When one spend enough time using window managers configuration files can pile up fast… How do you keep them safe?

  • Do you copy to an external drive?
  • Do you upload to a cloud service?
  • Do you have a dedicated git repository?
  • bitwolfEnglish
    4·
    17 days ago

    Much of them are generated, if you use gnu stow, you can keep the ones you want more easily.

    Then, you can commit the stow directory with git.

      • bitwolfEnglish
        2·
        17 days ago

        Most applications, if there is not dotfile config in $XDG_HOME/.config or $HOME, will generate dotfiles with sane defaults.

        When I switched distros often it was routine for me to erase the dotfiles specific to say, GNOME or Plasma, as they’d then be restored to default settings.

  • sloppy_diffuserEnglish
    2·
    9 days ago

    Nix as the config tool + git. I use the same repo for all my systems so all my devices back each other up on top of the hosted git repo.

    • 299792458ms@lemmy.zipOPMEnglish
      2·
      9 days ago

      Oh nice! I would switch to to NixOS for all those goodies but it is above my pay grade jejeje. I saw some time ago a fork of NixOS designed for not-so-tech-savy users so I have been checking it ever so often.

      • sloppy_diffuserEnglish
        1·
        9 days ago

        I won’t lie, it was a learning curve. That said you don’t have to go full blown nixos. I use nix + home manager to manage my macOS and Ubuntu user dotfiles.

        You can also use nix per project with dev shells and direnv to automatically load the dev shell when in the repo.

        I maintain a nix config for my work’s repo and it keeps everyone (Mac or Linux) on the exact same version of our tooling (node, python, bash, etc.).

  • Zachariah@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    17 days ago

    I have three backups:

    1. Borg Backup (Vorta) to internal HDD or external USB flash drive.
    2. Borg Backup (Vorta) to NAS
    3. Paid cloud backup provider
  • lurch (he/him)English
    1·
    17 days ago

    dood, i backup all my files.

    you can’t just backup your dotfiles. you should at least backup your non-distro files, too. ideally the whole system, so you can quickly restore when something really bad happens.

    i backup to external drives (usb thumbdrive and external HD) and then keep the backups in other rooms. some encrypted, very important files i sync additionally to a cloud provider, in case the whole appartment burns down or so while I’m out.