chezmoi-dotfiles

name	chezmoi-dotfiles
description	Edit, apply, and add files in Jay's chezmoi-managed dotfiles. Use when user wants to change shell config, zshrc, aliases, nvim config, tmux, or any file under ~/.config that's tracked by chezmoi.

Chezmoi Dotfiles

Source location

~/.local/share/chezmoi/ — chezmoi apply materializes it into $HOME.

Read ~/.local/share/chezmoi/README.md first for the keymap/alias map.

Layout

dot_aliasrc          → ~/.aliasrc       (sourced from .zshrc)
dot_zshrc            → ~/.zshrc
dot_tmux.conf        → ~/.tmux.conf
dot_vimrc            → ~/.vimrc
dot_config/          → ~/.config/
  nvim/              → ~/.config/nvim/
  alacritty/         → ~/.config/alacritty/
  starship.toml      → ~/.config/starship.toml
  workmux/           → ~/.config/workmux/
private_Library/     → ~/Library/       (private_ = chmod 600 / not world-readable)

Naming conventions

• dot_X → ~/.X
• private_X → ~/X with restricted perms
• No prefix for non-dot files
• Combine: private_dot_ssh/ → ~/.ssh/ private

Aliases (already on PATH)

Alias	Command
ch	chezmoi
che	chezmoi edit
cha	chezmoi apply -v
chu	chezmoi update -v (pull + apply)
chc	chezmoi cd
chez	chezmoi edit ~/.zshrc
chen	chezmoi edit ~/.config/nvim

Use the destination path with chezmoi edit, not the dot_ source name. Chezmoi resolves it.

Workflows

Edit a tracked file

chezmoi edit ~/.zshrc        # opens source file in $EDITOR
chezmoi apply -v             # write changes to $HOME

When editing programmatically (no $EDITOR), edit the source file directly:

# resolve source path
chezmoi source-path ~/.zshrc
# edit that path with the Edit tool, then:
chezmoi apply -v

Add a new file to chezmoi

chezmoi add ~/.config/some-tool/config.toml

Chezmoi copies it into the source dir with the right dot_ / private_ prefix.

Check what would change

chezmoi diff                 # diff target vs destination
chezmoi status               # short status
chezmoi verify               # exit 0 if in sync

Pull upstream changes

chezmoi update -v            # git pull + apply
# or:
chezmoi cd && git pull && exit && chezmoi apply -v

Stop tracking a file

chezmoi forget ~/.some-file  # removes from source, leaves destination

Machine-local pattern

For machine-specific config that shouldn't be tracked:

• ~/.aliasrc (tracked) sources ~/.aliasrc.local (untracked) at the bottom
• Put per-machine functions/aliases/secrets in ~/.aliasrc.local
• Don't add ~/.aliasrc.local to chezmoi

Same pattern works for any *rc file — source a .local sibling.

Gotchas

• chezmoi edit opens the source file. Editing ~/.zshrc directly gets overwritten on next chezmoi apply.
• After chezmoi apply, run source ~/.zshrc (or exec zsh) to reload the running shell.
• The repo has its own .git. Use chezmoi cd then git ... to commit dotfile changes — they don't show up in unrelated repo git status.
• chezmoi apply is idempotent; safe to run any time.