kevmoo cli setup crazy

kevmoo-cli.md

📂 Managing Dotfiles with a Bare Git Repository

This setup allows for managing configuration files (dotfiles) directly in the $HOME directory using Git, without the need for symlinks, specialized management tools, or messy directory structures.

🚀 The Implementation

The core of the system is a bare Git repository located at ~/.dotfiles/. Unlike a standard repository, a bare repo doesn't have a default working directory. We manually point its "working tree" to $HOME using a simple shell alias.

The Magic Alias

Add this to your .bashrc or .zshrc:

alias dot='/usr/bin/git --git-dir=$HOME/.dotfiles/ --work-tree=$HOME'

⚙️ Key Configuration

To prevent Git from showing every untracked file in your home directory (which would make dot status unusable), we configure the repository to ignore untracked files by default:

dot config --local status.showUntrackedFiles no

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💎 Why This Approach?

• Zero Symlinks: Files live in their natural locations (e.g., ~/.bashrc, ~/.gitconfig). You don't need to manage a complex tree of symlinks or use tools like GNU Stow.
• Native Git Experience: Since dot is just a standard Git command with specific flags, all your existing Git knowledge applies (dot status, dot add, dot commit, dot diff, etc.).
• Portable & Lightweight: This works on any system with Git installed. No Python, Ruby, or Node.js dependencies are required.
• Clean Workflow: Only files you explicitly dot add are tracked. The rest of your home directory remains invisible to Git.

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🛠 Common Workflows

Tracking a new config file

dot add ~/.bashrc
dot commit -m "Add bashrc to dotfiles"

Reviewing changes

dot status
dot diff

Syncing with a remote

dot push origin main
dot pull origin main

Initial Setup on a New Machine

1. Clone the repo as a bare repository:

   git clone --bare <your-repo-url> $HOME/.dotfiles

2. Define the alias in your current shell session:

   alias dot='/usr/bin/git --git-dir=$HOME/.dotfiles/ --work-tree=$HOME'

3. Checkout the content into your home directory:

   dot checkout

4. Silence untracked files:

   dot config --local status.showUntrackedFiles no