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Quick Start

This guide walks you through creating your first dottie configuration and running your first command.

Create Your Configuration​

Create a dottie.yaml file in your dotfiles repository:

profiles:
  default:
    dotfiles:
      - source: dotfiles/.bashrc
        target: ~/.bashrc
      - source: dotfiles/.gitconfig
        target: ~/.gitconfig

    install:
      apt:
        - git
        - curl
        - vim

Validate Your Configuration​

Before applying changes, validate your configuration to ensure it's correct:

> dottie validate default

If the configuration is valid, you'll see a success message. If there are issues, dottie will show you what needs to be fixed.

Preview Changes​

Use the --dry-run flag to preview what dottie will do without making any changes:

> dottie link --dry-run

This shows which symlinks will be created:

Dry run - no changes will be made.
Would create 2 symlink(s):
  • dotfiles/.bashrc → ~/.bashrc
  • dotfiles/.gitconfig → ~/.gitconfig

Apply Your Configuration​

When you're ready, run the commands without --dry-run:

# Create symlinks for your dotfiles
> dottie link

# Install the software packages
> dottie install

What's Next?​

Now that you have a working configuration, learn more about: