One command to configure a fresh machine.

Quick Start

Run this command on a fresh macOS or Linux system:

sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bketelsen/dotfiles/main/bootstrap.sh)"

What This Does

The bootstrap script will:

Install Homebrew (if not already present)
Install chezmoi dotfiles manager via Homebrew
Apply dotfiles configuration from this repository
Configure your shell and development environment

Works on both macOS and Linux.

Encryption & Secrets

This repository uses age encryption for sensitive files. On first setup:

An age encryption key is automatically generated
The public key is displayed - back it up immediately
See docs/encryption.md for full documentation

Important

Back up your age key to Bitwarden or another secure location
Without the key backup, encrypted files cannot be recovered

Requirements

macOS or Linux operating system
curl (pre-installed on both platforms)
Internet connection

Re-running

The bootstrap script is idempotent - it's safe to run multiple times. If interrupted or if you want to update your configuration, just run the command again. The script will skip steps that are already complete.

Troubleshooting

If something goes wrong:

Check ~/.dotfiles-bootstrap.log for detailed output
Common issues:
- Network connectivity: Ensure you can reach github.com and brew.sh
- Permissions: The script may prompt for sudo password during Homebrew installation
- Disk space: Ensure you have at least 1GB free space

To manually verify installations:

# Check Homebrew
brew --version
# Check chezmoi
chezmoi --version
# Check applied dotfiles
chezmoi status

Managing Dotfiles

After bootstrap completes, use these commands:

# See what would change
chezmoi diff
# Apply latest dotfiles
chezmoi apply
# Update from repository
chezmoi update
# Edit a dotfile
chezmoi edit ~/.bashrc

For more information, see the chezmoi documentation.