NAME¶

yadm - Yet Another Dotfiles Manager

SYNOPSIS¶

yadm command [options]

yadm git-command-or-alias [options]

yadm init [-f] [-w directory]

yadm clone url [-f] [-w directory] [--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 introspect category

DESCRIPTION¶

yadm is a tool for managing a collection of files across multiple computers, using a shared Git repository. In addition, yadm provides a feature to select alternate versions of files based on the operating system or host name. 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 managed repository. The working directory for Git commands will be the configured work-tree (usually $HOME).

Dotfiles are managed by using standard git commands; add, commit, push, pull, etc.

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

alt

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

bootstrap

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

clone url

Clone a remote repository for tracking dotfiles. After the contents 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

config

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

decrypt

Decrypt all files stored in $HOME/.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/.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:

gitconfig

Pass options to the git config command. Since yadm already uses the config command to manage its own configurations, this command is provided as a way to change configurations of the repository 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 configuration.

help

Print a summary of yadm commands.

init

Initialize a new, empty repository for tracking dotfiles. The repository is stored in $HOME/.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 automatically processes permissions by default. This automatic behavior can be disabled by setting the configuration yadm.auto-perms to "false".

version

Print the version of yadm.

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 specified 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.

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/.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:

The following is the full list of supported configurations:

yadm.auto-alt

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

yadm.auto-perms

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

yadm.ssh-perms

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

yadm.gpg-perms

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

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.gpg-program

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

yadm.git-program

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

local.class

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

local.os

Override the OS for the purpose of symlinking alternate files.

local.hostname

Override the HOSTNAME 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, or user. yadm implements a feature which will automatically create a symbolic link to the appropriate version of a file, as long as you follow a specific naming convention. yadm can detect files with names ending in any of the following:

##
##CLASS
##CLASS.OS
##CLASS.OS.HOSTNAME
##CLASS.OS.HOSTNAME.USER
##OS
##OS.HOSTNAME
##OS.HOSTNAME.USER

If there are any files managed by yadm´s repository, or listed in $HOME/.yadm/encrypt, which match this naming convention, symbolic links will be created for the most appropriate version. This may best be demonstrated by example. Assume the following files are managed by yadm´s repository:

- $HOME/path/example.txt##
- $HOME/path/example.txt##Work
- $HOME/path/example.txt##Darwin
- $HOME/path/example.txt##Darwin.host1
- $HOME/path/example.txt##Darwin.host2
- $HOME/path/example.txt##Linux
- $HOME/path/example.txt##Linux.host1
- $HOME/path/example.txt##Linux.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##Darwin.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##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##Linux

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

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

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

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

If no "##" version exists and no files match the current CLASS/OS/HOSTNAME/USER, 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.

CLASS must be manually set using yadm config local.class <class>. OS is determined by running uname -s, HOSTNAME by running hostname, and USER by running id -u -n. yadm will automatically create these links by default. This can be disabled using the yadm.auto-alt configuration. Even if disabled, links can be manually created by running yadm alt.

It is possible to use "%" as a "wildcard" in place of CLASS, OS, HOSTNAME, or USER. For example, The following file could be linked for any host when the user is "harvey".

$HOME/path/example.txt##%.%.harvey

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 overridden using the configuration options local.os, local.hostname, and local.user.

JINJA¶

If the envtpl command is available, Jinja templates will also be processed to create or overwrite real files. yadm will treat files ending in

##yadm.j2

as Jinja templates. During processing, the following variables are set according to the rules explained in the ALTERNATES section:

YADM_CLASS
YADM_OS
YADM_HOSTNAME
YADM_USER

For example, a file named whatever##yadm.j2 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

See http://jinja.pocoo.org/ for an overview of Jinja.

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 implements a feature which 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/.yadm/encrypt. This list of patterns should be relative to the configured work-tree (usually $HOME). For example:

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/.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.

PERMISSIONS¶

When files are checked out of a Git repository, their initial permissions are dependent upon the user's umask. This can result in confidential files with lax permissions.

To prevent this, yadm will automatically update the permissions of confidential files. The "group" and "others" permissions will be removed from the following files:

- $HOME/.yadm/files.gpg

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

- The SSH directory and files, .ssh/*

- The GPG directory and files, .gnupg/*

yadm will automatically update permissions by default. This can be disabled using the yadm.auto-perms configuration. Even if disabled, permissions can be manually updated by running yadm perms. The SSH directory processing can be disabled using the yadm.ssh-perms configuration.

FILES¶

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

$HOME/.yadm

The yadm directory. By default, all data yadm stores is relative to this directory.

$YADM_DIR/config

Configuration file for yadm.

$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/.yadm/encrypt

Add a new pattern to the list of encrypted files

yadm encrypt ; yadm add ~/.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://thelocehiliosan.github.io/yadm/