Dotter

lastmod 2026-01-07created 2026-01-071 edits

A Rust-based configuration file manager for managing dotfiles consistently

About

• Developed to complement and overcome the limitations of the simple symlink approach, such as backing up and deploying dotfile configurations in the home directory
• Solves tracking file origins, setting up new machines, and managing per-device configuration differences with a declarative configuration file
• Instead of simply linking files, supports template rendering or automatic symlink deployment
  • Configuration contents can change dynamically based on per-machine and per-environment variables
• Clearly separates global configuration from local choices through a split global.toml and local.toml structure
• Provides a complete CLI workflow covering deployment, rollback, initialization, and change watching
  • Provides core commands such as deploy, undeploy, watch, and init
• Options designed for real-world operation, such as dry-run, diff output, forced overwrite, and hook scripts
• Installable via macOS (Homebrew), Arch Linux (AUR), Windows (Scoop), crates.io, and more
• Implemented in Rust and distributed as a single binary

See also

• dotfile

Favorite site

• Github - SuperCuber/dotter
• Dotter - A Rust-based configuration file manager for managing dotfiles consistently | GeekNews