dotty

dotty is a simple-to-use config and dotfiles manager with profile support, written in C++23

Features

• Simple Configuration: Use a straightforward syntax to map source files to their destinations.
• Profile Management: Supports multiple configuration profiles (e.g., main, wm, terminal).
• GitHub Integration: Creates & synces a GitHub repository for your dotfiles

Prerequisites

Before building and using dotty, ensure you have the following installed:

• Dependencies:
  • [xmake] (https://xmake.io/) - Dotty's build tool
  • [GCC] (https://gcc.gnu.org) - Be sure the compiler is up-to-date
  • [git] (https://git-scm.com/) - Git command line
  • [github-cli] (https://cli.github.com/) For repository management
  • [CLI11] (https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11) For command line parsing
  • [readline] (https://github.com/JuliaAttic/readline) For user input

Installation

Building from Source

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Monjaris/dotty.git
   cd dotty

2. Build dotty using xmake:

   ./build.sh

3. Install the binary:

   xmake install

Usage

1. Initialization

To set up dotty for the first time:

dotty init

This command will:

• Check for GitHub authentication.
• Prompt for a repository name and visibility.
• Initialize a local git repository in ~/.local/share/dotty/<profile-name>.
• Create a corresponding repository on GitHub and push the initial commit.

2. Configuration

dotty looks for configuration in ~/.config/dotty/<profile>/config.

The configuration file uses a simple mapping syntax:

"/path/to/source/file" >> "relative/path/in/storage"

Example:

"~/.bashrc" >> "shell/.bashrc"
"~/.config/nvim/init.lua" >> "nvim/init.lua"

3. Synchronizing (Writing)

To copy your local files into the dotty storage:

dotty write

This will parse your config file and update the files in ~/.local/share/dotty/<profile-name> based on the mappings.

Development Conventions

Header Files

• *.hpp: Headers that have (or are planned to have) implementation in a corresponding *.cpp.
• *.h: Headers that do not need a separate implementation file (templates, inline functions, constants, etc.).

Symbols & Tokens

• Variables/Constants/Members: snake_case
• Functions/Methods: camelCase
• Classes/Typedefs: PascalCase
• Macros / Constexprs: UPPER_SNAKE_CASE

Primary project files

• src/main.cpp: Entry point.
• src/core.h: Common utility functions and stream wrappers.
• src/common.h: Global definitions, types, and includes.

License

This project is licensed under the GNU AGPLv3 2026 Monjaris