Dotfiles Management

Decision: YADM

Chosen for cross-platform dotfile management (macOS, Linux, Windows via WSL).

Why YADM over alternatives

Approach	Verdict
Git bare repo	No tooling for OS-specific configs
GNU Stow	No Windows support, symlinks can confuse tools
Chezmoi	Requires source dir + apply step, easy to forget
YADM	Files in place, just git, alternate files per OS

Key factors

Works on Windows through WSL (native Windows not needed)
Files stay in place, no copy/apply step
Closest to "two-way sync" - just edit and commit
Alternate files via naming convention: .zshrc##os.Darwin, .zshrc##os.Linux

Setup

# Install
brew install yadm        # macOS
sudo pacman -S yadm      # Arch
# Windows: use through WSL

# Init new repo
yadm init
yadm remote add origin git@github.com:user/dotfiles.git

# Or clone existing
yadm clone git@github.com:user/dotfiles.git

Workflow

# Edit files normally
vim ~/.zshrc

# Commit when ready
yadm add -u && yadm commit -m "updates" && yadm push

# Quick sync alias
alias yadm-sync='yadm add -u && yadm commit -m "sync $(date +%Y-%m-%d)" && yadm push'

OS-Specific Files

Use alternate files with ## suffix:

~/.zshrc##os.Darwin    # macOS
~/.zshrc##os.Linux     # Linux
~/.zshrc##default      # Fallback

YADM automatically uses the right one based on OS.

Links

#dotfiles #yadm #git #linux #macos #configuration

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