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The add command adds existing files, directories, or symlinks from your home directory to chezmoi’s source state. If the target is already in the source state, its source state is replaced with its current state in the destination directory.

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Usage

chezmoi add target...

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Description

When you add a file to chezmoi, it copies the file from your home directory to the source directory, applying any naming conventions (like prefixes for attributes) automatically.

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Flags

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-a, --autotemplate
boolean
default:"false"
Automatically generate a template by replacing strings that match variable values from the data section of the config file with their respective config names as template strings. Longer substitutions occur before shorter ones. This implies the --template option.Warning: Uses a greedy algorithm which occasionally generates templates with unwanted variable substitutions. Carefully review any templates it generates.
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--create
boolean
default:"false"
Add files that should exist, irrespective of their contents. Sets the create_ attribute on the added file. A file will be created with the given contents if it doesn’t exist, but its contents won’t be changed if it already exists. Useful for managing files with an initial state that shouldn’t be changed by chezmoi afterwards.
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--encrypt
boolean
default:"false"
Encrypt files using the defined encryption method. Can be configured via add.encrypt in the config file.
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--exact
boolean
default:"false"
Set the exact attribute on added directories. Directories with the exact attribute are statefully synced between target and source directories.Warning: When running re-add, any files deleted from the exact target directory will be removed from the source directory. Likewise, any files added to the exact target directory will be added to the source directory.
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-f, --follow
boolean
default:"false"
If the last part of a target is a symlink, add the target of the symlink instead of the symlink itself.
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--new
boolean
default:"false"
Create a new file if the target does not exist.
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-p, --prompt
boolean
default:"false"
Interactively prompt before adding each file.
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-q, --quiet
boolean
default:"false"
Suppress warnings about adding ignored entries.
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-r, --recursive
boolean
default:"true"
Recurse into subdirectories.
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--secrets
string
default:"warning"
Action to take when a secret is found when adding a file. Options: ignore, warning, error. Can be configured via add.secrets in the config file.
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-T, --template
boolean
default:"false"
Set the template attribute on added files and symlinks.
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--template-symlinks
boolean
default:"false"
When adding a symlink to an absolute path in the source directory or destination directory, create a symlink template with .chezmoi.sourceDir or .chezmoi.homeDir. Useful for creating portable absolute symlinks. Can be configured via add.templateSymlinks in the config file.
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-x, --exclude
types
Exclude entry types (comma-separated: dirs, files, remove, scripts, symlinks, always, encrypted, externals, templates).
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-i, --include
types
Include only specified entry types (comma-separated: dirs, files, remove, scripts, symlinks, always, encrypted, externals, templates).

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Examples

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Add a single file

chezmoi add ~/.bashrc
This creates ~/.local/share/chezmoi/dot_bashrc.

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Add a file as a template

chezmoi add ~/.gitconfig --template
This creates ~/.local/share/chezmoi/dot_gitconfig.tmpl.

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Add and encrypt a private file

chezmoi add ~/.ssh/id_rsa --encrypt
This creates an encrypted file in the source directory.

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Add a directory recursively

chezmoi add ~/.vim --recursive

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Add an exact directory

chezmoi add ~/.oh-my-zsh --exact --recursive
The exact attribute ensures the directory in your home directory exactly matches the source state.

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Add with automatic templating

chezmoi add ~/.bashrc --autotemplate
This will automatically detect values from your config that appear in the file and convert them to template variables.

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Interactively add files

chezmoi add ~/.config --recursive --prompt
You’ll be prompted for each file before it’s added.

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Notes

chezmoi add will fail if the entry being added is in a directory implicitly created by an external. This is a known limitation.
chezmoi add --exact --recursive DIR works in predictable but surprising ways for nested directories.If you haven’t previously added any files from ~/.config to chezmoi and run chezmoi add --exact --recursive ~/.config/nvim, chezmoi will consider all files under ~/.config to be managed, and any file not in ~/.config/nvim will be removed on your next chezmoi apply.To prevent this, add a .keep file first:
touch ~/.config/.keep
chezmoi add ~/.config/.keep
chezmoi add --recursive --exact ~/.config/nvim
  • edit - Edit files in the source state
  • apply - Apply changes to the destination directory

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