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 $HOME
6 1. [30 second howto](#30-second-howto)
7 2. [Introduction](#introduction)
8 3. [Usage Exmaples](#usage-examples)
9 4. [Overview](#overview)
10 5. [Getting Started](#getting-started)
11 6. [Contact](#contact)
16 While it may appear that there's an overwhelming amount of documentation and
17 while the explanation of the concepts behind `vcsh` needs to touch a few gory
18 details of `git` internals, getting started with `vcsh` is extremely simple.
20 Let's say you want to version control your `vim` configuration:
23 vcsh vim add ~/.vimrc ~/.vim
24 vcsh vim commit -m 'Initial commit of my Vim configuration'
25 # optionally push your files to a remote
26 vcsh vim remote add origin <remote>
27 vcsh vim push -u origin master
28 # from now on you can push additional commits like this
31 If all that looks a _lot_ like standard `git`, that's no coincidence; it's
37 [vcsh][vcsh] allows you to maintain several Git repositories in one single
38 directory. They all maintain their working trees without clobbering each other
39 or interfering otherwise. By default, all Git repositories maintained via
40 `vcsh` store the actual files in `$HOME` but you can override this setting if
43 All this means that you can have one repository per application or application
44 family, i.e. `zsh`, `vim`, `ssh`, etc. This, in turn, allows you to clone
45 custom sets of configurations onto different machines or even for different
46 users; picking and mixing which configurations you want to use where.
47 For example, you may not need to have your `mplayer` configuration on a server
48 or available to root and you may want to maintain different configuration for
49 `ssh` on your personal and your work machines.
51 A lot of modern UNIX-based systems offer packages for `vcsh`. In case yours
52 does not read `INSTALL.md` for install instructions or `PACKAGING.md` to create
53 a package, yourself. If you do end up packaging `vcsh` please let us know so we
54 can give you your own packaging branch in the upstream repository.
58 Some people found it useful to look at slides and videos explaining how `vcsh`
59 works instead of working through the docs.
60 All slides, videos, and further information can be found
61 [on the author's talk page][talks].
66 There are three different ways to interact with `vcsh` repositories; this
67 section will only show the simplest and easiest way.
69 Certain more advanced use cases require the other two ways, but don't worry
70 about this for now. If you never even bother playing with the other two
71 modes you will still be fine.
73 `vcsh enter` and `vcsh run` will be covered in later sections.
77 | ----------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
78 | _Initialize a new repository called "vim"_ | `vcsh init vim` |
79 | _Clone an existing repository_ | `vcsh clone <remote> <repository_name>` |
80 | _Add files to repository "vim"_ | `vcsh vim add ~/.vimrc ~/.vim` |
81 | | `vcsh vim commit -m 'Update Vim configuration'` |
82 | _Add a remote for repository "vim"_ | `vcsh vim remote add origin <remote>` |
83 | | `vcsh vim push origin master:master` |
84 | | `vcsh vim branch --track master origin/master` |
85 | _Push to remote of repository "vim"_ | `vcsh vim push` |
86 | _Pull from remote of repository "vim"_ | `vcsh vim pull` |
87 | _Show status of changed files in all repositories_ | `vcsh status` |
88 | _Pull from all repositories_ | `vcsh pull` |
89 | _Push to all repositories_ | `vcsh push` |
96 You put a lot of effort into your configuration and want to both protect and
97 distribute this configuration.
99 Most people who decide to put their dotfiles under version control start with a
100 single repository in `$HOME`, adding all their dotfiles (and possibly more)
101 to it. This works, of course, but can become a nuisance as soon as you try to
102 manage more than one host.
104 The next logical step is to create single-purpose repositories in, for example,
105 `~/.dotfiles` and to create symbolic links into `$HOME`. This gives you the
106 flexibility to check out only certain repositories on different hosts. The
107 downsides of this approach are the necessary manual steps of cloning and
108 symlinking the individual repositories.
110 `vcsh` takes this approach one step further. It enables single-purpose
111 repositories and stores them in a hidden directory. However, it does not create
112 symbolic links in `$HOME`; it puts the actual files right into `$HOME`.
114 As `vcsh` allows you to put an arbitrary number of distinct repositories into
115 your `$HOME`, you will end up with a lot of repositories very quickly.
117 `vcsh` was designed with [myrepos][myrepos], a tool to manage Multiple
118 Repositories, in mind and the two integrate very nicely. The myrepos tool
119 (`mr`) has native support for `vcsh` repositories and the configuration for
120 myrepos is just another set of files that you cat track with `vcsh` like any
121 other. This makes setting up any new machine a breeze. It can take literally
122 less than five minutes to go from standard installation to fully set up system.
124 We suggest using [myrepos][myrepos] to manage both `vcsh` and other repositories. The
125 `mr` utility takes care of pulling in and pushing out new data for a variety of
126 version control systems. While the use of myrepos is technically optional, it will
127 be an integral part of the proposed system that follows.
129 ## Default Directory Layout
131 To illustrate, this is what a possible directory structure looks like.
134 |-- $XDG_CONFIG_HOME (defaults to $HOME/.config)
138 | | | |-- gitconfigs.vcsh
140 | | | |-- offlineimap.vcsh
144 | | | |-- vimperator.vcsh
145 | | | `-- snippets.git
147 | | |-- zsh.vcsh -> ../available.d/zsh.vcsh
148 | | |-- gitconfigs.vcsh -> ../available.d/gitconfigs.vcsh
149 | | |-- tmux.vcsh -> ../available.d/tmux.vcsh
150 | | `-- vim.vcsh -> ../available.d/vim.vcsh
154 | |-- zsh.git -----------+
155 | |-- gitconfigs.git |
159 |-- .zshrc <----------------------+
167 The files you see in $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/available.d are myrepos
168 configuration files that contain the commands to manage (checkout, update
169 etc.) a single repository. vcsh repo configs end in .vcsh, git configs end
170 in .git, etc. This is optional and your preference. For example, this is
171 what a zsh.vcsh with read-only access to my zshrc repo looks likes. I.e. in
172 this specific example, push can not work as you will be using the author's
173 repository. This is for demonstration, only. Of course, you are more than
174 welcome to clone from this repository and fork your own.
176 [$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vcsh/repo.d/zsh.git]
177 checkout = vcsh clone 'git://github.com/RichiH/zshrc.git' zsh
178 update = vcsh zsh pull
180 status = vcsh zsh status
185 $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/available.d contains *all available* repositories. Only
186 files/links present in mr/config.d, however, will be used by myrepos. That means
187 that in this example, only the zsh, gitconfigs, tmux and vim repositories will
188 be checked out. A simple `mr update` run in $HOME will clone or update those
189 four repositories listed in config.d.
193 Finally, ~/.mrconfig will tie together all those single files which will allow
194 you to conveniently run `mr up` etc. to manage all repositories. It looks like
198 include = cat ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/mr/config.d/*
202 $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/vcsh/repo.d is the directory where all git repositories which
203 are under vcsh's control are located. Since their working trees are configured
204 to be in $HOME, the files contained in those repositories will be put in $HOME
207 Of course, [myrepos][myrepos] will work with this layout if configured according to
208 this document (see above).
210 vcsh will check if any file it would want to create exists. If it exists, vcsh
211 will throw a warning and exit. Move away your old config and try again.
212 Optionally, merge your local and your global configs afterwards and push with
215 ## Moving into a New Host
217 To illustrate further, the following steps could move your desired
218 configuration to a new host.
220 1. Clone the myrepos repository (containing available.d, config.d etc.); for
221 example: `vcsh clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh_mr_template.git mr`
222 2. Choose your repositories by linking them in config.d (or go with the default
223 you may have already configured by adding symlinks to git).
224 3. Run myrepos to clone the repositories: `cd; mr update`.
227 Hopefully the above could help explain how this approach saves time by
229 1. making it easy to manage, clone and update a large number of repositories
230 (thanks to myrepos) and
231 2. making it unnecessary to create symbolic links in $HOME (thanks to vcsh).
233 If you want to give vcsh a try, follow the instructions below.
238 Below, you will find a few different methods for setting up vcsh:
241 2. The Steal-from-Template Way
248 Make sure none of the following files and directories exist for your test
249 (user). If they do, move them away for now:
253 * $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/available.d/mr.vcsh
254 * $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/available.d/zsh.vcsh
255 * $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/config.d/mr.vcsh
256 * $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/vcsh/repo.d/mr.git/
258 All of the files are part of the template repository, the directory is where
259 the template will be stored.
261 apt-get install myrepos
267 If you are using Debian Squeeze, you will need to enable backports.
268 From Wheezy onwards, you can install it directly:
274 To install vcsh in Gentoo Linux just give the following command as root:
280 vcsh is available via [AUR](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/vcsh/)
281 and further documentation about the use of AUR is available
282 [on Arch's wiki](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_User_Repository). You may
283 use your favorite AUR helper to install automatically or do it yourself manually like this:
286 wget https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/vc/vcsh/vcsh.tar.gz
290 pacman -U vcsh*.pkg.tar.xz
292 If you prefer to use the devel package that installs the git HEAD version it
293 is available [here](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/vcsh-git/).
297 # choose a location for your checkout
300 git clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh.git
302 sudo ln -s vcsh /usr/local/bin # or add it to your PATH
305 #### Clone the Template
307 vcsh clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh_mr_template.git mr
309 #### Enable Your Test Repository
312 mv ~/.zshrc ~/zshrc.bak
313 cd $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/config.d/
314 ln -s ../available.d/zsh.vcsh . # link, and thereby enable, the zsh repository
318 #### Set Up Your Own Repositories
320 Now, it's time to edit the template config and fill it with your own remotes:
322 vim $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/mr.vcsh
323 vim $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/zsh.vcsh
325 And then create your own stuff:
328 vcsh foo add bar baz quux
329 vcsh foo remote add origin git://quuux
333 cp $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/mr.vcsh $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/foo.vcsh
334 vim $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/foo.vcsh # add your own repo
338 ### The Steal-from-Template Way
340 You're welcome to clone the example repository:
342 vcsh clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh_mr_template.git mr
343 # make sure 'include = cat /usr/share/mr/vcsh' points to an exiting file
346 Look around in the clone. It should be reasonably simple to understand. If not,
347 poke me, RichiH, on Freenode (query) or OFTC (#vcs-home).
352 This is how my old setup procedure looked like. Adapt it to your own style or
353 copy mine verbatim, either is fine.
359 # Clone vcsh and make it available
360 git clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh.git vcsh
361 sudo ln -s ~/work/git/vcsh/vcsh /usr/bin/local
364 Grab my myrepos config. see below for details on how I set this up
366 vcsh clone ssh://<remote>/mr.git
367 cd $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/config.d/
368 ln -s ../available.d/* .
371 myrepos is used to actually retrieve configs, etc
375 # adapt /usr/share/mr/vcsh to your system if needed
376 include = cat /usr/share/mr/vcsh
377 include = cat $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/config.d/*
378 ~ % echo $XDG_CONFIG_HOME
380 ~ % ls $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d # random selection of my repos
381 git-annex gitk.vcsh git.vcsh ikiwiki mr.vcsh reportbug.vcsh snippets.git wget.vcsh zsh.vcsh
383 # then simply ln -s whatever you want on your local machine from
384 # $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d to $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/config.d
389 # myrepos usage ; will be factored out & rewritten
391 ### Keeping repositories Up-to-Date
393 This is the beauty of it all. Once you are set up, just run:
402 After you have made some changes, for which you would normally use `git add`
403 and `git commit`, use the vcsh wrapper (like above):
405 vcsh foo add bar baz quux
409 ### Using vcsh without myrepos
411 vcsh encourages you to use [myrepos][myrepos]. It helps you manage a large number of
412 repositories by running the necessary vcsh commands for you. You may choose not
413 to use myrepos, in which case you will have to run those commands manually or by
417 To initialize a new repository: `vcsh init zsh`
419 To clone a repository: `vcsh clone ssh://<remote>/zsh.git`
421 To interact with a repository, use the regular Git commands, but prepend them
422 with `vcsh run $repository_name`. For example:
428 Obviously, without myrepos keeping repositories up-to-date, it will have to be done
429 manually. Alternatively, you could try something like this:
431 for repo in `vcsh list`; do
432 vcsh run $repo git pull;
438 There are several ways to get in touch with the author and a small but committed
439 community around the general idea of version controlling your (digital) life.
441 * IRC: #vcs-home on irc.oftc.net
443 * Mailing list: [http://lists.madduck.net/listinfo/vcs-home][vcs-home-list]
445 * Pull requests or issues on [https://github.com/RichiH/vcsh][vcsh]
448 [myrepos]: http://myrepos.branchable.com/
449 [talks]: http://richardhartmann.de/talks/
450 [vcsh]: https://github.com/RichiH/vcsh
451 [vcs-home-list]: http://lists.madduck.net/listinfo/vcs-home