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Overview
dbrownell_Dotter is a declarative dotfile management tool that helps you install, synchronize, and manage configuration files across your system. It supports:
- File installation via copying, symlinking, or template rendering
- Jinja2 templating for dynamic configuration files
- Variable substitution from command-line arguments or environment variables
- Regex-based substitutions for modifying existing files in-place
- Command execution for install steps that cannot be expressed as file content
- Reverse synchronization to push manual changes back to source files
- Post-install instructions displayed once the install process completes without errors
Configuration is defined in YAML or JSON5 files, making it easy to version control and share your dotfile setup. See davidbrownell/dotfiles for an example of such a configuration.
How to use dbrownell_Dotter
Basic Commands
Install dotfiles:
uvx dbrownell_Dotter Install <config_file(s)> [OPTIONS]
Reverse sync changes back to source:
uvx dbrownell_Dotter ReverseSync <config_file(s)> [OPTIONS]
Common options:
--var key=value- Pass template variables (can be used multiple times)--dry-run- Preview changes without modifying files--verbose- Show verbose output--debug- Show debug information
Variables
Variables can be used in configuration files and jinja templates.
| Variable Type | Format |
|---|---|
| Environment Variable | ${VAR_NAME} |
| Command Line Variable | {{ VAR_NAME }} |
Configuration File Format
variable_definitions:
username: "Your username (ex: `john`)"
email: "Your email address (ex: `john@example.com`)"
entries:
# Simple file copy/link
- source: my_config.txt
dest: ~/.config/myapp/config.txt
# Jinja2 template (auto-detected by .jinja, .jinja2, or .j2 extension)
- source: bashrc.jinja
dest: ~/.bashrc
# Regex substitution on existing file
- dest: /etc/myapp/config.conf
substitutions:
- pattern: "^EMAIL=.*$"
replacement: "EMAIL={{ email }}"
# Set the execute flag on the destination (only valid when the destination is a file)
- source: my_script.sh
dest: ~/bin/my_script.sh
make_executable: true
# Commands run when the entry is encountered, so entries that follow may rely on the changes
# that they make
- name: Configuring git
commands:
- git config --global user.name "{{ username }}"
- git config --global user.email "{{ email }}"
- git config --global core.autocrlf input
# Instructions displayed once the install process completes without errors
- post_install_instructions: |
Run `chsh -s $(which zsh)` to make zsh the default shell for {{ username }}.
The commands associated with an entry are written to a single temporary script that runs when the entry is encountered, so state established by one command is visible to those that follow it. The entry fails as soon as one of its commands fails.
Examples
Install with variables:
uvx dbrownell_Dotter Install config.yaml --var username=john --var email=john@example.com
Preview changes before installing:
uvx dbrownell_Dotter Install config.yaml --dry-run
Sync manual edits back to source files:
uvx dbrownell_Dotter ReverseSync config.yaml --var username=john
Installation
Note that these steps are not required when invoking dbrownell_Dotter via uvx.
| Installation Method | Command |
|---|---|
| Via uv | uv add dbrownell_Dotter |
| Via pip | pip install dbrownell_Dotter |
Verifying Signed Artifacts
Artifacts are signed and verified using py-minisign and the public key in the file ./minisign_key.pub.
To verify that an artifact is valid, visit the latest release and download the .minisign signature file that corresponds to the artifact, then run the following command, replacing <filename> with the name of the artifact to be verified:
uv run --with py-minisign python -c "import minisign; minisign.PublicKey.from_file('minisign_key.pub').verify_file('<filename>'); print('The file has been verified.')"
Development
Please visit Contributing and Development for information on contributing to this project.
Additional Information
Additional information can be found at these locations.
| Title | Document | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Code of Conduct | CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md | Information about the norms, rules, and responsibilities we adhere to when participating in this open source community. |
| Contributing | CONTRIBUTING.md | Information about contributing to this project. |
| Development | DEVELOPMENT.md | Information about development activities involved in making changes to this project. |
| Governance | GOVERNANCE.md | Information about how this project is governed. |
| Maintainers | MAINTAINERS.md | Information about individuals who maintain this project. |
| Security | SECURITY.md | Information about how to privately report security issues associated with this project. |
License
dbrownell_Dotter is licensed under the MIT license.
1 maintainer
Metadata
1 maintainer
Release files for dbrownell-dotter 0.10.2
For a detailed explanation of source distributions (sdists) and built distributions (wheels), please see the package formats documentation.
Source distribution (sdist)
| File | Size | Uploaded | Provenance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dbrownell_dotter-0.10.2.tar.gz | 14.5 kB | Without provenance | Details |
Built distribution (wheel)
| File | Interpreter | ABI | Platform | Reset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dbrownell_dotter-0.10.2-py3-none-any.whl | Python 3 | none | any | Details |
Total release size: 30.4 kB
Release files / dbrownell_dotter-0.10.2.tar.gz
| Download URL | dbrownell_dotter-0.10.2.tar.gz |
|---|---|
| Size | 14.5 kB |
| Tags | Source |
|
SHA-256 checksum How to use checksums |
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BLAKE2b-256 checksum How to use checksums |
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| Upload date | |
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Uploaded using Trusted Publishing? What is trusted publishing? |
No |
| Uploaded via |
uv/0.12.10 {"installer":{"name":"uv","version":"0.12.10","subcommand":["publish"]},"python":null,"implementation":{"name":null,"version":null},"distro":{"name":"Ubuntu","version":"24.04","id":"noble","libc":null},"system":{"name":null,"release":null},"cpu":null,"openssl_version":null,"setuptools_version":null,"rustc_version":null,"ci":true}
|
Release files / dbrownell_dotter-0.10.2-py3-none-any.whl
| Download URL | dbrownell_dotter-0.10.2-py3-none-any.whl |
|---|---|
| Size | 15.9 kB |
| Tags | Python 3 |
|
SHA-256 checksum How to use checksums |
4e8b8149388747036863995da042d064e87c76ead6ef1f9f3be7d3c3c1b7ed87
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BLAKE2b-256 checksum How to use checksums |
f6d8cd7138db4913e043768fd4de89cfcf317000b0bc4fc393dc52d1dea8d99e
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| Upload date | |
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Uploaded using Trusted Publishing? What is trusted publishing? |
No |
| Uploaded via |
uv/0.12.10 {"installer":{"name":"uv","version":"0.12.10","subcommand":["publish"]},"python":null,"implementation":{"name":null,"version":null},"distro":{"name":"Ubuntu","version":"24.04","id":"noble","libc":null},"system":{"name":null,"release":null},"cpu":null,"openssl_version":null,"setuptools_version":null,"rustc_version":null,"ci":true}
|
Security for dbrownell-dotter 0.10.2
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