Chezmoi Dotfiles Management

Chezmoi Dotfiles Management

This skill helps manage dotfiles using chezmoi in this repository.

Repository Location

All dotfiles are managed in ~/​.local/​share/​chezmoi which is a git repository synced to GitHub at https://github.com/​craigtkhill/​dotfiles.git.

Critical Workflow

When creating or modifying dotfiles, you MUST follow this exact order:

1. Navigate to chezmoi source directory

   cd ~/​.local/​share/​chezmoi
   

2. Create or edit files using chezmoi naming conventions

   • Use dot_ prefix for dotfiles (e.g., dot_gitconfig → ~/​.gitconfig)
   • Preserve directory structure (e.g., dot_config/​fish/​functions/ → ~/​.config/​fish/​functions/)
   • You can edit directly in ~/​.local/​share/​chezmoi or use chezmoi edit <target-path>

3. Apply changes to home directory

   chezmoi apply
   # or for specific file:
   chezmoi apply ~/​.config/​fish/​functions/​myfile.fish
   

4. Commit and push to GitHub

   cd ~/​.local/​share/​chezmoi
   git add .
   git commit -m "your message"
   git push origin main
   

5. Verify it's managed

   chezmoi managed | grep myfile
   

Common Commands

• chezmoi status - Show what has changed
• chezmoi diff - Show detailed differences
• chezmoi managed - List all managed files
• chezmoi apply - Apply changes from dotfiles to home directory
• chezmoi apply --force - Force apply, overriding conflicts
• chezmoi add <file> - Add a file to chezmoi tracking
• chezmoi re-add <file> - Re-add a tracked file

Fish Shell Specifics

Fish automatically loads functions from ~/​.config/​fish/​functions/. Each function must be in its own file named functionname.fish.

After adding new fish functions:

1. Copy to ~/​.config/​fish/​functions/
2. Functions are immediately available (fish auto-loads them)
3. No need to source or reload

Adding Existing Files to Chezmoi

If you want to add an existing file from your home directory to chezmoi:

chezmoi add ~/​.config/​fish/​functions/​myfile.fish

This will copy the file to ~/​.local/​share/​chezmoi with proper naming and make it managed.

Common Mistakes

❌ DON'T: Edit files directly in ~/​.config/​fish/ without updating chezmoi

• Changes will be lost when chezmoi applies source files

❌ DON'T: Forget to commit and push changes to GitHub

• Your dotfiles won't be backed up or available on other machines

✅ DO: Edit in ~/​.local/​share/​chezmoi → Apply → Commit → Push