diff --git a/src/content/daily-email/2023-08-14.md b/src/content/daily-email/2023-08-14.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e27a6073 --- /dev/null +++ b/src/content/daily-email/2023-08-14.md @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +--- +title: > + Why keep a dotfiles repository +pubDate: 2023-08-14 +permalink: > + archive/2023/08/14/why-keep-a-dotfiles-repository +tags: + - dotfiles +--- + +A few days ago, I said it's been 8 years since I started my dotfiles repository and kept my configuration files in version control. + +But why do this? + +It makes it easy to share the same configuration across multiple computers, such as personal and work or different setups for clients. + +It's also a backup of my configuration. If I need to reinstall my system or start fresh, I don't need to configure everything again manually. + +If you work on a team, you can share your configuration with colleagues, find things that work well for the team, and anything that could cause issues. + +I can experiment with settings and programs and then revert them again if I want to. + +If I add or remove a program or change a setting, I have the Git commit log to refer to, and I can document why I made that change and what problem it solves in the message body. + +I can review it in the future in case I need it again or want to re-evaluate it. + +Like on other projects, capturing the why is important. The what can be seen in the diff and speaks for itself, but it doesn't explain why I made the change and won't help if I look at that commit in the future.