dotlink

A simple program that can help you link all your dotfiles in place.

Supports multiple presets, in order to avoid linking every file in every machine.

Features!

• Simple configuration file (TOML, YAML or JSON).
• Ability to have multiple presets for different machines.
• Cross-Platform (Unix and Windows).
• Doesn't overwrite links or files.
• If a link alreay exists, checks if it points to the right file.

A real life use case (simplicity showcase)

I've setup my own dotfiles repo with a dotlink.toml file.

In my case i simply clone the repo and run dotlink inside of it.

$ git clone https://github.com/TheRealLorenz/dotfiles.git
$ cd dotfiles
$ dotlink -p macOS

The program automatically picks up the config file inside the current working directory and links everything!

How does it work?

dotlink relies on a config file, named dotlink.toml, dotlink.yaml or dotlink.json.

In the config file you can specify multiple presets, where every presets is a vector of entries.

Presets are top level keys of the config file.

There are two types of entries:

• Simple entries:

[[preset_name]]
name = 'foo'                        # File name
to = '/path/to/destination'         # Destination directory
rename = 'foo2'                     # Link name (optional, defaults to the file name)

preset_name:
  - name: 'foo'                     # File name
    to: '/path/to/destination'      # Destination directory
    rename: 'foo2'                  # Link name (optional, defaults to the file name)

{
  "preset_name": [
    {
      "name": "foo",                // File name
      "to": "/path/to/destination", // Destination directory
      "rename": "foo2"              // Link name (optional, defaults to the file name)
    }
  ]
}

• Multiple entries:

[[preset_name]]
names = [ 'foo', 'bar', 'baz' ]         # Multiple file names
to = '/path/to/destination/'            # Destination directory

preset_name:
  - names: [ 'foo', 'bar', 'baz' ]      # Multiple file names
    to: '/path/to/destination/'         # Destination directory

{
  "preset_name": [
    {
      "names": [ "foo", "bar", "baz" ], // Multiple file names
      "to": "/path/to/destination/"     // Destination directory
    }
  ]
}

The program than simply symlinks every file specified by name or names to the corresponding to.

Presets example

[[linux-wayland]]
names = [
  'sway',
  'sov',
  'zsh',
  'nushell',
  'waybar'
]
to = '~/.config'

[[linux-wayland]]
name = 'rc.zsh'
to = '~/'
rename = '.zshrc'

[[linux-wayland]]
name = 'tmux.conf'
to = '~/'
rename = '.tmux.conf'

[[linux-xorg]]
names = [
  'i3',
  'polybar',
  'zsh',
  'nushell'
]
to = '~/.config'

[[linux-xorg]]
name = 'rc.zsh'
to = '~/'
rename = '.zshrc'

[[linux-xorg]]
name = 'tmux.conf'
to = '~/'
rename = '.tmux.conf' 

[[server]]
name = 'tmux.conf'
to = '~/'
rename = '.tmux.conf'

[[macOS]]
name = 'zsh'
to = '~/.config'

[[macOS]]
name = 'rc.zsh'
to = '~/'
rename = '.zshrc'

[[macOS]]
name = 'tmux.conf'
to = '~/'
rename = '.tmux.conf'

[[macOS]]
name = 'nushell'
to = '~/Application Support'

The example above defines 4 presets: linux-wayland, linux-xorg, server, macOS.

Usage

Running dotlink -h will show the help message

Usage: dotlink [OPTIONS] [PATH]

Arguments:
  [PATH]  

Options:
  -p, --preset <PRESET>  Which preset to use [default: default]
  -l, --list-presets     
  -F, --file <FILE>      Custom config file location
      --dry-run          
  -h, --help             Print help

PATH represents the path to the dotfiles. Defaults to the current working directory.

Installing

Clone the repository

$ git clone https://github.com/TheRealLorenz/dotlink

Install with Cargo

$ cargo install --path dotlink

Planned features

• Tests.
• Automated tests.
• Manage linked files.
• Force linking.
• Publish to crates.io.