Dotfiles

A link folder is a directory in your profile that dotkit symlinks into a destination directory, mirroring the folder structure. Use it for dotfiles!

Setup

Add link.env to any folder to make it a link folder:

profiles/personal/dotfiles/link.env

DEST=~

DEST can be absolute, ~/path, or relative to link.env.

Place your dotfiles in the folder:

• Directoryprofiles/personal/dotfiles/ - link.env - .zshrc - .gitignore_global - .config/ - nvim/ - init.lua

  • …

When dotkit apply runs, every file is symlinked to the corresponding path under DEST:

.zshrc            → ~/.zshrc
.gitignore_global → ~/.gitignore_global
.config/nvim/init.lua → ~/.config/nvim/init.lua

Parent directories are created automatically.

Behavior

For each file, dotkit checks what’s already at the destination:

Destination state	Action
Missing	Symlink created
Already correct symlink	Reported ok, skipped
Symlink to elsewhere	Backed up with timestamp, replaced
Real file	Backed up with timestamp, replaced

Backups use the pattern filename.bak.YYYYMMDDHHMMSS. If a real file is backed up, dotkit also shows a diff so you can review what changed.

Running manually

Re-apply symlinks at any time:

dotkit link dotfiles

Module path is relative to the active profile directory. Already-correct symlinks are reported ok and skipped. This is safe to run repeatedly.

Or point directly at the folder:

dotkit link ~/dotkit/profiles/personal/dotfiles
dotkit link ~/dotkit/profiles/personal/dotfiles ~

Excluded files

link.env, todo.env, and run.env are never symlinked. They’re considered marker files, not dotfiles.

Nested dotfiles

The folder structure mirrors exactly. A file at dotfiles/.config/nvim/init.lua symlinks to ~/.config/nvim/init.lua. Any missing parent directories (~/.config/nvim/) are created.