webpro/awesome-dotfiles

Awesome Dotfiles

A curated list of dotfiles resources. Inspired by the awesome list thing. Note that some articles or tools may look old or old-fashioned, but this usually means they're battle-tested and mature (like dotfiles themselves). Feel free to propose new articles, projects or tools!

Articles

Introductions

• Getting started with dotfiles, Lars Kappert
• Getting started with dotfiles, Dries Vints
• Managing your dotfiles, Lars Kappert
• Dotfiles Are Meant to Be Forked, Zach Holman
• Dotfile discovery, Wynn Netherland
• I do Dotfiles!, Jogendra

Tutorials

• Setting up a new (OS X) development machine: Part 3 - Dotfiles and custom SSH config
• Setting Up a Mac Dev Machine From Zero to Hero With Dotfiles
• Using Git and GitHub to manage your dotfiles
• conf.d like directories for zsh/bash dotfiles
• Managing your dotfiles
• The best way to store your dotfiles: A bare Git repository
• Dotfiles Management

Shell startup

• Shell startup scripts
• Zsh/Bash startup files loading order

Using specific tools

• Using GNU Stow to manage your dotfiles
• Managing Dotfile Symlinks with GNU Stow
• Dotfiles and dev tools provisioned by Ansible

Find dotfiles repos

There are many great dotfiles repos out there, each containing their own inspiration and gems. One way to go through them is to search GitHub for "dotfiles".

Also see:

• Google for "dotfiles"
• Archlinux collection
• Tip: search for a filename on GitHub, e.g. path:**/.gitconfig.

Example dotfiles repos

A collection of the most popular, well-maintained, and collaborative dotfiles repositories & frameworks. Some projects contain just the dotfiles. Others go further by allowing you to easily add your own custom dotfiles, and some include scripts to manage dotfiles and plugins.

Bash

Zsh

Fish

Ansible

Tools

• Ansible - Radically simple configuration-management, application deployment, task-execution, and multinode orchestration engine.
• chezmoi - Manage your dotfiles securely across multiple machines.
• dotbot - Tool that bootstraps your dotfiles.
• dotdrop - Save your dotfiles once, deploy them everywhere.
• dotly - Modular Zsh-based dotfiles framework for macOS, Linux, and WSL.
• DotState - Git-backed dotfile manager with profiles, automatic backups, and an interactive terminal interface.
• dotter - A dotfile manager and templater written in Rust.
• dots - Opinionated dotfiles generator that allows quick configuration of different window managers in multiple OSs!
• Fisher - A package manager for Fish.
• fresh - Keep your dotfiles fresh. Fresh is a tool to source shell configuration (aliases, functions, etc) from others into your own configuration files.
• GNU Stow - Symlink farm manager which takes distinct packages of software and/or data located in separate directories on the filesystem, and makes them appear to be installed in the same place.
• home-manager - Manage a user environment using Nix.
• homeshick - Git dotfile synchronizer written in Bash.
• homesick - Clone and manage Git-based dotfiles repositories with symlinks.
• lnk - Git-native dotfiles management without extra config.
• mackup - Keep your application settings in sync (macOS/Linux).
• OpenBoot - Mac dev environment manager that captures and restores Homebrew packages, dotfiles, shell configuration, and macOS preferences via interactive TUI.
• rcm - rc file (dotfile) management.
• rotz - Fully cross-platform dotfile manager and dev environment bootstrapper written in Rust.
• themer - Manage and generate themes across your development tools from within your dotfiles.
• toml-bombadil - Templatize and manage your dotfiles.
• Tuckr - Cross-platform, Stow-style dotfile manager with groups, hooks, and deployment validation.
• xdg-ninja - A shell script which checks your $HOME for unwanted files and directories.
• yadm - Tool for managing a collection of files across multiple computers, using a shared Git repository and some additional features.
• yolk - Dotfile manager with inline templating via comments, so files stay valid even un-deployed.

macOS

• dockutil - Command line tool for managing dock items.
• mas - Mac App Store command line interface.

Miscellaneous

• dotfiles.github.io - Your unofficial guide to dotfiles on GitHub.
• Filesystem Hierarchy Standard - Directory structure and directory contents in Linux distributions.
• XDG Base Directory Specification - Summary
• A lesson in shortcuts - How the idea of "hidden" or "dot" files was born, by Rob Pike (originally posted on Google+).

Related Lists

• Awesome Dev Env - Curated list of awesome tools, resources and workflow tips making an awesome development environment.
• Awesome Fish - Curated list of packages, prompts, and resources for the fish shell.
• Awesome Shell - Curated list of awesome command-line frameworks, toolkits, guides and gizmos.
• Awesome Sysadmin - A curated list of amazingly awesome open source sysadmin resources.
• Awesome Zsh Plugins - List of Zsh plugins suitable for use with oh-my-zsh, antigen & Prezto.
• Terminals Are Sexy - A curated list of Terminal frameworks, plugins & resources for CLI lovers.

Archive/abandoned projects

• antigen
• bashdot
• Bashstrap
• battleschool
• Bork
• Cider
• dev-setup
• dotbare
• dotfiles
• dotstow
• Eduardo's dotfiles
• ellipsis
• emplace
• kody
• macOS Defaults
• osxc
• Pearl
• rkalis's dotfiles
• vcsh (article, article)
• YADR
• Zero.sh

License

To the extent possible under law, Lars Kappert has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this work.