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Overview

The update.sh script synchronizes your local configuration files from the Config-Sway repository to your home directory. It intelligently manages dotfiles in both ~/.config and ~ directories, creating backups before applying changes and tracking which files are managed by the repository.
This script uses rsync --delete which will remove files in your config directories that are not present in the repository. Backups are created by default.

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Location

./update.sh
Located in the root directory of the Config-Sway repository.

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Usage

./update.sh [OPTIONS]

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Options

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--no-backup
flag
Skip creating backup directories before synchronization. Use with caution.

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What It Does

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Step-by-Step Execution

  1. Pre-flight Checks
    • Verifies .config directory exists in the repository
    • Checks that rsync is installed
    • Validates command-line options
  2. Backup Creation (unless --no-backup is specified)
    • Creates timestamped backup: ~/.config.bak-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS
    • Creates home dotfiles backup: ~/home-dots.bak-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS
    • Backups are made before any changes are applied
  3. ~/.config Synchronization
    • Reads top-level directories/files from repository’s .config
    • Uses rsync -a --delete to sync each managed directory
    • Creates tracking file: ~/.config/.config-sway-managed
    • Removes directories that were deleted from the repository
  4. Home Directory Synchronization (if home/ exists)
    • Syncs dotfiles from repository’s home/ directory to ~
    • Creates tracking file: ~/.home-dots-managed
    • Only affects files listed in the tracking file
  5. Service Reloads
    • Restarts xdg-desktop-portal and xdg-desktop-portal-wlr
    • Reloads Sway configuration with swaymsg reload
    • Restarts Waybar with the new configuration

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Synchronization Behavior

The script uses rsync -a --delete which means:
  • Archive mode (-a): Preserves permissions, timestamps, symlinks, etc.
  • Delete mode (--delete): Removes files in destination not present in source
  • Scoped deletion: Only deletes within managed directories tracked by the script

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Options Reference

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—no-backup

Skips the creation of backup directories. This makes the script run faster but removes the safety net. 
./update.sh --no-backup
Use with caution! Without backups, you cannot easily revert changes if something goes wrong.

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Managed Files Tracking

The script maintains two tracking files:

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~/.config/.config-sway-managed

Lists all top-level directories/files in ~/.config managed by Config-Sway: 
kitty
rofi
sway
waybar
...

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~/.home-dots-managed

Lists all dotfiles in ~ managed by Config-Sway: 
.bashrc
.zshrc
...
Only files listed in these tracking files will be modified or deleted by the script.

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Error Handling

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Missing .config Directory

Error: No existe: /path/to/repo/.config
The repository’s .config directory is required.

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rsync Not Found

Error: Falta rsync. Instálalo (o ejecuta ./install.sh en Arch).
Install rsync or run install.sh on Arch Linux.

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Unknown Option

Error: Opción desconocida: --invalid
Only --no-backup is supported.

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Exit Codes

  • 0: Success (all files synchronized)
  • 1: Error (missing dependencies, invalid options, or synchronization failure)

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Examples

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Standard Update with Backup

cd ~/Config-Sway
./update.sh
Output: 
Backup: /home/user/.config -> /home/user/.config.bak-20260305-143022
Sincronizando ~/.config (solo lo gestionado por el repo)...
Backup de dotfiles de /home/user en: /home/user/home-dots.bak-20260305-143022
Sincronizando dotfiles en ~ (solo lo gestionado por home/)...
Update listo.

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Update Without Backup

./update.sh --no-backup
Output: 
Sincronizando ~/.config (solo lo gestionado por el repo)...
Sincronizando dotfiles en ~ (solo lo gestionado por home/)...
Update listo.

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Restore from Backup

If you need to restore from a backup: 
# List available backups
ls -ld ~/.config.bak-*

# Restore from specific backup
cp -a ~/.config.bak-20260305-143022 ~/.config

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Repository Structure

The script expects this repository structure: 
Config-Sway/
├── .config/          # Config files to sync to ~/.config
│   ├── sway/
│   ├── waybar/
│   ├── kitty/
│   └── ...
├── home/             # Optional: dotfiles to sync to ~
│   ├── .bashrc
│   ├── .zshrc
│   └── ...
├── install.sh
└── update.sh

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Synchronized Directories

Typically synchronized directories include:
  • ~/.config/sway - Sway window manager configuration
  • ~/.config/waybar - Waybar status bar configuration
  • ~/.config/kitty - Kitty terminal configuration
  • ~/.config/rofi - Rofi launcher configuration
  • ~/.config/mako - Mako notification daemon configuration
  • ~/.config/ranger - Ranger file manager configuration
  • ~/.config/scripts - Custom utility scripts
  • ~/.config/themes - Theme definitions
  • ~/.config/wallpapers - Wallpaper collection

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Service Reloads

After synchronization, the script automatically reloads:

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XDG Desktop Portals

systemctl --user restart xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-wlr

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Sway Window Manager

swaymsg reload

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Waybar Status Bar

killall waybar
waybar -c ~/.config/waybar/config.jsonc &

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Safety Features

  1. Automatic Backups: Creates timestamped backups before making changes
  2. Scoped Deletion: Only removes files explicitly managed by the repository
  3. Tracking Files: Maintains lists of managed files to prevent accidental deletion
  4. Strict Error Handling: Uses set -euo pipefail to catch errors early

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Notes

  • The script can be run multiple times safely - it’s idempotent
  • Backup directories accumulate over time; clean old backups manually
  • Only top-level directories in .config are synchronized individually
  • Files in home/ must be at the first level (not nested)
  • The script automatically detects its location and can be run from any directory

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Source Code

View the full source: update.sh (141 lines) Author: Fravelz

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