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Chezmoi Dotfiles Setup

This repository manages dotfiles across multiple machines using Chezmoi templating.

Machine Setup

Personal Laptop (Current Machine)

Already configured! Machine type: personal

Work Laptop Setup

When setting up on your work laptop:

  1. Install and initialize chezmoi:

    chezmoi init https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/YOUR_REPO.git

  2. Create/edit ~/.config/chezmoi/chezmoi.toml:

    [git]
    autoAdd = true
    autoCommit = true
    autoPush = true

[diff]
    pager = "less -R"

[edit]
    apply = true

[data]
    machine_type = "work"  # <-- Set to "work" here

  3. Apply the configuration:

    chezmoi apply

How Templating Works

Template Syntax

Files with .tmpl suffix use Go templates with Chezmoi data:

  • {{ .chezmoi.homeDir }} - Current user's home directory
  • {{ .chezmoi.username }} - Current username
  • {{ .machine_type }} - Custom variable from config
  • {{- if eq .machine_type "work" }}...{{- end }} - Conditional sections

Current Templates

  • dot_zsh/integrations.zsh.tmpl: Work-specific shell integrations
    • On work machine: Loads tunnel-goat and kubejumper
    • On personal machine: Empty (header only)

Available Variables

From ~/.config/chezmoi/chezmoi.toml [data] section:

  • .machine_type - "personal" or "work"

Built-in Chezmoi variables:

  • .chezmoi.homeDir - Home directory path
  • .chezmoi.username - Current username
  • .chezmoi.hostname - Machine hostname
  • .chezmoi.os - Operating system

Common Templating Patterns

Conditional Content by Machine Type

{{- if eq .machine_type "work" }}
# Work-specific configuration
export WORK_VAR="value"
{{- else }}
# Personal configuration
export PERSONAL_VAR="value"
{{- end }}

Using Dynamic Home Directory

# Instead of hardcoded paths like /Users/nrebello
source "{{ .chezmoi.homeDir }}/.config/tool/config"

Machine-Specific Files

Two approaches:

  1. Templates with conditionals (current approach)

    • Single file with {{- if }} blocks
    • Pro: All logic in one place
    • Con: File exists on all machines

  2. Separate files with .chezmoiignore

    • Create file.work and file.personal
    • Use .chezmoiignore to exclude based on machine
    • Pro: Cleaner separation
    • Con: More files to manage

Best Practices

  1. Never commit secrets - Use ~/.config/chezmoi/chezmoi.toml for machine-specific data
  2. Test templates - Run chezmoi execute-template < file.tmpl to test
  3. Preview changes - Use chezmoi diff before chezmoi apply
  4. Use built-in variables - Prefer .chezmoi.homeDir over hardcoded paths
  5. Keep it simple - Only template what needs to differ between machines

Useful Commands

# Preview changes
chezmoi diff

# Apply changes
chezmoi apply

# Edit a file (auto-applies on save)
chezmoi edit ~/.zshrc

# Add a new file
chezmoi add ~/.config/newfile

# See current data/variables
chezmoi data

# Test a template
chezmoi execute-template < dot_file.tmpl

# Check what chezmoi manages
chezmoi managed

Next Steps

Consider templating these files based on your needs:

  • Git config - Different emails for work/personal
  • SSH config - Different hosts and keys
  • Shell aliases - Work-specific commands
  • Tool configs - Different settings per environment

File Naming Convention

  • dot_filename → .filename
  • dot_config/tool/config → .config/tool/config
  • filename.tmpl → Processed as template, .tmpl removed
  • private_filename → Permissions set to 600
  • executable_filename → Permissions set to 755