All patches and comments are welcome. Please squash your changes to logical
commits before using git-format-patch and git-send-email to
patches@git.madduck.net.
If you'd read over the Git project's submission guidelines and adhered to them,
I'd be especially grateful.
1 vcsh - Version Control System for $HOME - multiple Git repositories in $HOME
6 1. [Introduction](#introduction)
7 2. [30 second howto](#30-second-howto)
8 3. [Overview](#overview)
9 4. [Getting Started](#getting-started)
10 5. [Usage Exmaples](#usage-examples)
11 6. [Contact](#contact)
16 [vcsh][vcsh] allows you to maintain several git repositories in one single
17 directory. They all maintain their working trees without clobbering each other
18 or interfering otherwise. By default, all git repositories maintained via
19 `vcsh` are stored in `$HOME` but you can override this setting if you want to.
20 All this means that you can have one repository per application or application
21 family, i.e. `zsh`, `vim`, `ssh`, etc. This, in turn, allows you to clone
22 custom sets of configurations onto different machines or even for different
23 users; picking and mixing which configurations you want to use where.
24 For example, you may not need to have your `mplayer` configuration on a server
25 or available to root and you may want to maintain different configuration for
26 `ssh` on your personal and your work machines.
28 `vcsh` was designed with [mr][mr], a tool to manage Multiple Repositories, in
29 mind and the two integrate very nicely. `mr` has native support for `vcsh`
30 repositories and to `vcsh`, `mr` is just another configuration to track.
31 This make setting up any new machine a breeze. It takes literally less than
32 five minutes to go from standard installation to fully set up system
34 A lot of modern UNIX-based systems offer pacakges for `vcsh`. In case yours
35 does not read `INSTALL.md` for install instructions or `PACKAGING.md` to create
36 a package, yourself. If you do end up packaging `vcsh` please let us know so we
37 can give you your own packaging branch in the upstream repository.
41 Some people found it useful to look at slides and videos explaining how `vcsh`
42 works instead of working through the docs, first.
43 They can all be found [on the author's talk page][talks].
48 While it may appear that there's an overwhelming amount of documentation and
49 while the explanation of the concepts behind `vcsh` needs to touch a few gory
50 details of `git` internals, getting started with `vcsh` is extremely simple.
52 Let's say you want to version control your `vim` configuration:
55 vcsh vim add ~/.vimrc ~/.vim
56 vcsh vim commit -m 'Initial commit of my Vim configuration'
57 # optionally push your files to a remote
58 vcsh vim remote add origin <remote>
59 vcsh vim push origin master:master
60 vcsh vim branch --track master origin/master
62 If all that looks a _lot_ like standard `git`, that's no coincidence; it's
70 You put a lot of effort into your configuration and want to both protect and
71 distribute this configuration.
73 Most people who decide to put their dotfiles under version control start with a
74 single repository in `$HOME`, adding all their dotfiles (and possibly more)
75 to it. This works, of course, but can become a nuisance as soon as you try to
76 manage more than one host.
78 The next logical step is to create single-purpose repositories in, for example,
79 `~/.dotfiles` and to create symbolic links into `$HOME`. This gives you the
80 flexibility to check out only certain repositories on different hosts. The
81 downsides of this approach are the necessary manual steps of cloning and
82 symlinking the individual repositories.
84 `vcsh` takes this approach one step further. It enables single-purpose
85 repositories and stores them in a hidden directory. However, it does not create
86 symbolic links in `$HOME`; it puts the actual files right into `$HOME`.
88 As `vcsh` allows you to put an arbitrary number of distinct repositories into
89 your `$HOME`, you will end up with a lot of repositories very quickly.
91 To manage both `vcsh` and other repositories, we suggest using [mr](mr). `mr`
92 takes care of pulling in and pushing out new data for a variety of version
96 The last logical step is to maintain all those new repositores with an automated
97 tool instead of tracking them by hand.
98 This is where `mr` comes in. While the use of `mr` is technically
99 optional, but it will be an integral part of the proposed system that follows.
101 ## Default Directory Layout
103 To illustrate, this is what a possible directory structure looks like.
106 |-- $XDG_CONFIG_HOME (defaults to $HOME/.config)
110 | | | |-- gitconfigs.vcsh
112 | | | |-- offlineimap.vcsh
116 | | | |-- vimperator.vcsh
117 | | | `-- snippets.git
119 | | |-- zsh.vcsh -> ../available.d/zsh.vcsh
120 | | |-- gitconfigs.vcsh -> ../available.d/gitconfigs.vcsh
121 | | |-- tmux.vcsh -> ../available.d/tmux.vcsh
122 | | `-- vim.vcsh -> ../available.d/vim.vcsh
126 | |-- zsh.git -----------+
127 | |-- gitconfigs.git |
131 |-- .zshrc <----------------------+
139 The files you see in $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/available.d are mr configuration files
140 that contain the commands to manage (checkout, update etc.) a single
141 repository. vcsh repo configs end in .vcsh, git configs end in .git, etc. This
142 is optional and your preference. For example, this is what a zsh.vcsh
143 with read-only access to my zshrc repo looks likes. I.e. in this specific
144 example, push can not work as you will be using the author's repository. This
145 is for demonstration, only. Of course, you are more than welcome to clone from
146 this repository and fork your own.
148 [$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vcsh/repo.d/zsh.git]
149 checkout = vcsh clone 'git://github.com/RichiH/zshrc.git' zsh
150 update = vcsh run zsh git pull
151 push = vcsh run zsh git push
152 status = vcsh run zsh git status
153 gc = vcsh run zsh git gc
157 $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/available.d contains *all available* repositories. Only
158 files/links present in mr/config.d, however, will be used by mr. That means
159 that in this example, only the zsh, gitconfigs, tmux and vim repositories will
160 be checked out. A simple `mr update` run in $HOME will clone or update those
161 four repositories listed in config.d.
165 Finally, ~/.mrconfig will tie together all those single files which will allow
166 you to conveniently run `mr up` etc. to manage all repositories. It looks like
171 # Use if your mr does not have vcsh support in mainline, yet
172 include = cat /usr/share/mr/vcsh
173 include = cat ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/mr/config.d/*
177 $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/vcsh/repo.d is the directory where all git repositories which
178 are under vcsh's control are located. Since their working trees are configured
179 to be in $HOME, the files contained in those repositories will be put in $HOME
181 Of course, [mr] [mr] will work with this layout if configured according to this
182 document (see above).
184 vcsh will check if any file it would want to create exists. If it exists, vcsh
185 will throw a warning and exit. Move away your old config and try again.
186 Optionally, merge your local and your global configs afterwards and push with
187 `vcsh run foo git push`.
189 ## Moving into a New Host
191 To illustrate further, the following steps could move your desired
192 configuration to a new host.
194 1. Clone the mr repository (containing available.d, config.d etc.); for
195 example: `vcsh clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh_mr_template.git mr`
196 2. Choose your repositories by linking them in config.d (or go with the default
197 you may have already configured by adding symlinks to git).
198 3. Make sure the line 'include = cat /usr/share/mr/vcsh' in .mrconfig points
200 4. Run mr to clone the repositories: `cd; mr update`.
203 Hopefully the above could help explain how this approach saves time by
205 1. making it easy to manage, clone and update a large number of repositories
207 2. making it unnecessary to create symbolic links in $HOME (thanks to vcsh).
209 If you want to give vcsh a try, follow the instructions below.
214 Below, you will find a few different methods for setting up vcsh:
217 2. The Steal-from-Template Way
224 Make sure none of the following files and directories exist for your test
225 (user). If they do, move them away for now:
229 * $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/available.d/mr.vcsh
230 * $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/available.d/zsh.vcsh
231 * $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/config.d/mr.vcsh
232 * $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/vcsh/repo.d/mr.git/
234 All of the files are part of the template repository, the directory is where
235 the template will be stored.
243 If you are using Debian Squeeze, you will need to enable backports
249 vcsh is availabe via [AUR](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=54164)
250 and further documentation about the use of AUR is available
251 [on Arch's wiki](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_User_Repository).
254 wget https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/vc/vcsh-git/vcsh-git.tar.gz
255 tar xfz vcsh-git.tar.gz
258 pacman -U vcsh*.pkg.tar.xz
262 If your version of mr is older than version 1.07, make sure to put
264 include = cat /usr/share/mr/vcsh
266 into your .mrconfig .
268 # choose a location for your checkout
271 git clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh.git
273 ln -s vcsh /usr/local/bin # or add it to your PATH
276 #### Clone the Template
278 vcsh clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh_mr_template.git mr
280 #### Enable Your Test Repository
283 mv ~/.zshrc ~/zshrc.bak
284 cd $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/config.d/
285 ln -s ../available.d/zsh.vcsh . # link, and thereby enable, the zsh repository
289 #### Set Up Your Own Repositories
291 Now, it's time to edit the template config and fill it with your own remotes:
293 vim $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/mr.vcsh
294 vim $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/zsh.vcsh
296 And then create your own stuff:
299 vcsh run foo git add -f bar baz quux
300 vcsh run foo git remote add origin git://quuux
301 vcsh run foo git commit
302 vcsh run foo git push
304 cp $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/mr.vcsh $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/foo.vcsh
305 vim $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/foo.vcsh # add your own repo
309 ### The Steal-from-Template Way
311 You're welcome to clone the example repository:
313 vcsh clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh_mr_template.git mr
314 # make sure 'include = cat /usr/share/mr/vcsh' points to an exiting file
317 Look around in the clone. It should be reasonably simple to understand. If not,
318 poke me, RichiH, on Freenode (query) or OFTC (#vcs-home).
323 This is how my old setup procedure looked like. Adapt it to your own style or
324 copy mine verbatim, either is fine.
330 # Clone vcsh and make it available
331 git clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh.git vcsh
332 sudo ln -s ~/work/git/vcsh/vcsh /usr/bin/local
335 Grab my mr config. see below for details on how I set this up
337 vcsh clone ssh://<remote>/mr.git
338 cd $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/config.d/
339 ln -s ../available.d/* .
342 mr is used to actually retrieve configs, etc
346 # adapt /usr/share/mr/vcsh to your system if needed
347 include = cat /usr/share/mr/vcsh
348 include = cat $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/config.d/*
349 ~ % echo $XDG_CONFIG_HOME
351 ~ % ls $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d # random selection of my repos
352 git-annex gitk.vcsh git.vcsh ikiwiki mr.vcsh reportbug.vcsh snippets.git wget.vcsh zsh.vcsh
354 # then simply ln -s whatever you want on your local machine from
355 # $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d to $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/config.d
362 All examples in this section will use the short form of `vcsh` which is the
363 simplest way to interface with it. If you don't know what that means simply
364 ignore this fact for now and follow the examples.
366 ## Initialize a new repository "vim"
370 ## Clone an existing repository
372 vcsh clone <remote> <repository_name>
374 ## Add files to repository "vim"
376 vcsh vim add ~/.vimrc ~/.vim
377 vcsh vim commit -m 'Update Vim configuration'
379 ## Add a remote for repository "vim"
381 vcsh vim remote add origin <remote>
382 vcsh vim push origin master:master
383 vcsh vim branch --track master origin/master
385 ## Push to remote of repository "vim"
389 ## Pull from remote of repository "vim"
394 # mr usage ; will be factored out & rewritten
396 ### Keeping repositories Up-to-Date
398 This is the beauty of it all. Once you are set up, just run:
407 After you have made some changes, for which you would normally use `git add`
408 and `git commit`, use the vcsh wrapper (like above):
410 vcsh run foo git add -f bar baz quux
411 vcsh run foo git commit
412 vcsh run foo git push
414 By the way, you'll have to use -f/--force flag with git-add because all files
415 will be ignored by default. This is to show you only useful output when running
416 git-status. A fix for this problem is being worked on.
418 ### Using vcsh without mr
420 vcsh encourages you to use [mr][mr]. It helps you manage a large number of
421 repositories by running the necessary vcsh commands for you. You may choose not
422 to use mr, in which case you will have to run those commands manually or by
426 To initialize a new repository: `vcsh init zsh`
428 To clone a repository: `vcsh clone ssh://<remote>/zsh.git`
430 To interact with a repository, use the regular Git commands, but prepend them
431 with `vcsh run $repository_name`. For example:
433 vcsh run zsh git status
434 vcsh run zsh git add -f .zshrc
435 vcsh run zsh git commit
437 Obviously, without mr keeping repositories up-to-date, it will have to be done
438 manually. Alternatively, you could try something like this:
440 for repo in `vcsh list`; do
441 vcsh run $repo git pull;
447 There are several ways to get in touch with the author and a small but committed
448 community around the general idea of version controlling your (digital) life.
450 * IRC: #vcs-home on irc.oftc.net
452 * Mailing list: [http://lists.madduck.net/listinfo/vcs-home][vcs-home-list]
454 * Pull requests or issues on [https://github.com/RichiH/vcsh][vcsh]
457 [mr]: http://kitenet.net/~joey/code/mr/
458 [talks]: http://richardhartmann.de/talks/
459 [vcsh]: https://github.com/RichiH/vcsh
460 [vcs-home-list]: http://lists.madduck.net/listinfo/vcs-home