yadm/yadm.md

NAME

   yadm - Yet Another Dotfiles Manager

SYNOPSIS

   yadm command [options]

   yadm git-command-or-alias [options]

   yadm init [-f] [-w dir]

   yadm clone url [-f] [-w dir] [-b branch] [--bootstrap] [--no-bootstrap]

   yadm config name [value]

   yadm config [-e]

   yadm list [-a]

   yadm bootstrap

   yadm encrypt

   yadm enter

   yadm decrypt [-l]

   yadm alt

   yadm perms

   yadm upgrade

   yadm introspect category

DESCRIPTION

   yadm is a tool for managing a collection of files across multiple  com-
   puters,  using  a  shared Git repository.  In addition, yadm provides a
   feature to select alternate versions of files for  particular  systems.
   Lastly,  yadm  supplies the ability to manage a subset of secure files,
   which are encrypted before they are included in the repository.

COMMANDS

   git-command or git-alias
          Any command not internally handled by yadm is passed through  to
          git(1).   Git commands or aliases are invoked with the yadm man-
          aged repository.  The working directory for Git commands will be
          the configured work-tree (usually $HOME).

          Dotfiles  are  managed by using standard git commands; add, com-
          mit, push, pull, etc.

          The config command is not passed directly through.  Instead  use
          the gitconfig command (see below).

   alt    Create  symbolic  links  and  process  templates for any managed
          files matching the naming rules described in the ALTERNATES  and
          TEMPLATES  sections.  It is usually unnecessary to run this com-
          mand, as yadm automatically  processes  alternates  by  default.
          This  automatic behavior can be disabled by setting the configu-
          ration yadm.auto-alt to "false".

   bootstrap
          Execute $HOME/.config/yadm/bootstrap if it exists.

   clone url
          Clone a remote repository for tracking dotfiles.  After the con-
          tents  of  the remote repository have been fetched, a "merge" of
          origin/master is attempted.   If  there  are  conflicting  files
          already  present  in  the  work-tree,  this  merge will fail and
          instead a "reset" of origin/master will be done, followed  by  a
          "stash". This "stash" operation will preserve the original data.

          You can review the stashed conflicts by running the command

                 yadm stash show -p

          from within your $HOME directory. If you  want  to  restore  the
          stashed data, you can run

                 yadm stash apply
          or
                 yadm stash pop

          The  repository  is  stored  in $HOME/.config/yadm/repo.git.  By
          default, $HOME will be used as the work-tree, but  this  can  be
          overridden  with the -w option.  yadm can be forced to overwrite
          an existing repository by providing the -f option.  If you  want
          to  use  a  branch  other than origin/master, you can specify it
          using the -b option.  By default yadm will ask the user  if  the
          bootstrap  program  should  be  run  (if it exists). The options
          --bootstrap or --no-bootstrap will either force the bootstrap to
          be  run,  or  prevent  it  from being run, without prompting the
          user.

   config This command manages  configurations  for  yadm.   This  command
          works  exactly  they way git-config(1) does.  See the CONFIGURA-
          TION section for more details.

   decrypt
          Decrypt all files stored in $HOME/.config/yadm/files.gpg.  Files
          decrypted  will be relative to the configured work-tree (usually
          $HOME).  Using the -l option will list the files stored  without
          extracting them.

   encrypt
          Encrypt  all  files  matching  the patterns found in $HOME/.con-
          fig/yadm/encrypt.  See the ENCRYPTION section for more  details.

   enter  Run  a  sub-shell with all Git variables set. Exit the sub-shell
          the same way you leave  your  normal  shell  (usually  with  the
          "exit"  command).  This sub-shell can be used to easily interact
          with your yadm repository using "git" commands.  This  could  be
          useful  if  you  are  using  a tool which uses Git directly. For
          example, Emacs Tramp and Magit can manage files  by  using  this
          configuration:
              (add-to-list 'tramp-methods
                   '("yadm"
                     (tramp-login-program "yadm")
                     (tramp-login-args (("enter")))
                     (tramp-remote-shell "/bin/sh")
                     (tramp-remote-shell-args ("-c"))))

   gitconfig
          Pass  options to the git config command. Since yadm already uses
          the config command to manage its own configurations,  this  com-
          mand is provided as a way to change configurations of the repos-
          itory managed by yadm.  One useful case might  be  to  configure
          the  repository so untracked files are shown in status commands.
          yadm initially configures its repository so that untracked files
          are  not  shown.   If  you wish use the default Git behavior (to
          show untracked files and directories), you can remove this  con-
          figuration.

                 yadm gitconfig --unset status.showUntrackedFiles

   help   Print a summary of yadm commands.

   init   Initialize  a  new, empty repository for tracking dotfiles.  The
          repository  is  stored   in   $HOME/.config/yadm/repo.git.    By
          default,  $HOME  will  be used as the work-tree, but this can be
          overridden with the -w option.  yadm can be forced to  overwrite
          an existing repository by providing the -f option.

   list   Print a list of files managed by yadm.  The -a option will cause
          all managed files to be listed.  Otherwise, the list  will  only
          include files from the current directory or below.

   introspect category
          Report  internal  yadm  data. Supported categories are commands,
          configs, repo, and switches.  The purpose of introspection is to
          support command line completion.

   perms  Update  permissions as described in the PERMISSIONS section.  It
          is usually unnecessary to run this command,  as  yadm  automati-
          cally  processes permissions by default. This automatic behavior
          can be disabled by setting the configuration yadm.auto-perms  to
          "false".

   upgrade
          Version  2  of  yadm uses a different directory for storing your
          configurations.  When you start to use version 2 for  the  first
          time,  you  may  see warnings about moving your data to this new
          directory.  The easiest way to accomplish  this  is  by  running
          "yadm  upgrade".   This  command  will start by moving your yadm
          repo to the new path.  Next it will move any configuration  data
          to  the new path.  If the configurations are tracked within your
          yadm repo, this command will "stage" the renaming of those files
          in the repo's index.  Upgrading will also re-initialize all sub-
          modules you have added (otherwise they will be broken  when  the
          repo moves).  After running "yadm upgrade", you should run "yadm
          status" to review changes which have  been  staged,  and  commit
          them to your repository.

          You can read https://yadm.io/docs/upgrade_from_1 for more infor-
          mation.

   version
          Print the version of yadm.

COMPATIBILITY

   Beginning with version 2.0.0, yadm introduced a  couple  major  changes
   which  may  require you to adjust your configurations.  See the upgrade
   command for help making those adjustments.

   First, yadm now uses the "XDG Base Directory Specification" to find its
   configurations.  You  can  read https://yadm.io/docs/upgrade_from_1 for
   more information.

   Second, the naming conventions for alternate files have  been  changed.
   You can read https://yadm.io/docs/alternates for more information.

   If you want to retain the old functionality, you can set an environment
   variable, YADM_COMPATIBILITY=1.  Doing so will  automatically  use  the
   old  yadm  directory,  and process alternates the same as the pre-2.0.0
   version. This compatibility mode is deprecated, and will be removed  in
   future  versions.  This mode exists solely for transitioning to the new
   paths and naming of alternates.

OPTIONS

   yadm supports a set of universal options that alter the paths it  uses.
   The  default paths are documented in the FILES section. Any path speci-
   fied by these options must be fully qualified. If you  always  want  to
   override  one  or  more  of  these paths, it may be useful to create an
   alias for the yadm command.  For example, the following alias could  be
   used to override the repository directory.

          alias yadm='yadm --yadm-repo /alternate/path/to/repo'

   The  following  is  the  full  list  of universal options.  Each option
   should be followed by a fully qualified path.

   -Y,--yadm-dir
          Override the yadm directory.  yadm stores its data  relative  to
          this directory.

   --yadm-repo
          Override the location of the yadm repository.

   --yadm-config
          Override the location of the yadm configuration file.

   --yadm-encrypt
          Override the location of the yadm encryption configuration.

   --yadm-archive
          Override the location of the yadm encrypted files archive.

   --yadm-bootstrap
          Override the location of the yadm bootstrap program.

CONFIGURATION

   yadm  uses  a configuration file named $HOME/.config/yadm/config.  This
   file uses the same format as git-config(1).  Also, you can control  the
   contents  of  the configuration file via the yadm config command (which
   works exactly like git-config).  For example, to disable alternates you
   can run the command:

          yadm config yadm.auto-alt false

   The following is the full list of supported configurations:

   yadm.alt-copy
          If set to "true", alternate files will be copies instead of sym-
          bolic links.  This might be desirable, because some systems  may
          not properly support symlinks.

          NOTE:  The deprecated yadm.cygwin-copy option used by older ver-
          sions of yadm has  been  replaced  by  yadm.alt-copy.   The  old
          option will be removed in the next version of yadm.

   yadm.auto-alt
          Disable  the  automatic  linking described in the section ALTER-
          NATES. If disabled, you may still run  "yadm  alt"  manually  to
          create  the alternate links. This feature is enabled by default.

   yadm.auto-exclude
          Disable  the  automatic  exclusion  of   patterns   defined   in
          $HOME/.config/yadm/encrypt.  This feature is enabled by default.

   yadm.auto-perms
          Disable the automatic permission changes described in  the  sec-
          tion  PERMISSIONS.   If  disabled,  you may still run yadm perms
          manually to update permissions.   This  feature  is  enabled  by
          default.

   yadm.auto-private-dirs
          Disable  the automatic creating of private directories described
          in the section PERMISSIONS.

   yadm.git-program
          Specify an alternate  program  to  use  instead  of  "git".   By
          default, the first "git" found in $PATH is used.

   yadm.gpg-perms
          Disable  the permission changes to $HOME/.gnupg/*.  This feature
          is enabled by default.

   yadm.gpg-program
          Specify an alternate  program  to  use  instead  of  "gpg".   By
          default, the first "gpg" found in $PATH is used.

   yadm.gpg-recipient
          Asymmetrically encrypt files with a gpg public/private key pair.
          Provide a "key ID" to specify which public key to encrypt  with.
          The  key  must  exist in your public keyrings.  If left blank or
          not provided, symmetric encryption is used instead.  If  set  to
          "ASK",  gpg  will  interactively  ask  for  recipients.  See the
          ENCRYPTION section for more details.  This feature  is  disabled
          by default.

   yadm.ssh-perms
          Disable the permission changes to $HOME/.ssh/*.  This feature is
          enabled by default.

   The following  four  "local"  configurations  are  not  stored  in  the
   $HOME/.config/yadm/config, they are stored in the local repository.


   local.class
          Specify  a  class for the purpose of symlinking alternate files.
          By default, no class will be matched.

   local.hostname
          Override the hostname for the purpose  of  symlinking  alternate
          files.

   local.os
          Override the OS for the purpose of symlinking alternate files.

   local.user
          Override the user for the purpose of symlinking alternate files.

ALTERNATES

   When managing a set of files across different systems, it can be useful
   to have an automated way of choosing an alternate version of a file for
   a different operating system, host, user, etc.

   yadm will automatically create a symbolic link to the appropriate  ver-
   sion  of  a  file, when a valid suffix is appended to the filename. The
   suffix contains the conditions that must be met for  that  file  to  be
   used.

   The suffix begins with "##", followed by any number of conditions sepa-
   rated by commas.

     ##<condition>[,<condition>,...]

   Each condition is an attribute/value pair, separated by a period.  Some
   conditions  do  not require a "value", and in that case, the period and
   value can be omitted. Most attributes can be abbreviated  as  a  single
   letter.

     <attribute>[.<value>]

   These are the supported attributes, in the order of the weighted prece-
   dence:


   template, t
          Valid when the value matches  a  supported  template  processor.
          See the TEMPLATES section for more details.

   user, u
          Valid  if  the  value matches the current user.  Current user is
          calculated by running id -u -n.

   distro, d
          Valid if the value matches the distro.  Distro is calculated  by
          running lsb_release -si.

   os, o  Valid  if the value matches the OS.  OS is calculated by running
          uname -s.

   class, c
          Valid if the value matches the local.class configuration.  Class
          must be manually set using yadm config local.class <class>.  See
          the  CONFIGURATION  section  for  more  details  about   setting
          local.class.

   hostname, h
          Valid if the value matches the short hostname.  Hostname is cal-
          culated by running hostname, and trimming off any domain.

   default
          Valid when no other alternate is valid.


   You may use any number of conditions, in any order.  An alternate  will
   only  be  used  if  ALL conditions are valid.  For all files managed by
   yadm's repository or  listed  in  $HOME/.config/yadm/encrypt,  if  they
   match  this  naming  convention, symbolic links will be created for the
   most appropriate version.

   The "most appropriate" version is determined by calculating a score for
   each  version  of  a  file. A template is always scored higher than any
   symlink condition. The number of conditions is the next largest  factor
   in  scoring.   Files  with  more conditions will always be favored. Any
   invalid condition will disqualify that file completely.

   If you don't care to have all versions of alternates stored in the same
   directory  as  the  generated  symlink,  you  can  place  them  in  the
   $HOME/.config/yadm/alt directory. The generated  symlink  or  processed
   template will be created using the same relative path.

   Alternate  linking may best be demonstrated by example. Assume the fol-
   lowing files are managed by yadm's repository:

     - $HOME/path/example.txt##default
     - $HOME/path/example.txt##class.Work
     - $HOME/path/example.txt##os.Darwin
     - $HOME/path/example.txt##os.Darwin,hostname.host1
     - $HOME/path/example.txt##os.Darwin,hostname.host2
     - $HOME/path/example.txt##os.Linux
     - $HOME/path/example.txt##os.Linux,hostname.host1
     - $HOME/path/example.txt##os.Linux,hostname.host2

   If running on a Macbook named "host2", yadm will create a symbolic link
   which looks like this:

   $HOME/path/example.txt    ->    $HOME/path/example.txt##os.Darwin,host-
   name.host2

   However, on another Mackbook named "host3", yadm will create a symbolic
   link which looks like this:

   $HOME/path/example.txt -> $HOME/path/example.txt##os.Darwin

   Since  the  hostname  doesn't  match any of the managed files, the more
   generic version is chosen.

   If running on a Linux server named "host4", the link will be:

   $HOME/path/example.txt -> $HOME/path/example.txt##os.Linux

   If running on a Solaris server, the link will use the default version:

   $HOME/path/example.txt -> $HOME/path/example.txt##default

   If running on a system, with class set to "Work", the link will be:

   $HOME/path/example.txt -> $HOME/path/example.txt##class.Work

   If no "##default" version exists and no files  have  valid  conditions,
   then no link will be created.

   Links  are also created for directories named this way, as long as they
   have at least one yadm managed file within them.

   yadm will automatically create these links by default. This can be dis-
   abled  using  the yadm.auto-alt configuration.  Even if disabled, links
   can be manually created by running yadm alt.

   Class is a special value which is stored locally on each  host  (inside
   the  local repository). To use alternate symlinks using class, you must
   set the value of class using the configuration  local.class.   This  is
   set like any other yadm configuration with the yadm config command. The
   following sets the class to be "Work".

     yadm config local.class Work

   Similarly, the values of os, hostname, and user can be  manually  over-
   ridden  using  the  configuration options local.os, local.hostname, and
   local.user.

TEMPLATES

   If a template condition is defined in an alternate file's "##"  suffix,
   and the necessary dependencies for the template are available, then the
   file will be processed to create or overwrite files.

   Supported template processors:

   default
          This is yadm's built-in template processor.  This  processor  is
          very basic, with a Jinja-like syntax. The advantage of this pro-
          cessor is that it only depends upon awk, which is  available  on
          most  *nix  systems. To use this processor, specify the value of
          "default" or just leave the value off (e.g. "##template").

   j2cli  To use the j2cli Jinja template processor, specify the value  of
          "j2"  or "j2cli".

   envtpl To use the envtpl Jinja template processor, specify the value of
          "j2" or "envtpl".


   NOTE: Specifying "j2" as the processor will attempt  to  use  j2cli  or
   envtpl, whichever is available.

   If  the  template  processor  specified is available, templates will be
   processed to create or overwrite files.

   During processing, the following variables are available  in  the  tem-
   plate:

    Default         Jinja           Description
    -------------   -------------   --------------------------
    yadm.class      YADM_CLASS      Locally defined yadm class
    yadm.distro     YADM_DISTRO     lsb_release -si
    yadm.hostname   YADM_HOSTNAME   hostname (without domain)
    yadm.os         YADM_OS         uname -s
    yadm.user       YADM_USER       id -u -n
    yadm.source     YADM_SOURCE     Template filename

   Examples:

   whatever##template with the following content

     {% if yadm.user == 'harvey' %}
     config={{yadm.class}}-{{yadm.os}}
     {% else %}
     config=dev-whatever
     {% endif %}

   would  output  a  file named whatever with the following content if the
   user is "harvey":

     config=work-Linux

   and the following otherwise:

     config=dev-whatever

   An equivalent Jinja template  named  whatever##template.j2  would  look
   like:

     {% if YADM_USER == 'harvey' -%}
     config={{YADM_CLASS}}-{{YADM_OS}}
     {% else -%}
     config=dev-whatever
     {% endif -%}

ENCRYPTION

   It  can  be  useful to manage confidential files, like SSH or GPG keys,
   across multiple systems. However, doing so would put  plain  text  data
   into a Git repository, which often resides on a public system. yadm can
   make it easy to encrypt and decrypt a set of  files  so  the  encrypted
   version  can  be  maintained  in the Git repository.  This feature will
   only work if the gpg(1) command is available.

   To use this feature, a list of patterns must be created  and  saved  as
   $HOME/.config/yadm/encrypt.   This  list of patterns should be relative
   to the configured work-tree (usually $HOME).  For example:

              .ssh/*.key
              .gnupg/*.gpg

   Standard filename expansions (*,  ?,  [)  are  supported.  Other  shell
   expansions  like brace and tilde are not supported. Spaces in paths are
   supported, and should not be quoted. If a directory is  specified,  its
   contents  will be included, but not recursively. Paths beginning with a
   "!" will be excluded.

   The yadm encrypt command will find all files matching the patterns, and
   prompt  for  a  password.  Once  a password has confirmed, the matching
   files will be encrypted and saved as $HOME/.config/yadm/files.gpg.  The
   patterns  and  files.gpg should be added to the yadm repository so they
   are available across multiple systems.

   To decrypt these files later, or on another system run yadm decrypt and
   provide  the  correct password.  After files are decrypted, permissions
   are automatically updated as described in the PERMISSIONS section.

   Symmetric encryption is used by default, but asymmetric encryption  may
   be enabled using the yadm.gpg-recipient configuration.

   NOTE:  It is recommended that you use a private repository when keeping
   confidential files, even though they are encrypted.

   Patterns found in $HOME/.config/yadm/encrypt are automatically added to
   the  repository's  info/exclude  file  every  time yadm encrypt is run.
   This is to prevent accidentally committing sensitive data to the repos-
   itory.  This can be disabled using the yadm.auto-exclude configuration.

PERMISSIONS

   When files are checked out of a Git repository, their  initial  permis-
   sions  are  dependent upon the user's umask. Because of this, yadm will
   automatically update the permissions of some file  paths.  The  "group"
   and "others" permissions will be removed from the following files:

   - $HOME/.config/yadm/files.gpg

   - All files matching patterns in $HOME/.config/yadm/encrypt

   - The SSH directory and files, .ssh/*

   - The GPG directory and files, .gnupg/*

   yadm will automatically update permissions by default. This can be dis-
   abled using the yadm.auto-perms configuration. Even if  disabled,  per-
   missions  can  be  manually  updated  by  running yadm perms.  The .ssh
   directory processing can be disabled using the yadm.ssh-perms  configu-
   ration.  The  .gnupg  directory  processing  can  be disabled using the
   yadm.gpg-perms configuration.

   When cloning a repo which includes data in a .ssh or .gnupg  directory,
   if  those  directories  do  not exist at the time of cloning, yadm will
   create the directories with mask 0700 prior to merging the fetched data
   into the work-tree.

   When running a Git command and .ssh or .gnupg directories do not exist,
   yadm will create those directories with mask 0700 prior to running  the
   Git command. This can be disabled using the yadm.auto-private-dirs con-
   figuration.

HOOKS

   For every command yadm supports, a  program  can  be  provided  to  run
   before  or  after  that command. These are referred to as "hooks". yadm
   looks for hooks in the directory $HOME/.config/yadm/hooks.   Each  hook
   is named using a prefix of pre_ or post_, followed by the command which
   should trigger the hook. For example, to create a  hook  which  is  run
   after  every  yadm  pull command, create a hook named post_pull.  Hooks
   must have the executable file permission set.

   If a pre_ hook is defined, and the hook terminates with a non-zero exit
   status,  yadm  will  refuse  to run the yadm command. For example, if a
   pre_commit hook is defined, but that command ends with a non-zero  exit
   status,  the  yadm commit will never be run. This allows one to "short-
   circuit" any operation using a pre_ hook.

   Hooks have the following environment variables  available  to  them  at
   runtime:

   YADM_HOOK_COMMAND
          The command which triggered the hook

   YADM_HOOK_EXIT
          The exit status of the yadm command

   YADM_HOOK_FULL_COMMAND
          The yadm command with all command line arguments

   YADM_HOOK_REPO
          The path to the yadm repository

   YADM_HOOK_WORK
          The path to the work-tree

FILES

   All  of  yadm's  configurations  are  relative to the "yadm directory".
   yadm uses the "XDG Base  Directory  Specification"  to  determine  this
   directory.   If the environment variable $XDG_CONFIG_HOME is defined as
   a fully qualified path, this directory will  be  $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/yadm.
   Otherwise it will be $HOME/.config/yadm.

   The  following  are the default paths yadm uses for its own data.  Most
   of these paths can be altered using universal options.  See the OPTIONS
   section for details.

   $HOME/.config/yadm
          The yadm directory. By default, all data yadm stores is relative
          to this directory.

   $YADM_DIR/config
          Configuration file for yadm.

   $YADM_DIR/alt
          This is a directory to keep  "alternate  files"  without  having
          them  side-by-side  with the resulting symlink or processed tem-
          plate. Alternate files placed in this directory will be  created
          relative to $HOME instead.

   $YADM_DIR/repo.git
          Git repository used by yadm.

   $YADM_DIR/encrypt
          List of globs used for encrypt/decrypt

   $YADM_DIR/files.gpg
          All files encrypted with yadm encrypt are stored in this file.

EXAMPLES

   yadm init
          Create an empty repo for managing files

   yadm add .bash_profile ; yadm commit
          Add .bash_profile to the Git index and create a new commit

   yadm remote add origin <url>
          Add a remote origin to an existing repository

   yadm push -u origin master
          Initial push of master to origin

   echo .ssh/*.key >> $HOME/.config/yadm/encrypt
          Add a new pattern to the list of encrypted files

   yadm encrypt ; yadm add ~/.config/yadm/files.gpg ; yadm commit
          Commit a new set of encrypted files

REPORTING BUGS

   Report issues or create pull requests at GitHub:

   https://github.com/TheLocehiliosan/yadm/issues

AUTHOR

   Tim Byrne <sultan@locehilios.com>

SEE ALSO

   git(1), gpg(1)

   https://yadm.io/