Manage dotfiles using a git bare repository

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 18:33:15 +0000

I’ve been searching the best way to manage my dotfiles using git.

After seeing this video and checking this tutorial I decided to give it a go.

I will be using keybase as my (private) git repository.

Create and setup repository

Create a repository in keybase using the application
Create a bare repository

1mkdir -p $HOME/.dotfiles
2git init --bare $HOME/.dotfiles
3alias dotfiles='/usr/bin/git --git-dir=$HOME/.dotfiles --work-tree=$HOME'
4dotfiles config --local status.showUntrackedFiles no
5echo "alias dotfiles='/usr/bin/git --git-dir=$HOME/.dotfiles --work-tree=$HOME'" >> $HOME/.zshrc

Adding files

Add a first file to test if everything is OK

1dotfiles status
2dotfiles add .vimrc
3dotfiles commit -m "Add vimrc"
4dotfiles remote add origin keybase://private/your_username/dotfiles
5dotfiles push -u origin master

Every time you want to add a new file

1dotfiles add .bashrc
2dotfiles commit -m "Add bashrc"
3dotfiles add .zshrc
4dotfiles commit -m "Add zshrc"
5dotfiles push

Dotfiles in a new system

In a new system, you can get your dotfiles by:

 1alias dotfiles='/usr/bin/git --git-dir=$HOME/.dotfiles --work-tree=$HOME'
 2echo ".dotfiles" >> .gitignore
 3git clone --bare keybase://private/your_username/dotfiles $HOME/.dotfiles
 4dotfiles config --local status.showUntrackedFiles no
 5mkdir -p $HOME/.dotfiles-backup
 6dotfiles checkout
 7if [ $? = 0 ]; then
 8 echo "Checked out config.";
 9else
10 echo "Backing up pre-existing dot files.";
11 dotfiles checkout 2>&1 | egrep "\s+\." | awk {'print $1'} | xargs -I{} mv {} $HOME/.dotfiles-backup/{}
12fi;
13dotfiles checkout

Then, every time you want to refresh your dotfiles

1dotfiles pull

Install a specific package version

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 21:11:00 +0000

Yesterday, after a partial upgrade in my Ubuntu 12.10 installation, git was uninstalled.

After the upgrade I tried to re-install it and got the following error:

1sudo apt-get install git

 1Reading package lists... Done
 2Building dependency tree 
 3Reading state information... Done
 4Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
 5requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
 6distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
 7or been moved out of Incoming.
 8The following information may help to resolve the situation:
 9The following packages have unmet dependencies:
10**git : Depends: git-man (< 1:1.8.0.3-.) but 1:1.8.1.1-1~ppa0~quantal2 is to be installed**
11E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

Basically git depended on git-man version 1.8.0.3, but the APT package handling utility was trying to install the newer version 1.8.1.1.

Git on paapereira.xyz

Manage dotfiles using a git bare repository

Create and setup repository

Adding files

Dotfiles in a new system

Install a specific package version