Provided by: yadm_3.5.0-1_all 
NAME
yadm - Yet Another Dotfiles Manager
SYNOPSIS
yadm command [options]
yadm git-command-or-alias [options]
yadm init [-f] [-w dir]
yadm clone url [-f] [-w dir] [-b branch] [--bootstrap] [--no-bootstrap]
yadm config name [value]
yadm config [-e]
yadm list [-a]
yadm bootstrap
yadm encrypt
yadm decrypt [-l]
yadm alt
yadm perms
yadm enter [command]
yadm git-crypt [options]
yadm transcrypt [options]
yadm upgrade [-f]
yadm introspect category
DESCRIPTION
yadm is a tool for managing a collection of files across multiple computers, using a shared Git
repository. In addition, yadm provides a feature to select alternate versions of files for particular
systems. Lastly, yadm supplies the ability to manage a subset of secure files, which are encrypted
before they are included in the repository.
COMMANDS
git-command or git-alias
Any command not internally handled by yadm is passed through to git(1). Git commands or aliases
are invoked with the yadm managed repository. The working directory for Git commands will be the
configured work-tree (usually $HOME).
Dotfiles are managed by using standard git commands; add, commit, push, pull, etc.
The config command is not passed directly through. Instead use the gitconfig command (see below).
alt Create symbolic links and process templates for any managed files matching the naming rules
described in the ALTERNATES and TEMPLATES sections. It is usually unnecessary to run this command,
as yadm automatically processes alternates by default. This automatic behavior can be disabled by
setting the configuration yadm.auto-alt to "false".
bootstrap
Execute $HOME/.config/yadm/bootstrap if it exists.
clone url
Clone a remote repository for tracking dotfiles. After the contents of the remote repository have
been fetched, a "check out" of the remote HEAD branch is attempted. If there are conflicting
files already present in the work-tree, the local version will be left unmodified and you'll have
to review and resolve the difference.
The repository is stored in $HOME/.local/share/yadm/repo.git. By default, $HOME will be used as
the work-tree, but this can be overridden with the -w option. yadm can be forced to overwrite an
existing repository by providing the -f option. If you want to use a branch other than the remote
HEAD branch you can specify it using the -b option. By default yadm will ask the user if the
bootstrap program should be run (if it exists). The options --bootstrap or --no-bootstrap will
either force the bootstrap to be run, or prevent it from being run, without prompting the user.
config This command manages configurations for yadm. This command works exactly the way git-config(1)
does. See the CONFIGURATION section for more details.
decrypt
Decrypt all files stored in $HOME/.local/share/yadm/archive. Files decrypted will be relative to
the configured work-tree (usually $HOME). Using the -l option will list the files stored without
extracting them.
encrypt
Encrypt all files matching the patterns found in $HOME/.config/yadm/encrypt. See the ENCRYPTION
section for more details.
enter Run a sub-shell with all Git variables set. Exit the sub-shell the same way you leave your normal
shell (usually with the "exit" command). This sub-shell can be used to easily interact with your
yadm repository using "git" commands. This could be useful if you are using a tool which uses Git
directly, such as tig, vim-fugitive, git-cola, etc.
Optionally, you can provide a command after "enter", and instead of invoking your shell, that
command will be run with all of the Git variables exposed to the command's environment.
Emacs Tramp and Magit can manage files by using this configuration:
(add-to-list 'tramp-methods
'("yadm"
(tramp-login-program "yadm")
(tramp-login-args (("enter")))
(tramp-login-env (("SHELL") ("/bin/sh")))
(tramp-remote-shell "/bin/sh")
(tramp-remote-shell-args ("-c"))))
With this config, use (magit-status "/yadm::").
git-crypt options
If git-crypt is installed, this command allows you to pass options directly to git-crypt, with the
environment configured to use the yadm repository.
git-crypt enables transparent encryption and decryption of files in a git repository. You can read
https://github.com/AGWA/git-crypt for details.
gitconfig
Pass options to the git config command. Since yadm already uses the config command to manage its
own configurations, this command is provided as a way to change configurations of the repository
managed by yadm. One useful case might be to configure the repository so untracked files are
shown in status commands. yadm initially configures its repository so that untracked files are not
shown. If you wish use the default Git behavior (to show untracked files and directories), you
can remove this configuration.
yadm gitconfig --unset status.showUntrackedFiles
help Print a summary of yadm commands.
init Initialize a new, empty repository for tracking dotfiles. The repository is stored in
$HOME/.local/share/yadm/repo.git. By default, $HOME will be used as the work-tree, but this can
be overridden with the -w option. yadm can be forced to overwrite an existing repository by
providing the -f option.
list Print a list of files managed by yadm. The -a option will cause all managed files to be listed.
Otherwise, the list will only include files from the current directory or below.
introspect category
Report internal yadm data. Supported categories are commands, configs, repo, and switches. The
purpose of introspection is to support command line completion.
perms Update permissions as described in the PERMISSIONS section. It is usually unnecessary to run this
command, as yadm automatically processes permissions by default. This automatic behavior can be
disabled by setting the configuration yadm.auto-perms to "false".
transcrypt options
If transcrypt is installed, this command allows you to pass options directly to transcrypt, with
the environment configured to use the yadm repository.
transcrypt enables transparent encryption and decryption of files in a git repository. You can
read https://github.com/elasticdog/transcrypt for details.
upgrade
Version 3 of yadm uses a different directory for storing data. When you start to use version 3
for the first time, you may see warnings about moving your data to this new directory. The
easiest way to accomplish this is by running "yadm upgrade". This command will start by moving
your yadm repo to the new path. Next it will move any archive data. If the archive is tracked
within your yadm repo, this command will "stage" the renaming of that file in the repo's index.
Upgrading will attempt to de-initialize and re-initialize your submodules. If your submodules
cannot be de-initialized, the upgrade will fail. The most common reason submodules will fail to
de-initialize is because they have local modifications. If you are willing to lose the local
modifications to those submodules, you can use the -f option with the "upgrade" command to force
the de-initialization.
After running "yadm upgrade", you should run "yadm status" to review changes which have been
staged, and commit them to your repository.
You can read https://yadm.io/docs/upgrade_from_2 for more information.
version
Print the version of yadm.
OPTIONS
yadm supports a set of universal options that alter the paths it uses. The default paths are documented
in the FILES section. Any path specified by these options must be fully qualified. If you always want to
override one or more of these paths, it may be useful to create an alias for the yadm command. For
example, the following alias could be used to override the repository directory.
alias yadm='yadm --yadm-repo /alternate/path/to/repo'
The following is the full list of universal options. Each option should be followed by a path.
-Y, --yadm-dir
Override the yadm directory. yadm stores its configurations relative to this directory.
--yadm-data
Override the yadm data directory. yadm stores its data relative to this directory.
--yadm-repo
Override the location of the yadm repository.
--yadm-config
Override the location of the yadm configuration file.
--yadm-encrypt
Override the location of the yadm encryption configuration.
--yadm-archive
Override the location of the yadm encrypted files archive.
--yadm-bootstrap
Override the location of the yadm bootstrap program.
CONFIGURATION
yadm uses a configuration file named $HOME/.config/yadm/config. This file uses the same format as git-
config(1). Also, you can control the contents of the configuration file via the yadm config command
(which works exactly like git-config). For example, to disable alternates you can run the command:
yadm config yadm.auto-alt false
The following is the full list of supported configurations:
yadm.alt-copy
If set to "true", alternate files will be copies instead of symbolic links. This might be
desirable, because some systems may not properly support symlinks.
yadm.auto-alt
Disable the automatic linking described in the section ALTERNATES. If disabled, you may still run
"yadm alt" manually to create the alternate links. This feature is enabled by default.
yadm.auto-exclude
Disable the automatic exclusion of created alternate links, template files and patterns defined in
$HOME/.config/yadm/encrypt. This feature is enabled by default.
yadm.auto-perms
Disable the automatic permission changes described in the section PERMISSIONS. If disabled, you
may still run yadm perms manually to update permissions. This feature is enabled by default.
yadm.auto-private-dirs
Disable the automatic creating of private directories described in the section PERMISSIONS.
yadm.cipher
Configure which encryption system is used by the encrypt/decrypt commands. Valid options are
"gpg" and "openssl". The default is "gpg". Detailed information can be found in the section
ENCRYPTION.
yadm.git-program
Specify an alternate program to use instead of "git". By default, the first "git" found in $PATH
is used.
yadm.gpg-perms
Disable the permission changes to $HOME/.gnupg/*. This feature is enabled by default.
yadm.gpg-program
Specify an alternate program to use instead of "gpg". By default, the first "gpg" found in $PATH
is used.
yadm.gpg-recipient
Asymmetrically encrypt files with a gpg public/private key pair. Provide a "key ID" to specify
which public key to encrypt with. The key must exist in your public keyrings. Multiple
recipients can be specified (separated by space). If left blank or not provided, symmetric
encryption is used instead. If set to "ASK", gpg will interactively ask for recipients. See the
ENCRYPTION section for more details. This feature is disabled by default.
yadm.openssl-ciphername
Specify which cipher should be used by openssl. "aes-256-cbc" is used by default.
yadm.openssl-old
Newer versions of openssl support the pbkdf2 key derivation function. This is used by default. If
this configuration is set to "true", openssl operations will use options compatible with older
versions of openssl. If you change this option, you will need to recreate your encrypted archive.
yadm.openssl-program
Specify an alternate program to use instead of "openssl". By default, the first "openssl" found
in $PATH is used.
yadm.ssh-perms
Disable the permission changes to $HOME/.ssh/*. This feature is enabled by default.
The following "local" configurations are not stored in the $HOME/.config/yadm/config, they are stored in
the local repository.
local.class
Specify a class for the purpose of symlinking alternate files. By default, no class will be
matched. The local host can be assigned multiple classes using command:
yadm config --add local.class <additional-class>
local.arch
Override the architecture for the purpose of symlinking alternate files.
local.hostname
Override the hostname for the purpose of symlinking alternate files.
local.os
Override the OS for the purpose of symlinking alternate files.
local.user
Override the user for the purpose of symlinking alternate files.
local.distro
Override the distro for the purpose of symlinking alternate files.
local.distro-family
Override the distro family for the purpose of symlinking alternate files.
ALTERNATES
When managing a set of files across different systems, it can be useful to have an automated way of
choosing an alternate version of a file for a different operating system, host, user, etc.
yadm will automatically create a symbolic link to the appropriate version of a file, when a valid suffix
is appended to the filename. The suffix contains the conditions that must be met for that file to be
used.
The suffix begins with "##", followed by any number of conditions separated by commas.
##<condition>[,<condition>,...]
Each condition is an attribute/value pair, separated by a period. Some conditions do not require a
"value", and in that case, the period and value can be omitted. Most attributes can be abbreviated as a
single letter. Prefixing an attribute with "~" negates the condition, meaning the condition is considered
only if the attribute/value pair evaluates to false.
[~]<attribute>[.<value>]
NOTE: Value is compared case-insensitive.
These are the supported attributes, in the order of the weighted precedence:
template, t
Valid when the value matches a supported template processor. See the TEMPLATES section for more
details.
user, u
Valid if the value matches the current user. Current user is calculated by running id -u -n.
hostname, h
Valid if the value matches the short hostname. Hostname is calculated by running uname -n, and
trimming off any domain.
class, c
Valid if the value matches the local.class configuration. Class must be manually set using yadm
config local.class <class>. See the CONFIGURATION section for more details about setting
local.class.
distro_family, f
Valid if the value matches the distro family. Distro family is calculated by inspecting the
ID_LIKE line from /etc/os-release (or ID if no ID_LIKE line is found).
distro, d
Valid if the value matches the distro. Distro is calculated by running lsb_release -si or by
inspecting the ID from /etc/os-release.
os, o Valid if the value matches the OS. OS is calculated by running uname -s.
arch, a
Valid if the value matches the architecture. Architecture is calculated by running uname -m.
default
Valid when no other alternate is valid.
extension, e
A special "condition" that doesn't affect the selection process. Its purpose is instead to allow
the alternate file to end with a certain extension to e.g. make editors highlight the content
properly.
NOTE: The OS for "Windows Subsystem for Linux" is reported as "WSL", even though uname identifies as
"Linux".
You may use any number of conditions, in any order. An alternate will only be used if ALL conditions are
valid. For all files managed by yadm's repository or listed in $HOME/.config/yadm/encrypt, if they match
this naming convention, symbolic links will be created for the most appropriate version.
The "most appropriate" version is determined by calculating a score for each version of a file. A
template is always scored higher than any symlink condition. The number of conditions is the next largest
factor in scoring; files with more conditions will always be favored. Negative conditions (prefixed with
"~") are scored only relative to the number of non-negated conditions. Any invalid condition will
disqualify that file completely.
If you don't care to have all versions of alternates stored in the same directory as the generated
symlink, you can place them in the $HOME/.config/yadm/alt directory. The generated symlink or processed
template will be created using the same relative path.
Alternate linking may best be demonstrated by example. Assume the following files are managed by yadm's
repository:
- $HOME/path/example.txt##default
- $HOME/path/example.txt##class.Work
- $HOME/path/example.txt##class.Work,~os.Darwin
- $HOME/path/example.txt##os.Darwin
- $HOME/path/example.txt##os.Darwin,hostname.host1
- $HOME/path/example.txt##os.Darwin,hostname.host2
- $HOME/path/example.txt##os.Linux
- $HOME/path/example.txt##os.Linux,hostname.host1
- $HOME/path/example.txt##os.Linux,hostname.host2
If running on a Macbook named "host2", yadm will create a symbolic link which looks like this:
$HOME/path/example.txt -> $HOME/path/example.txt##os.Darwin,hostname.host2
However, on another Mackbook named "host3", yadm will create a symbolic link which looks like this:
$HOME/path/example.txt -> $HOME/path/example.txt##os.Darwin
Since the hostname doesn't match any of the managed files, the more generic version is chosen.
If running on a Linux server named "host4", the link will be:
$HOME/path/example.txt -> $HOME/path/example.txt##os.Linux
If running on a Solaris server, the link will use the default version:
$HOME/path/example.txt -> $HOME/path/example.txt##default
If running on a Macbook with class set to "Work", the link will be:
$HOME/path/example.txt -> $HOME/path/example.txt##class.Work
Since class has higher precedence than os, this version is chosen.
If running on a system with class set to "Work", but instead within Windows Subsystem for Linux, where
the os is reported as WSL, the link will be:
$HOME/path/example.txt -> $HOME/path/example.txt##class.Work,~os.Darwin
If no "##default" version exists and no files have valid conditions, then no link will be created.
Links are also created for directories named this way, as long as they have at least one yadm managed
file within them.
yadm will automatically create these links by default. This can be disabled using the yadm.auto-alt
configuration. Even if disabled, links can be manually created by running yadm alt.
Created links are automatically added to the repository's info/exclude file. This can be disabled using
the yadm.auto-exclude configuration.
Class is a special value which is stored locally on each host (inside the local repository). To use
alternate symlinks using class, you must set the value of class using the configuration local.class.
This is set like any other yadm configuration with the yadm config command. The following sets the class
to be "Work".
yadm config local.class Work
Similarly, the values of architecture, os, hostname, user, distro, and distro_family can be manually
overridden using the configuration options local.arch, local.os, local.hostname, local.user,
local.distro, and local.distro-family.
TEMPLATES
If a template condition is defined in an alternate file's "##" suffix, and the necessary dependencies for
the template are available, then the file will be processed to create or overwrite files.
Supported template processors:
default
This is yadm's built-in template processor. This processor is very basic, with a Jinja-like
syntax. The advantage of this processor is that it only depends upon awk, which is available on
most *nix systems. To use this processor, specify the value of "default" or just leave the value
off (e.g. "##template").
NOTE: This template processor performs case-insensitive comparisons in if statements.
ESH ESH is a template processor written in POSIX compliant shell. It allows executing shell commands
within templates. This can be used to reference your own configurations within templates, for
example:
<% yadm config mysection.myconfig %>
To use the ESH template processor, specify the value of "esh"
j2cli To use the j2cli Jinja template processor, specify the value of "j2" or "j2cli".
envtpl To use the envtpl Jinja template processor, specify the value of "j2" or "envtpl".
NOTE: Specifying "j2" as the processor will attempt to use j2cli or envtpl, whichever is available.
If the template processor specified is available, templates will be processed to create or overwrite
files.
During processing, the following variables are available in the template:
Default Jinja or ESH Description
------------- ------------- ----------------------------
yadm.arch YADM_ARCH uname -m
yadm.class YADM_CLASS Last locally defined class
yadm.classes YADM_CLASSES All classes
yadm.distro YADM_DISTRO lsb_release -si
yadm.distro_family YADM_DISTRO_FAMILY ID_LIKE from /etc/os-release
yadm.filename Filename for the current file
yadm.hostname YADM_HOSTNAME uname -n (without domain)
yadm.os YADM_OS uname -s
yadm.source YADM_SOURCE Template filename
yadm.user YADM_USER id -u -n
env.VAR Environment variable VAR
NOTE: The OS for "Windows Subsystem for Linux" is reported as "WSL", even though uname identifies as
"Linux".
NOTE: If lsb_release is not available, DISTRO will be the ID specified in /etc/os-release.
Examples:
whatever##template with the following content
{% if yadm.user == "harvey" %}
config={{yadm.class}}-{{yadm.os}}
{% else %}
config=dev-whatever
{% include "whatever.extra" %}
{% endif %}
would output a file named whatever with the following content if the user is "harvey":
config=work-Linux
and the following otherwise (if whatever.extra contains admin=false):
config=dev-whatever
admin=false
An equivalent Jinja template named whatever##template.j2 would look like:
{% if YADM_USER == 'harvey' -%}
config={{YADM_CLASS}}-{{YADM_OS}}
{% else -%}
config=dev-whatever
{% include 'whatever.extra' %}
{% endif -%}
An equivalent ESH templated named whatever##template.esh would look like:
<% if [ "$YADM_USER" = "harvey" ]; then -%>
config=<%= $YADM_CLASS %>-<%= $YADM_OS %>
<% else -%>
config=dev-whatever
<%+ whatever.extra %>
<% fi -%>
Created files are automatically added to the repository's info/exclude file. This can be disabled using
the yadm.auto-exclude configuration.
ENCRYPTION
It can be useful to manage confidential files, like SSH or GPG keys, across multiple systems. However,
doing so would put plain text data into a Git repository, which often resides on a public system. yadm
can make it easy to encrypt and decrypt a set of files so the encrypted version can be maintained in the
Git repository. This feature will only work if a supported tool is available. Both gpg(1) and
openssl(1) are supported. gpg is used by default, but openssl can be configured with the yadm.cipher
configuration.
To use this feature, a list of patterns (one per line) must be created and saved as
$HOME/.config/yadm/encrypt. This list of patterns should be relative to the configured work-
tree (usually $HOME). For example:
.ssh/*.key
.gnupg/*.gpg
Standard filename expansions (*, ?, [) are supported. Two consecutive asterisks "**" can be used to match
all subdirectories. Other shell expansions like brace and tilde are not supported. Spaces in paths are
supported, and should not be quoted. If a directory is specified, its contents will be included. Paths
beginning with a "!" will be excluded.
The yadm encrypt command will find all files matching the patterns, and prompt for a password. Once a
password has confirmed, the matching files will be encrypted and saved as
$HOME/.local/share/yadm/archive. The "encrypt" and "archive" files should be added to the yadm
repository so they are available across multiple systems.
To decrypt these files later, or on another system run yadm decrypt and provide the correct password.
After files are decrypted, permissions are automatically updated as described in the PERMISSIONS section.
Symmetric encryption is used by default, but asymmetric encryption may be enabled using the yadm.gpg-
recipient configuration.
NOTE: It is recommended that you use a private repository when keeping confidential files, even though
they are encrypted.
Patterns found in $HOME/.config/yadm/encrypt are automatically added to the repository's info/exclude
file every time yadm encrypt is run. This is to prevent accidentally committing sensitive data to the
repository. This can be disabled using the yadm.auto-exclude configuration.
Using transcrypt or git-crypt
A completely separate option for encrypting data is to install and use transcrypt or git-crypt. Once
installed, you can use these tools by running yadm transcrypt or yadm git-crypt. These tools enables
transparent encryption and decryption of files in a git repository. See the following web sites for more
information:
- https://github.com/elasticdog/transcrypt
- https://github.com/AGWA/git-crypt
PERMISSIONS
When files are checked out of a Git repository, their initial permissions are dependent upon the user's
umask. Because of this, yadm will automatically update the permissions of some file paths. The "group"
and "others" permissions will be removed from the following files:
- $HOME/.local/share/yadm/archive
- All files matching patterns in $HOME/.config/yadm/encrypt
- The SSH directory and files, .ssh/*
- The GPG directory and files, .gnupg/*
yadm will automatically update permissions by default. This can be disabled using the yadm.auto-perms
configuration. Even if disabled, permissions can be manually updated by running yadm perms. The .ssh
directory processing can be disabled using the yadm.ssh-perms configuration. The .gnupg directory
processing can be disabled using the yadm.gpg-perms configuration.
When cloning a repo which includes data in a .ssh or .gnupg directory, if those directories do not exist
at the time of cloning, yadm will create the directories with mask 0700 prior to merging the fetched data
into the work-tree.
When running a Git command and .ssh or .gnupg directories do not exist, yadm will create those
directories with mask 0700 prior to running the Git command. This can be disabled using the yadm.auto-
private-dirs configuration.
HOOKS
For every command yadm supports, a program can be provided to run before or after that command. These are
referred to as "hooks". yadm looks for hooks in the directory $HOME/.config/yadm/hooks. Each hook is
named using a prefix of pre_ or post_, followed by the command which should trigger the hook. For
example, to create a hook which is run after every yadm pull command, create a hook named post_pull.
Hooks must have the executable file permission set.
If a pre_ hook is defined, and the hook terminates with a non-zero exit status, yadm will refuse to run
the yadm command. For example, if a pre_commit hook is defined, but that command ends with a non-zero
exit status, the yadm commit will never be run. This allows one to "short-circuit" any operation using a
pre_ hook.
Hooks have the following environment variables available to them at runtime:
YADM_HOOK_COMMAND
The command which triggered the hook
YADM_HOOK_DATA
The path to the yadm data directory
YADM_HOOK_DIR
The path to the yadm directory
YADM_HOOK_EXIT
The exit status of the yadm command
YADM_HOOK_FULL_COMMAND
The yadm command with all command line arguments (parameters are space delimited, and any space,
tab or backslash will be escaped with a backslash)
YADM_HOOK_REPO
The path to the yadm repository
YADM_HOOK_WORK
The path to the work-tree
FILES
All of yadm's configurations are relative to the "yadm directory". yadm uses the "XDG Base Directory
Specification" to determine this directory. If the environment variable $XDG_CONFIG_HOME is defined as a
fully qualified path, this directory will be $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/yadm. Otherwise it will be
$HOME/.config/yadm.
Similarly, yadm's data files are relative to the "yadm data directory". yadm uses the "XDG Base
Directory Specification" to determine this directory. If the environment variable $XDG_DATA_HOME is
defined as a fully qualified path, this directory will be $XDG_DATA_HOME/yadm. Otherwise it will be
$HOME/.local/share/yadm.
The following are the default paths yadm uses for its own data. Most of these paths can be altered using
universal options. See the OPTIONS section for details.
$HOME/.config/yadm
The yadm directory. By default, all configs yadm stores is relative to this directory.
$HOME/.local/share/yadm
The yadm data directory. By default, all data yadm stores is relative to this directory.
$YADM_DIR/config
Configuration file for yadm.
$YADM_DIR/alt
This is a directory to keep "alternate files" without having them side-by-side with the resulting
symlink or processed template. Alternate files placed in this directory will be created relative
to $HOME instead.
$YADM_DATA/repo.git
Git repository used by yadm.
$YADM_DIR/encrypt
List of globs used for encrypt/decrypt
$YADM_DATA/archive
All files encrypted with yadm encrypt are stored in this file.
EXAMPLES
yadm init
Create an empty repo for managing files
yadm add .bash_profile ; yadm commit
Add .bash_profile to the Git index and create a new commit
yadm remote add origin <url>
Add a remote origin to an existing repository
yadm push -u origin master
Initial push of master to origin
echo .ssh/*.key >> $HOME/.config/yadm/encrypt
Add a new pattern to the list of encrypted files
yadm encrypt ; yadm add ~/.local/share/yadm/archive ; yadm commit
Commit a new set of encrypted files
REPORTING BUGS
Report issues or create pull requests at GitHub:
https://github.com/yadm-dev/yadm/issues
AUTHORS
Tim Byrne <sultan@locehilios.com>
Erik Flodin <erik@flodin.me>
SEE ALSO
git(1), gpg(1) openssl(1) transcrypt(1) git-crypt(1)
https://yadm.io/
3.5.0 March 3, 2025 YADM(1)