vcsh - manage and sync config files via git
-# Introduction #
+# Index #
-vcsh allows you to have several git repositories, all maintaining their working trees in $HOME without clobbering each other.
-That, in turn, means you can have one repository per config set (zsh, vim, ssh, etc), picking and choosing which configs you want to use on which machine.
+1. Introduction
+2. Overview
+3. Getting Started
+4. Usage
-vcsh was designed with mr [1] in mind so you might want to install that, as well.
+# 1 Introduction #
+
+vcsh allows you to have several git repositories, all maintaining their working
+trees in $HOME without clobbering each other. That, in turn, means you can have
+one repository per config set (zsh, vim, ssh, etc), picking and choosing which
+configs you want to use on which machine.
+
+vcsh was designed with [mr] [1] in mind so you might want to install that, as
+well.
Read INSTALL.md for detailed setup instructions.
-Questions? RichiH@{Freenode,OFTC,IRCnet}
+The following overview will try to give you an idea of the use cases and
+advantages of vcsh. See sections 3 and 4 for detailed instructions and
+examples.
+
+# 2 Overview
-## Comparison to Other Solutions ##
+## 2.1 Comparison to Other Solutions ##
-Most people who decide to put their dotfiles under version control start with a **single repository in $HOME**, adding all their dotfiles (and possibly more) to it.
-This works, of course, but can become a nuisance as soon as you try to manage more than one host.
+Most people who decide to put their dotfiles under version control start with a
+**single repository in $HOME**, adding all their dotfiles (and possibly more)
+to it. This works, of course, but can become a nuisance as soon as you try to
+manage more than one host.
-The next logical step is to create single-purpose repositories in, for example, ~/.dotfiles and to create **symbolic links in $HOME**.
-This gives you the flexibility to check out only certain repositories on different hosts.
-The downsides of this approach are the necessary manual steps of cloning and symlinking the individual repositories.
-It will probably become a nuisance when you try to manage more than two hosts.
+The next logical step is to create single-purpose repositories in, for example,
+~/.dotfiles and to create **symbolic links in $HOME**. This gives you the
+flexibility to check out only certain repositories on different hosts. The
+downsides of this approach are the necessary manual steps of cloning and
+symlinking the individual repositories. It will probably become a nuisance when
+you try to manage more than two hosts.
-vcsh takes this second approach one step further.
-It expects single-purpose repositories and stores them in a hidden directory (similar to ~/.dotfiles).
-However, it does not create symbolic links in $HOME; it puts the actual files right into $HOME.
+**vcsh** takes this second approach one step further. It expects
+**single-purpose repositories** and stores them in a hidden directory (similar
+to ~/.dotfiles). However, it does not create symbolic links in $HOME; it puts
+the **actual files right into $HOME**.
-Furthermore, by making use of mr [1], it makes it very easy to enable/disable and clone a large number of repositories.
-The use of mr is technically optional, but it will be an integral part of the proposed system that follows.
+Furthermore, by making use of [mr] [1], it makes it very easy to enable/disable
+and clone a large number of repositories. The use of mr is technically optional
+(see 4.3), but it will be an integral part of the proposed system that follows.
-## Default Directory Layout ##
+## 2.2 Default Directory Layout ##
To illustrate, this is what a possible directory structure looks like.
$HOME
- |-- .config
+ |-- $XDG_CONFIG_HOME (defaults to $HOME/.config)
| |-- mr
| | |-- available.d
| | | |-- zsh.vcsh
| | | |-- vimperator.vcsh
| | | `-- snippets.git
| | `-- config.d
- | | |-- zsh.mrconfig -> ../available.d/zsh.mrconfig
- | | |-- gitconfigs.mrconfig -> ../available.d/gitconfigs.mrconfig
- | | |-- tmux.mrconfig -> ../available.d/tmux.mrconfig
- | | `-- vim.mrconfig -> ../available.d/vim.mrconfig
+ | | |-- zsh.vcsh -> ../available.d/zsh.vcsh
+ | | |-- gitconfigs.vcsh -> ../available.d/gitconfigs.vcsh
+ | | |-- tmux.vcsh -> ../available.d/tmux.vcsh
+ | | `-- vim.vcsh -> ../available.d/vim.vcsh
| `-- vcsh
| `-- repo.d
| |-- zsh.git -----------+
|-- .mrconfig
`-- .mrtrust
-In this setup, ~/.mrconfig looks like:
+### available.d ###
- [DEFAULT]
- jobs = 5
- include = cat ~/.config/mr/config.d/*
+The files you see in $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d are mr configuration files
+that contain the commands to manage (checkout, update etc.) a single
+repository. vcsh repo configs end in .vcsh, git configs end in .git, etc. This
+is optional and your preference. For example, this is what a zsh.vcsh
+with read-only access to my zshrc repo looks likes. I.e. in this specific
+example, push can not work as you will be using the author's repository. This
+is for demonstration, only. Of course, you are more than welcome to clone from
+this repository and fork your own.
-The files you see in ~/.config/mr/available.d are mr configuration files that contain the commands to manage (checkout, update etc.) a single repository.
-vcsh repo configs end in .vcsh, git configs end in .git, etc. This is optional and your preference.
-For example, this is what a zsh.mrconfig with read-only access to my zshrc repo looks likes. I.e. in this specific example, push can not work.
+ [$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vcsh/repo.d/zsh.git]
+ checkout = vcsh clone 'git://github.com/RichiH/zshrc.git' zsh
+ update = vcsh run zsh git pull
+ push = vcsh run zsh git push
+ status = vcsh run zsh git status
+ gc = vcsh run zsh git gc
- [$HOME/.config/vcsh/repo.d/zsh.git]
- checkout = vcsh clone 'git://github.com/RichiH/zshrc.git'
- update = vcsh run bash git pull
- push = vcsh run bash git push
- status = vcsh run bash git status
+### config.d ###
-~/.config/mr/available.d contains *all available* repositories.
-Only files/links present in mr/config.d, however, will be used by mr.
-That means that in this example, only the zsh, gitconfigs, tmux and vim repositories will be checked out.
-A simple `mr update` run in $HOME will clone or update those four repositories listed in config.d.
+$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d contains *all available* repositories. Only
+files/links present in mr/config.d, however, will be used by mr. That means
+that in this example, only the zsh, gitconfigs, tmux and vim repositories will
+be checked out. A simple `mr update` run in $HOME will clone or update those
+four repositories listed in config.d.
-~/.config/vcsh/repo.d is the directory where vcsh clones the git repositories into.
-Since their working trees are configured to be in $HOME, the files contained in those repositories will be put in $HOME directly (see .bashrc above).
+### ~/.mrconfig ###
+
+Finally, ~/.mrconfig will tie together all those single files which will allow
+you to conveniently run `mr up` etc. to manage all repositories. It looks like
+this:
+
+ [DEFAULT]
+ jobs = 5
+ include = cat $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/config.d/*
-vcsh will check if any file it would want to create exists. If it exists, vcsh will throw a warning and exit. Move away your old config and try again. Optionally, merge your local and your global configs afterwards and push with `vcsh run foo git push`.
+### repo.d ###
-## Moving into a New Host ##
+$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vcsh/repo.d is the directory where all git repositories which
+are under vcsh's control are located. Since their working trees are configured
+to be in $HOME, the files contained in those repositories will be put in $HOME
+directly.
+Of course, [mr] [1] will work with this layout if configured according to this
+document (see above).
-To illustrate further, the following steps could move your desired configuration to a new host.
+vcsh will check if any file it would want to create exists. If it exists, vcsh
+will throw a warning and exit. Move away your old config and try again.
+Optionally, merge your local and your global configs afterwards and push with
+`vcsh run foo git push`.
-1. Clone the mr repository (containing available.d, config.d etc.), for example: `vcsh clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh_mr_template.git`
-2. Choose your repositories by linking them in config.d (or go with the default you may have already configured by adding symlinks to git).
+## 2.3 Moving into a New Host ##
+
+To illustrate further, the following steps could move your desired
+configuration to a new host.
+
+1. Clone the mr repository (containing available.d, config.d etc.); for
+ example: `vcsh clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh_mr_template.git`
+2. Choose your repositories by linking them in config.d (or go with the default
+ you may have already configured by adding symlinks to git).
3. Run mr to clone the repositories: `cd; mr update`.
4. Done.
Hopefully the above could help explain how this approach saves time by
-1. making it easy to manage, clone and update a large number of repositories (thanks to mr) and
+1. making it easy to manage, clone and update a large number of repositories
+ (thanks to mr) and
2. making it unnecessary to create symbolic links in $HOME (thanks to vcsh).
+If you want to give vcsh a try, follow the instructions below.
+
+# 3 Getting Started #
+
+Below, you will find a few different methods for setting up vcsh:
+
+1. The Template Way
+2. The Steal-from-Template Way
+3. The Manual Way
+
+### 3.1 The Template Way ###
+
+#### 3.1.1 Prerequisites ####
+
+Make sure none of the following files and directories exist for your test
+(user). If they do, move them away for now:
+
+* ~/.gitignore
+* ~/.mrconfig
+* $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/mr.vcsh
+* $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/zsh.vcsh
+* $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/config.d/mr.vcsh
+* $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vcsh/repo.d/mr.git/
+
+All of the files are part of the template repository, the directory is where
+the template will be stored.
+
+ apt-get install mr
+
+#### 3.1.2 Clone the Template ####
+
+ mkdir -p ~/work/git
+ cd !$
+ git clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh.git vcsh
+ cd vcsh
+ ln -s vcsh /usr/local/bin # or add it to your PATH
+ cd
+ vcsh clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh_mr_template.git mr.vcsh
+
+#### 3.1.3 Enable Your Test Repository ####
+
+ mv ~/.zsh ~/zsh.bak
+ mv ~/.zshrc ~/zshrc.bak
+ cd $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/config.d/
+ ln -s ../available.d/zsh.vcsh . # link, and thereby enable, the zsh repository
+ cd
+ mr up
+
+#### 3.1.4 Set Up Your Own Repositories ####
+
+Now, it's time to edit the template config and fill it with your own remotes:
+
+ vim $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/mr.vcsh
+ vim $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/zsh.vcsh
+
+And then create your own stuff:
+
+ vcsh init foo
+ vcsh run foo git add -f bar baz quux
+ vcsh run foo git remote add origin git://quuux
+ vcsh run foo git commit
+ vcsh run foo git push
+
+ cp $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/mr.vcsh $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/foo.vcsh
+ vim $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/foo.vcsh # add your own repo
+
+Done!
+
+### 3.2 The Steal-from-Template Way ###
+
+You're welcome to clone the example repository:
+
+ git clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh_mr_template.git
+
+Look around in the clone. It should be reasonably simple to understand. If not,
+poke me, RichiH, on Freenode (query) or OFTC (#vcs-home).
+
+
+### 3.3 The Manual Way ###
+
+This is how my old setup procedure looked like. Adapt it to your own style or
+copy mine verbatim, either is fine.
+
+ # Create workspace
+ mkdir -p ~/work/git
+ cd !$
+
+ # Clone vcsh and make it available
+ git clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh.git vcsh
+ sudo ln -s ~/work/git/vcsh/vcsh /usr/bin/local
+ hash -r
+
+Grab my mr config. see below for details on how I set this up
+
+ vcsh clone ssh://<remote>/mr.git
+ cd $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/config.d/
+ ln -s ../available.d/* .
+
+
+mr is used to actually retrieve configs, etc
+
+ ~ % cat ~/.mrconfig
+ [DEFAULT]
+ include = cat $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/config.d/*
+ ~ % echo $XDG_CONFIG_HOME
+ /home/richih/.config
+ ~ % ls $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d # random selection of my repos
+ git-annex gitk.vcsh git.vcsh ikiwiki mr.vcsh reportbug.vcsh snippets.git wget.vcsh zsh.vcsh
+ ~ %
+ # then simply ln -s whatever you want on your local machine from
+ # $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d to $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/config.d
+ ~ % cd
+ ~ % mr -j 5 up
+
+# 4 Usage #
+
+### 4.1 Keeping repositories Up-to-Date ###
+
+This is the beauty of it all. Once you are set up, just run:
+
+ mr up
+ mr push
+
+Neat.
+
+### 4.1 Making Changes ###
+
+After you have made some changes, for which you would normally use `git add`
+and `git commit`, use the vcsh wrapper (like above):
+
+ vcsh run foo git add -f bar baz quux
+ vcsh run foo git commit
+ vcsh run foo git push
+
+By the way, you'll have to use -f/--force flag with git-add because all files
+will be ignored by default. This is to show you only useful output when running
+git-status. A fix for this problem is being worked on.
+
+### 4.3 Using vcsh without mr ###
+
+vcsh encourages you to use [mr] [1]. It helps you manage a large number of
+repositories by running the necessary vcsh commands for you. You may choose not
+to use mr, in which case you will have to run those commands manually or by
+other means.
+
+#### A Few Examples ####
+
+To initialize a new repository: `vcsh init zsh`
+
+To clone a repository: `vcsh clone ssh://<remote>/zsh.git`
+
+To interact with a repository, use the regular Git commands, but prepend them
+with `vcsh run $repository_name`. For example:
+
+ vcsh run zsh git status
+ vcsh run zsh git add -f .zshrc
+ vcsh run zsh git commit
+
+Obviously, without mr keeping repositories up-to-date, it will have to be done
+manually. Alternatively, you could try something like this:
+
+ for repo in `vcsh list`; do
+ vcsh run $repo git pull;
+ done
+
----------
-[1] http://kitenet.net/~joey/code/mr/
+mr can be found at: [http://kitenet.net/~joey/code/mr/][1]
+
+[1]: http://kitenet.net/~joey/code/mr/ (http://kitenet.net/~joey/code/mr/)
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