-vcsh - manage config files in $HOME via fake bare git repositories
+vcsh - Version Control System for $HOME (based on git)
+
# Index #
-1. Contact
-2. Introduction
-3. Overview
-4. Getting Started
-5. Usage
+1. [30 second howto](#30-second-howto)
+2. [Contact](#contact)
+3. [Introduction](#introduction)
+4. [Overview](#overview)
+5. [Getting Started](#getting-started)
+6. [Usage](#usage)
+
+
+# 30 second howto #
+
+While it may appear that there's an overwhelming amount of documentation and
+while the explanation of the concepts behind `vcsh` needs to touch a few gory
+details of `git` internals, getting started with vcsh is extremely simple.
+
+Let's say you want to version control your `vim` configuration:
+
+ vcsh init vim
+ vcsh vim add ~/.vimrc ~/.vim
+ vcsh vim commit -m 'Initial commit of my Vim configuration'
+ # optionally push your files to a remote
+ vcsh vim remote add origin REMOTE
+ vcsh vim push origin master:master
+
+If all that looks a _lot_ like standard `git`, that's no coincidence, but
+a design feature.
-# 1 Contact #
+Once you get familiar with `vcsh`, it's strongly suggested that you look
+into more advanced usage scenarios, especially on how to manage your
+`vcsh` and other repositories with [mr][mr].
+
+
+# Contact #
There are several ways to get in touch with the author and a small but committed
community around the general idea of version controlling your (digital) life.
* Pull requests or issues on [https://github.com/RichiH/vcsh][vcsh]
-# 2 Introduction #
+
+# Introduction #
[vcsh][vcsh] allows you to maintain several git repositories in one single
directory. They all maintain their working trees without clobbering each other
advantages of `vcsh`. See sections 3 and 4 for detailed instructions and
examples.
-## 2.1 Talks ##
+## Talks ##
Some people found it useful to look at slides and videos explaining how `vcsh`
works.
They can all be found [on the author's talk page][talks].
-# 3 Overview
-## 3.1 Comparison to Other Solutions ##
+# Overview
+
+## 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)
optional (see section 4.3), but it will be an integral part of the proposed
system that follows.
-## 3.2 Default Directory Layout ##
+## Default Directory Layout ##
To illustrate, this is what a possible directory structure looks like.
Optionally, merge your local and your global configs afterwards and push with
`vcsh run foo git push`.
-## 3.3 Moving into a New Host ##
+## Moving into a New Host ##
To illustrate further, the following steps could move your desired
configuration to a new host.
If you want to give vcsh a try, follow the instructions below.
-# 4 Getting Started #
+
+# Getting Started #
Below, you will find a few different methods for setting up vcsh:
2. The Steal-from-Template Way
3. The Manual Way
-### 4.1 The Template Way ###
+### The Template Way ###
-#### 4.1.1 Prerequisites ####
+#### Prerequisites ####
Make sure none of the following files and directories exist for your test
(user). If they do, move them away for now:
apt-get install mr
-#### 4.1.2 Install vcsh ####
+#### Install vcsh ####
-#### 4.1.2.1 Debian ####
+#### Debian ####
If you are using Debian Squeeze, you will need to enable backports
apt-get install vcsh
-#### 4.1.2.2 Arch Linux ####
+#### Arch Linux ####
vcsh is availabe via [AUR](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=54164)
and further documentation about the use of AUR is available
makepkg -s
pacman -U vcsh*.pkg.tar.xz
-#### 4.1.2.3 From source ####
+#### From source ####
If your version of mr is older than version 1.07, make sure to put
ln -s vcsh /usr/local/bin # or add it to your PATH
cd
-#### 4.1.3 Clone the Template ####
+#### Clone the Template ####
vcsh clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh_mr_template.git mr
-#### 4.1.4 Enable Your Test Repository ####
+#### Enable Your Test Repository ####
mv ~/.zsh ~/zsh.bak
mv ~/.zshrc ~/zshrc.bak
cd
mr up
-#### 4.1.5 Set Up Your Own Repositories ####
+#### Set Up Your Own Repositories ####
Now, it's time to edit the template config and fill it with your own remotes:
Done!
-### 4.2 The Steal-from-Template Way ###
+### The Steal-from-Template Way ###
You're welcome to clone the example repository:
poke me, RichiH, on Freenode (query) or OFTC (#vcs-home).
-### 4.3 The Manual Way ###
+### 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.
~ % cd
~ % mr -j 5 up
-# 5 Usage #
-### 5.1 Keeping repositories Up-to-Date ###
+# Usage #
+
+### Keeping repositories Up-to-Date ###
This is the beauty of it all. Once you are set up, just run:
Neat.
-### 5.1 Making Changes ###
+### 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):
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.
-### 5.3 Using vcsh without mr ###
+### 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
projects / code / vcsh.git / commitdiff