dot — all your computers in one repo

Single binary, zero dependencies, one config file

Highlights

• Zero dependencies — compiled binary, nothing else to install
• Cross-platform — macOS, Linux, Windows
• Interactive — run dot and pick what you want from a checklist
• Scriptable — dot -i git -l zsh -v for automation and LLMs
• Install anything — brew, apt, pacman, paru, curl, cargo, any shell command
• Idempotent — run it twice, nothing breaks
• macOS defaults — export/import GUI app settings

Installation

macOS / Linux

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pablopunk/dot/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

Downloads the latest binary to ~/.local/bin/dot.

Windows PowerShell

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pablopunk/dot/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

Downloads the latest binary to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\dot\dot.exe and adds it to your user PATH.

Quick Start

1. Create a dot.toml in your dotfiles repo:

[zsh]
install.brew = "brew install zsh"
install.apt = "sudo apt install zsh"
link."zsh/.zshrc" = "~/.zshrc"

[git]
install.brew = "brew install git git-delta gh"
link."git/.gitconfig" = "~/.gitconfig"
postinstall = "gh auth login -p ssh -h github.com"

[neovim]
install.brew = "brew install neovim"
link."neovim/init.lua" = "~/.config/nvim/init.lua"

2. Run it:

dot                  # interactive checklist (default)
dot -i zsh -l git    # scriptable: install zsh, link git
dot --list           # list all components

Configuration

[component-name]
install.brew = "brew install thing"   # any manager key works
install.apt = "sudo apt install -y thing"
install.any = "curl ... | sh"         # fallback
uninstall.brew = "brew uninstall thing"
link."src/file" = "~/.dest/file"      # single dest
link."src/file" = ["~/.a", "~/.b"]    # multi dest
postinstall = "echo 'done'"           # run after install
postlink = "chmod 600 ~/.file"        # run after link
os = ["mac", "linux"]                 # restrict to OS
check = "binary-name"                 # detect if already installed
defaults."com.apple.dock" = "dock.plist"  # macOS only

Package managers

No hardcoded list. dot checks Bun.which(manager) for each key in your config and picks the first one available. any is always the last resort.

[mise]
install.brew = "brew install mise"
install.curl = "curl https://mise.run | sh"   # picked if curl exists

Detecting installed components

check tells dot how to detect if a component is already installed. The interactive checklist shows ✓ for detected items.

[btop]
install.brew = "brew install btop"
check = "btop"                            # checks if binary is on PATH

[neovim]
install.brew = "brew install neovim"
check = "nvim"                            # binary name differs from package

[zed]
os = ["mac"]
install.brew = "brew install zed"
check = "test -d /Applications/Zed.app"   # shell command, exit 0 = installed

Dot also auto-detects when all symlinks are already in place — no check needed for link-only components.

macOS defaults

[dock]
os = ["mac"]
defaults."com.apple.dock" = "macos/dock.plist"

[finder]
os = ["mac"]
defaults."com.apple.finder" = "macos/finder.xml"   # .xml = human-readable

dot -e   # export current defaults to files
dot -I   # import saved defaults

Hooks

[vim]
install.brew = "brew install vim"
postinstall = "vim +PlugInstall +qall"
postlink = "echo 'linked'"

dot --postinstall vim    # run postinstall hook only
dot --postlink ssh       # run postlink hook only

Usage

dot                          # interactive checklist (default)
dot --install                 # interactive install mode
dot --uninstall               # interactive uninstall mode
dot --link                    # interactive link mode
dot --postinstall             # interactive postinstall mode
dot -i zsh -i nvim -v         # install zsh + nvim, verbose
dot -u zsh                    # uninstall zsh
dot -l git                    # link git files
dot --postinstall nvim       # run postinstall hook
dot --postlink ssh           # run postlink hook
dot -e                       # export macOS defaults
dot -I                       # import macOS defaults
dot --list                   # list all components
dot --dry-run -i nvim        # preview without changes
dot --upgrade                # self-upgrade binary
dot -h                       # help
dot --version                # version

All action flags are composable. Execution order is: uninstall → install → defaults → link → postinstall → postlink.

Fuzzy matching: dot -i nvim matches neovim too.

Output is silent by default — use -v for verbose. In a TTY, package managers get real stdin for interactive prompts. When piped, stdin is closed for non-interactive use.

Examples

Basic dev setup

[zsh]
install.brew = "brew install zsh"
link."zsh/.zshrc" = "~/.zshrc"

[git]
install.brew = "brew install git git-delta"
link."git/.gitconfig" = "~/.gitconfig"

[vim]
install.brew = "brew install vim"
link."vim/.vimrc" = "~/.vimrc"

Cross-platform

[tailscale]
install.brew = "brew install --cask tailscale"
install.pacman = "sudo pacman -S --noconfirm tailscale"
install.paru = "paru -S --noconfirm tailscale"
postinstall = """
if [[ "$(uname)" == "Linux" ]]; then
  sudo systemctl enable --now tailscaled
fi
"""

macOS-only tools with defaults

[ice]
os = ["mac"]
install.brew = "brew install ice"
defaults."com.jordanbaird.Ice" = "config/ice/Ice.xml"

[karabiner]
os = ["mac"]
install.brew = "brew install karabiner-elements"
link."config/karabiner/karabiner.json" = "~/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json"

Linux-only

[xremap]
os = ["linux"]
install.cargo = "cargo install xremap --features hypr"
link."config/xremap/config.yml" = "~/.config/xremap/config.yml"

Building from source

git clone https://github.com/pablopunk/dot.git
cd dot
bun test        # run tests
make build      # compile binary
sudo make install

Comparison

Feature	dot	GNU Stow	chezmoi	dotbot
Zero dependencies	yes	no	no	no
Single binary	yes	no	yes	no
Interactive TUI	yes	no	no	no
Package install	yes	no	yes	yes
macOS defaults	yes	no	no	no
Cross-platform	yes	yes	yes	yes
Dry run	yes	yes	yes	no

License

MIT