Command overview

Getting started

• chezmoi doctor checks for common problems. If you encounter something unexpected, run this first.

• chezmoi init creates chezmoi's source directory and a git repo on a new machine.

Daily commands

• chezmoi add $FILE adds $FILEfrom your home directory to the source directory.

• chezmoi edit $FILE opens your editor with the file in the source directory that corresponds to $FILE.

• chezmoi status gives a quick summary of what files would change if you ran chezmoi apply.

• chezmoi diff shows the changes that chezmoi apply would make to your home directory.

• chezmoi apply updates your dotfiles from the source directory.

• chezmoi edit --apply $FILE is like chezmoi edit $FILE but also runs chezmoi apply $FILE afterwards.

• chezmoi cd opens a subshell in the source directory.

sequenceDiagram
    participant H as home directory
    participant W as working copy
    participant L as local repo
    participant R as remote repo
    H->>W: chezmoi add $FILE
    W->>W: chezmoi edit $FILE
    W-->>H: chezmoi status
    W-->>H: chezmoi diff
    W->>H: chezmoi apply
    W->>H: chezmoi edit --apply $FILE
    H-->>W: chezmoi cd

Using chezmoi across multiple machines

• chezmoi init $GITHUB_USERNAME clones your dotfiles from GitHub into the source directory.

• chezmoi init --apply $GITHUB_USERNAME clones your dotfiles from GitHub into the source directory and runs chezmoi apply.

• chezmoi update pulls the latest changes from your remote repo and runs chezmoi apply.

• Use normal git commands to add, commit, and push changes to your remote repo.

sequenceDiagram
    participant H as home directory
    participant W as working copy
    participant L as local repo
    participant R as remote repo
    R->>W: chezmoi init $GITHUB_USERNAME
    R->>H: chezmoi init --apply $GITHUB_USERNAME
    R->>H: chezmoi update $GITHUB_USERNAME
    W->>L: git commit
    L->>R: git push

Working with templates

• chezmoi data prints the available template data.

• chezmoi add --template $FILE adds $FILE as a template.

• chezmoi chattr +template $FILE makes an existing file a template.

• chezmoi cat $FILE prints the target contents of $FILE, without changing $FILE.

• chezmoi execute-template is useful for testing and debugging templates.