direnv
Focus: environment variables, shell and projects. Shares command line and open source with chezmoi. Rated 4.6 (chezmoi: 4.7).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.6Visit
Desktop App
chezmoi
A tool that keeps your dotfiles and settings in sync across every machine.
Rating
4.7 / 5
Pricing
Free
Difficulty
Advanced
Works on
macOS, Windows, Linux
Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com
What is chezmoi?
chezmoi is a free, open-source command-line tool that manages your dotfiles, the config files behind your terminal, editor and apps. It stores them in a Git repository, handles differences between machines with templates and keeps secrets in your password manager, so setting up a new laptop takes one command instead of a day of copying settings.
Third-party open-source projects. We are not affiliated with their authors; repositories are provided as-is by their maintainers. Review each project's license, code and security before installing. See our Disclaimer.
Pros: what chezmoi does well
- Same setup on every computer you use
- Templates for machine-specific settings
- Free and open source
Cons: where it falls short
- Takes time to learn
- Command line only
Who chezmoi is for
Developers who work across several machines.
Who can skip it
Anyone who uses one computer with default settings.
chezmoi alternatives
Not sold on chezmoi? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.
mise
Focus: version manager, dev environment and task runner. Shares open source and github with chezmoi. Rated 4.6 (chezmoi: 4.7).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
Atuin
Focus: shell history, terminal and sync. Shares command line and open source with chezmoi. Same 4.7 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.7Visit
htop
Focus: process viewer, system monitor and terminal. Shares command line and open source with chezmoi. Same 4.7 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.7Visit
jq
Focus: json, data and filter. Shares command line and open source with chezmoi. Same 4.7 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit
OCRmyPDF
Focus: ocr and scanned pdf. Shares command line and open source with chezmoi. Same 4.7 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit
Free alternatives to chezmoi
Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.
rclone
Focus: cloud sync, backup and file transfer. Shares command line and open source with chezmoi. Same 4.7 rating.
Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.7Visit
fish shell
Focus: terminal, shell and autocomplete. Shares command line and open source with chezmoi. Rated 4.6 (chezmoi: 4.7).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.6Visit
Gum
Focus: shell scripts and terminal ui. Shares command line and open source with chezmoi. Rated 4.6 (chezmoi: 4.7).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
kitty
Focus: terminal and gpu. Shares command line and open source with chezmoi. Rated 4.6 (chezmoi: 4.7).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.6Visit
Nushell
Focus: shell and data pipelines. Shares command line and open source with chezmoi. Rated 4.6 (chezmoi: 4.7).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
Tabby
Focus: terminal, ssh and serial. Shares command line and open source with chezmoi. Rated 4.6 (chezmoi: 4.7).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
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