How to update chezmoi.toml from its template without trying to regenerate the whole git repo?

[halloleo]

Firstly, thanks heaps for chezmoi! It's a fantasticI dot file manager - and certainly the one of my choice! 😄

For the config file ~/.config/chezmoi/chezmoi.toml I use a template ~/.local/share/chezmoi/.chezmoi.toml.tmpl.

Now I have changed the template. When doing cz status I get the warning "config file template has changed". And therefore I want to update the config file.

However I use a symlink ~/.local/share/chezmoi -> ~/cloud-synced-location/sync/chezmoi¹, so I cannot just do cz init, because this "blows away" the symlink. Therefore I just want to update the chezmoi.toml from its template without trying to regenerate the whole git repo.

I tried:

cz execute-template --init < ~/.local/share/chezmoi/.chezmoi.toml.tmpl > ~/.config/chezmoi/chezmoi.toml

and the config file is now updated correctly, but chezmoi still complains with config file template has changed".

What else do I have to do to convince chezmoi the config file is updated?

Many thanks for pointers in advance.

Footnotes

1. I do this so that on all of my cloud synced machines the repo syncing does not invlove a git go around. ↩

[twpayne]

Instead of using a symlink for ~/.local/share/chezmoi, set the source directory flag by putting

sourceDir = "~/cloud-synced-location/sync/chezmoi"

in your config file or using the -S command line flag.

[halostatue]

That's because it expects its source directory to be a real directory. chezmoi will read the existing config first, and if sourceDir is specified, chezmoi should not even try anything with ~/.local/share/chezmoi.

[halloleo]

Thanks for all the inputs! 😃

To close this, I guess, the answer to the question "Can I update chezmoi.toml from its template without touching or checking for anything (even a symlinks) under the sourcdir location?" is then "No". (And you better don't use a symlink in the sourcdir locattion.)

Right?

[twpayne]

Right?

Yes but no. There are ways to do this (you can manipulate chezmoi's state directly with the chezmoi state command), but if you do this then you couple your implementation to the details of chezmoi's internals (relevant XKCD).

The correct fix was always to not use symlinks and tell chezmoi where your source directory is actually located.

[halloleo]

Very fitting XKCD. 😉 Thanks for the explanation.