chezmoi

name	chezmoi
description	Use this skill when the user wants to manage their dotfiles with chezmoi — init, add, diff, apply, update, and encrypt dotfiles across multiple machines.

chezmoi Plugin

chezmoi manages your dotfiles across multiple machines. It supports templates, encryption, and local/remote source directories.

Commands

Self

• chezmoi self version — Print chezmoi version
• chezmoi self doctor — Check for common problems
• chezmoi self upgrade — Upgrade chezmoi

Source Management

• chezmoi source init <repo> — Initialize source directory from a dotfile repo
• chezmoi source add <path> — Add a file to the source directory
• chezmoi source diff [path] — Show pending changes
• chezmoi source apply [path] — Apply source state to home directory
• chezmoi source update — Pull remote changes and apply
• chezmoi source status [path] — Show status of managed files
• chezmoi source forget <path> — Stop tracking a file without deleting it
• chezmoi source re-add <path> — Re-add a modified destination file

Data & Inspection

• chezmoi data dump [path] — Dump computed file contents as JSON
• chezmoi data show — Show template data as JSON
• chezmoi data list — List all managed entries as JSON
• chezmoi data verify [path] — Verify target state matches source

Encryption

• chezmoi secret encrypt <path> — Encrypt a file
• chezmoi secret decrypt <path> — Decrypt a file

Passthrough

• chezmoi _ _ <args> — Raw passthrough (cd, merge, edit, chattr, execute-template, etc.)

Usage Examples

• "chezmoi init --apply $GITHUB_USERNAME"
• "chezmoi add ~/.gitconfig"
• "chezmoi diff"
• "chezmoi apply --dry-run --verbose"
• "chezmoi update"
• "chezmoi status"
• "chezmoi data --format=json"
• "chezmoi add --template ~/.config/starship.toml"
• "chezmoi add --encrypt ~/.ssh/config"

Installation

brew install chezmoi
# or one-liner:
sh -c "$(curl -fsLS https://get.chezmoi.io)"

Key Features

• Declarative dotfile management
• Go template support with machine-specific variables
• Age/GPG encryption for secrets
• Multiple machine support with machine-specific configs
• JSON output for scripting and automation
• Cross-platform (macOS, Linux, Windows, FreeBSD, OpenBSD)

Workflow

Typical bootstrap on a new machine:

chezmoi init --apply $GITHUB_USERNAME

Typical daily workflow:

chezmoi add ~/.someconfig
chezmoi diff
chezmoi apply

Typical sync:

chezmoi update