This project has been discontinued in favour of its successor:

dot - simple dotfiles tracking

Take note that this project is still in its infancy and is, at the moment, mainly as a personal project. If you want to know when the project receives updates then give it a star or watch.

Download the tar.gz file from the dist folder and install it with the following command:

$ pip install dot-<version-number>.tar.gz

First create a folder in which you want to put all the files and folders in. In this directory all the tracked files will reside. For instance create a dotfiles folder in your home directory.

$ mkdir ~/dotfiles

Go to this directory and execute the dot init command. This command will create a backup folder and a files folder. The files folder will contain all the files and folder you are going to track and the backup folder will contain the files and folders that will backup when you are using 'dot' on a different machine.

Now that you've created the basic structure, be sure to set up a git repository for this folder. Go to your dotfiles directory an execute the following command.

$ git init

For further instructions on how to set up a git repository refer to the git documentation.

Execute the command:

$ dot init

This will create 2 folders the files and the backup folder. The files folder will hold all your dot files and the backup will hold all the files that were already present on other machines. (See section: Other machines)

So first we will track dot's own config file ~/.dotconfig and we do this by issuing the following command:

$ dot dotconfig ~/.dotconfig

This will put the ~/.dotconfig file in the files folder and will create a symlink that will point to ~/dotfiles/files/dotconfig/.dotconfig

Now we want to push it to our git repository:

$ git commit -am "Added dotconfig file" $ git push origin master

To track a file or folder simply use the following command:

$ dot add <name> <path>

Specify the name you'd like to setup for this symlink and the path which leads to the file or folder you want to track. For instance:

> dot add dottestfile ~/.dottestfile

When that succeeds you can symlink the tracked file by using the command dot.

$ dot

This will transfer the tracked files and folders to the files directory in your dotfiles folder.

If you want to reset the link you just made, then type in the following command:

$ dot rm <name>

Use the name you described when adding the file, you can reference this name by typing 'dot list', this will give you an overview of the files that are being tracked.

$ dot rm dottestfile

This will return the file to its original destination and won't be tracked in the future. Just make sure you made the necessary changes in git.

When you're stumped at what command to use than use:

$ dot --help

This will display the available command and how to use it.

So you have setup your repository and are tracking your dotfiles but you want to be able to use your repository with your updated file on another machine. Then first we'll track dot's own dotfile: '.dotconfig'.

$ dot add dotconfig ~/.dotconfig

$ dot

This file contains all the locations and files you are tracking on the moment. Make the necessary changes to your git repository and clone it on the other machine. Now run the command dot and it will begin symlinking the files that are stored in the .dotconfig file. When files are missing the program will let you know.

If you uncovered an issue or bug then let me know or file an issue on the github page. If you want to give some feedback or have a question then you can contact me on this e-mail address: erroneousboat@gmail.com

If you want to help with the development of this application then please refer to the CONTRIBUTING.rst to get started.