2016-09-06 23:19:16 -04:00
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---
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title: "Overview"
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permalink: /docs/overview
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---
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2019-03-20 01:53:14 -04:00
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<a name=""></a><!-- Anchor "#" used at the ends of pagination -->
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2016-09-06 23:19:16 -04:00
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> You've spent time tweaking your computing environment. Everything operates the
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way you want. That's fantastic! Then your hard drive fails, and the computer
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2019-10-19 14:59:03 -04:00
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needs to be rebuilt. yadm can restore you configurations.
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> You get a new computer, and you want to recreate that environment. You
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probably want to keep both machines' configurations in sync. yadm can help
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you coordinate the configurations between your machines.
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> You begin experimenting with new changes to your configurations, and now
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everything is broken. yadm can help you determine what changed or simply
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revert all of your changes.
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2019-10-19 14:59:03 -04:00
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yadm is like having a version of Git, that only operates on your dotfiles.
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If you know how to use Git, you already know how to use yadm.
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* It doesn't matter if your current directory is another Git-managed repository
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* You don't have to move your dotfiles, or have them symlinked from another
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location.
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* yadm automatically inherits all of Git's features, allowing you to branch,
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merge, rebase, use submodules, etc.
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As so many others, I started out with a repository of dotfiles and a few scripts
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to symbolically link them around my home directory. This quickly became
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inadequate and I looked for solutions elsewhere. I've tried other tools, but I
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didn't find all of the features I personally wished for in a single tool. This
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led to yadm being written with the following goals:
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* Use a single repository
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* Few dependencies
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* Ability to use alternate files based on OS or host
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* Ability to encrypt and track confidential files
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* Stay out of the way and let Git do what it's good at
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2019-10-19 14:59:03 -04:00
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Follow these links to [install](install) yadm
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or
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learn some simple steps for [getting started](getting_started) with yadm.
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