Getting started

The Python requirements are all in requirements.txt, so before starting you need to issue the following command:

$ pip install -r requirements.txt --user

without using sudo. Using sudo with pip is a bad idea because it will interfere with your distribution's package manager.

If you're on a fresh install, you won't have pip installed, so you'll need:

$ sudo pacman -S python-pip

or

$ sudo apt install python3-pip

The authentication details are stored in secrets. Therefore, you have a template secrets.template that you need to copy and rename:

$ cp secrets{.template,}

Modify the resulting file, and then run ./install.py with needed flags (./install.py -h is your friend).

About the files in the repo

• borg_backup.sh
  Borg backup script. Used by a pacman hook to backup my system, but it can also be run manually.

• configs.yml
  Lists the things to install, which includes programs, symlinks, git clones, shell commands...

• dotfiles/
  The actual dotfiles. They are symlinked to the location that the system expects to find them.

• firefox_addons.txt
  I like to install my Firefox add-ons manually in the Firefox add-on manager, so this file just reminds me what to install and includes the urls to each add-on.

• install.py
  Installs everything using configs.yml. This is the file to actually run.

• rsync_backup.sh
  rsync backup script. Used by a systemd timer to backup my system, but it can also be run manually.

• secrets.template
  Contains environment variables for authentication and personnalization. Use it to create a file named secrets.

• shellcheck_binary_fix.sh
  When running this on ARM, pacman there was no shellcheck package, so this script installs the pre-compiled binary instead. If your package manager finds shellcheck, this script won't run.

• todo
  Never seems to remain empty...

YML commands

configs.yml contains instructions as keys, which trigger commands. Here is a brief explanation of the implemented commands:

• clone
  Perform a git clone. With -f, remove and clone. With -u, perform a git pull. Branch can also be specified.

• copy
  Copy a file. With -f, overwrite existing.

• download
  Download a file with a URL. With -f, overwrite existing.

• install
  Use the package manager to install a package. Specific packages for Debian-based or Arch-based distros can be set.

• include
  Include another config file (also yml).

• run
  Pass a line of text to a subshell. A condition can be added to launch the command.

• depend
  Install another part of the config file before.

• symlink
  Make a symlink.

• symlink_dir
  Make a symlink to a directory.

• append
  Append text to the end of a file. Will only append if the content isn't already in the file.

• write
  Write text to a file, overwriting if it exists.

Thanks

The idea for the architecture was taken from Dimitri Merejkowsky's GitHub.