrote:

This works for files like .bashrc because it is stored under ~/. Now I want to hard link files like rc.conf and others stored under /etc. When I try to create a hardlink I get an error "invalid link across devices" because /home and / are on seperated partitions. So is it a good idea to softlink those files (ln -s)? Will this work, too?

This seems to be a doom loop.;)

Mogger · 2009-11-15 10:58:56

Ah, sorry. I had read that, but forgot about it. Then I don't know any other solutions (other than doing the other way around).

Urfaust · 2009-11-15 11:06:08

Ok, but thanks for your answers.:)

tzervo · 2010-06-24 15:20:00

@OP: you can also change your $HOME variable to /home/yourname/dotfiles, so you can avoid symlinking. This was proposed here for other reasons but I found out it worked nice for dotfiles versioning as well

EDIT: sorry for necrobumping, I read the post's date wrong...

Last edited by tzervo (2010-06-24 17:57:25)

Arch Linux

#1 2009-06-10 16:51:07

Use Git to manage dotfiles

#2 2009-06-10 17:07:59

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#3 2009-06-10 18:14:17

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#4 2009-06-10 20:41:47

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#5 2009-06-10 20:58:13

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#6 2009-06-11 14:43:45

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#7 2009-06-11 16:27:24

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#8 2009-06-12 08:50:02

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#9 2009-06-14 17:27:44

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#10 2009-06-14 17:58:14

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#11 2009-11-13 16:07:09

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#12 2009-11-13 16:27:24

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#13 2009-11-13 16:37:54

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#14 2009-11-13 16:58:02

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#15 2009-11-13 17:40:08

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#16 2009-11-13 17:44:34

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#17 2009-11-15 10:08:05

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#18 2009-11-15 10:15:02

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#19 2009-11-15 10:22:43

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#20 2009-11-15 10:40:48

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#21 2009-11-15 10:54:53

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#22 2009-11-15 10:58:56

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#23 2009-11-15 11:06:08

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

#24 2010-06-24 15:20:00

Re: Use Git to manage dotfiles

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