Better chezmoi

Use chezmoi through an inspect, preview, apply, and verify loop. Keep source state, target state, local configuration, remote Git, and external effects distinct so a convenient command does not silently widen the user's request.

Operating contract

• Current reference evidence: official chezmoi documentation and release v2.71.0, checked 2026-07-15.
• Locally exercised command surface: chezmoi v2.70.2 on macOS, including a fully isolated source, destination, config, cache, and persistent-state harness.
• Version rule: run chezmoi --version and inspect chezmoi <command> --help before using a version-sensitive flag. The installed binary owns executable syntax; the scraped documentation supplies current concepts, examples, and newly released behavior.
• Authority rule: an explicit request to add, edit, apply, update, merge, or remove a named target authorizes that scoped effect. It does not authorize applying every target, enabling auto-push, rewriting remote history, exposing secrets, or destroying source and target state.
• Portability: show PowerShell-native forms for Windows users. Do not present POSIX shell arrays, command substitution, or mktemp as portable Windows syntax.

Route the task

User goal	Read	Use it to
Inspect, add, edit, capture, preview, apply, or sync dotfiles	references/daily-workflows.md	choose the narrowest daily loop and its verification
Initialize a repository, bootstrap a new machine, or separate machine-specific state	references/setup-and-machines.md	choose init, source/config placement, and cross-machine boundaries
Build or debug templates, data, secrets, encrypted files, or scripts	references/templates-secrets-and-scripts.md	test rendering and keep sensitive or effectful data out of source history
Diagnose drift, conflicts, locks, merges, or destructive cleanup	references/recovery-and-safety.md	identify state ownership and select a reversible recovery route
Need exact commands, flags, output, or exit semantics	references/commands.md	verify the current command form and effect class
Need current official detail or want to refresh/search the bundled corpus	references/official-documentation.md	run the deterministic scraper and inspect provenance

Load only the rows needed for the task. For a simple status explanation, do not load setup, templates, or recovery material.

Classify effects first

Effect class	Examples	Default handling
Read/check	--version, help, source-path, target-path, status, diff, verify, doctor --no-network	run when useful; still account for template evaluation, hooks, and cached externals
Source write	add, edit, re-add, forget, init, Git pull	scope to named targets; preview where supported; verify source diff
Target write	apply, edit --apply, default update, init --apply	preview first unless the user explicitly requests immediate application
Local config/state	edit-config, init config templates, script state, purge	inspect paths and recovery before changing them
Remote/network	Git fetch/pull, externals, password managers, auto-commit/push	keep reads bounded; require explicit authority for remote writes or secret access
Destructive	destroy, broad removal rules, purge	require exact scope, independent backup, preview where available, and postcondition checks

--dry-run guarantees that chezmoi does not modify the destination directory. It is not a universal no-side-effects mode: init can still create source Git state, hooks run even in dry-run mode, and templates or externals can invoke networked dependencies. Describe the narrower guarantee exactly.

Core workflow

1. Inspect the active context

Run the smallest useful set:

chezmoi --version
chezmoi source-path
chezmoi target-path
chezmoi status --exclude=scripts

Use chezmoi doctor --no-network when setup or dependency health is in question. Inspect the relevant command's local help before introducing flags from the bundled docs.

Complete when: the installed version, source and destination roots, requested target scope, and likely effect classes are known.

2. Inspect the difference

For ordinary target drift or a source edit:

chezmoi diff --exclude=scripts --no-pager

For a target-write preview:

chezmoi apply --dry-run --verbose --exclude=scripts

If a non-interactive preview would stop for a conflict prompt, --force may be paired with --dry-run only after confirming the local help and dry-run flag. Do not carry --force into the real apply.

Complete when: the proposed source or target changes are visible, scripts and hooks have been accounted for, and conflicts or unexpected targets are resolved before mutation.

3. Perform only the authorized effect

Use the narrowest target list. Prefer one file or subtree over an unscoped apply when the request is narrow. On chezmoi v2.71.0 or newer, use --error-on-conflict for non-interactive automation only after the local help confirms it; on older versions, stop rather than replacing conflict handling with --force.

Do not enable git.autoPush, run a remote push, or commit plaintext secrets unless the user explicitly requests that remote effect and its scope is clear.

Complete when: only the named source, target, config, or remote scope changed and the command returned its documented success result.

4. Verify the postcondition

Use one or more of:

chezmoi status --exclude=scripts
chezmoi diff --exclude=scripts --no-pager
chezmoi verify --exclude=scripts

Interpret results correctly: diff can return 0 while showing differences; status communicates drift in two columns; verify returns 0 when selected targets match and 1 when they do not.

Report the version checked, source and target scope, commands run, observed effects, and any remaining drift or skipped effect.

Complete when: the requested postcondition is independently visible and any nonzero result is classified as expected drift, conflict, operational failure, or unsupported syntax.

Official documentation corpus

The package includes a searchable snapshot of selected official pages and a standard-library Python tool:

python3 scripts/official_docs.py search "error-on-conflict"
python3 scripts/official_docs.py list
python3 scripts/official_docs.py refresh

refresh fetches and compares without replacing the bundled snapshot. Add --write only when the user wants to publish the refreshed corpus. Read references/official-documentation.md before refreshing or changing the source list; use it to preserve provenance, rollback-safe staged replacement, and offline validation.

Gotchas

1. update is not a preview. It normally pulls the source repository and applies target changes. Use update --apply=false or the reviewed pull → diff → apply sequence when the user wants separation.
2. re-add does not update templated source files. Use edit, merge, or an intentional template change instead.
3. Relative arguments under --source-path resolve from the current working directory. Use an absolute source path or run from the source directory.
4. managed --format=json is not necessarily structured JSON with the default path style. Verify the exact output shape; v2.70.2 requires --path-style=all for the documented keyed structure.
5. Multiple chezmoi processes can contend for persistent-state locks. Do not invoke chezmoi recursively from a chezmoi run_ script.

Completion gate

Finish only when the local command surface has been checked, every effect stayed inside the user's scope, secrets and remote writes remained bounded, the requested state is verified, and version or network limitations are reported without being disguised as success.