Devstrap

A modern, OS-agnostic CLI tool for automating developer machine setup using YAML-based configuration.

Features

Cross-platform: Works on macOS and Linux (Ubuntu, Arch, Fedora)
Declarative configuration: Define your environment in YAML files
Idempotent: Safe to run multiple times - skips what's already done
Dotfile templating: Use Go templates with OS-specific conditionals
System settings: Configure macOS defaults and GNOME gsettings
Multiple package managers: Homebrew, APT, Pacman, DNF
Dry-run mode: Preview changes before applying

Installation

One-liner (recommended)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/codoworks/devstrap/main/install.sh | bash

Go Install

go install github.com/codoworks/devstrap@latest

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/codoworks/devstrap.git
cd devstrap
go build -o devstrap .

Quick Start

# 1. Initialize configuration
devstrap init

# 2. Edit your config files
vim ~/.config/devstrap/tools.yaml

# 3. Preview what will happen
devstrap apply --dry-run

# 4. Apply configuration
devstrap apply

Commands

`devstrap init`

Initialize a new configuration directory with sample files.

devstrap init                      # Create config in ~/.config/devstrap
devstrap init --path ~/dotfiles    # Create config in custom location
devstrap init --force              # Overwrite existing configuration

Flags:

Flag	Short	Description
`--path`	`-p`	Path to create config (default: `~/.config/devstrap`)
`--force`	`-f`	Overwrite existing configuration

`devstrap apply`

Apply configuration to set up your development environment.

devstrap apply                     # Apply from default location
devstrap apply --dry-run           # Preview changes without executing
devstrap apply --verbose           # Show detailed output
devstrap apply --config ~/dotfiles # Use custom config location

Flags:

Flag	Short	Description
`--config`	`-c`	Path to config file or directory (default: `~/.config/devstrap`)
`--dry-run`	`-n`	Show what would be done without making changes
`--verbose`	`-v`	Show detailed output

`devstrap status`

Show what's installed vs what's configured.

devstrap status                    # Check status from default config
devstrap status --config ~/dotfiles

Flags:

Flag	Short	Description
`--config`	`-c`	Path to config file or directory

`devstrap os`

Display detected system information and available package managers.

devstrap os

Example output:

System Information
──────────────────
OS:              macOS
Architecture:    arm64
Hostname:        macbook
Home:            /Users/dexter
Shell:           /bin/zsh
Config:          /Users/dexter/.config/devstrap

Package Managers
──────────────────
brew (primary)

Configuration

Devstrap uses YAML configuration files. By default, these live in ~/.config/devstrap/.

File Structure

~/.config/devstrap/
├── devstrap.yaml       # Main config (includes other files)
├── tools.yaml          # Tools to install
├── directories.yaml    # Directories to create
├── profiles.yaml       # Dotfiles to manage
├── configs.yaml        # System settings (macOS defaults, gsettings)
└── dotfiles/           # Dotfile templates
    ├── .gitconfig.tmpl
    └── .aliases

Main Config (`devstrap.yaml`)

version: "1"

include:
  - tools.yaml
  - directories.yaml
  - profiles.yaml
  - configs.yaml

vars:
  git_name: "Your Name"
  git_email: "you@example.com"
  editor: "vim"

Tools (`tools.yaml`)

tools:
  # Simple - uses native package manager
  - name: git

  - name: curl

  - name: jq

  # Specify which package manager to use
  - name: go
    platform: brew
    package:
      brew: golang
      apt: golang-go
      pacman: go

  # With OS-specific package names
  - name: fd
    package:
      macos: fd
      ubuntu: fd-find
      arch: fd

  # Platform with sub-tools (e.g., Node.js with npm packages)
  - name: node
    method: script
    script: |
      export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"
      [ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && . "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"
      nvm install 20
    check: "node --version"
    tools:
      - name: typescript
        install: "npm install -g typescript"
        check: "tsc --version"
      - name: yarn
        install: "npm install -g yarn"
        check: "yarn --version"

  # macOS cask application
  - name: visual-studio-code
    method: cask
    when:
      os: [macos]

  # Homebrew tap
  - name: heroku
    platform: brew
    method: tap
    options:
      tap: heroku/brew

  # Custom script installation
  - name: nvm
    method: script
    script: |
      curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash
    check: "[ -d ~/.nvm ]"

Tool fields:

Field	Description
`name`	Package name (required)
`platform`	Package manager to use: `brew`, `apt`, `pacman`, `dnf`
`package`	OS/platform-specific package name overrides
`method`	Install method: `native`, `cask`, `tap`, `script`
`options`	Platform-specific options (e.g., `tap: heroku/brew` for brew taps)
`script`	Custom install script (for `method: script`)
`check`	Command to verify installation
`post_install`	Commands to run after installation
`when.os`	Only install on specified OS: `macos`, `ubuntu`, `arch`, `fedora`, `linux`
`tools`	Sub-tools that depend on this tool (see below)

Sub-tool fields:

Field	Description
`name`	Sub-tool name (required)
`install`	Installation command (required)
`check`	Command to verify installation (optional)

Sub-tools are displayed indented under their parent tool in devstrap status:

Tools:
  [+] node
      [+] typescript
      [+] yarn
      [-] eslint

Directories (`directories.yaml`)

directories:
  - path: ~/Developer
    env: DEV_HOME

  - path: ~/bin
    add_to_path: true

  - path: ~/Developer/projects

  - path: ~/.local/share

Directory fields:

Field	Description
`path`	Directory path (required, supports `~`)
`env`	Environment variable to set to this path
`add_to_path`	Add directory to PATH

Profiles (`profiles.yaml`)

profiles:
  # Template with variable substitution
  - name: gitconfig
    source: ~/.config/devstrap/dotfiles/.gitconfig.tmpl
    target: ~/.gitconfig
    action: template

  # Symlink (changes to source reflect immediately)
  - name: aliases
    source: ~/.config/devstrap/dotfiles/.aliases
    target: ~/.aliases
    action: symlink

  # Copy (one-time copy)
  - name: ssh-config
    source: ~/.config/devstrap/dotfiles/ssh-config
    target: ~/.ssh/config
    action: copy

Profile actions:

Action	Description
`symlink`	Create symbolic link to source
`copy`	Copy source to target
`template`	Process as Go template, then copy

System Configs (`configs.yaml`)

Manage OS-level settings like macOS defaults and GNOME gsettings.

configs:
  # macOS Dock settings
  - name: dock-autohide
    domain: com.apple.dock
    key: autohide
    value: true
    type: bool
    restart: ["killall Dock"]
    when:
      os: [macos]
    description: "Enable Dock auto-hide"

  # macOS keyboard settings
  - name: key-repeat-rate
    domain: NSGlobalDomain
    key: KeyRepeat
    value: 2
    type: int
    when:
      os: [macos]
    description: "Fast key repeat"

  # GNOME desktop settings (Linux)
  - name: gnome-dark-mode
    backend: gsettings
    domain: org.gnome.desktop.interface
    key: color-scheme
    value: "'prefer-dark'"
    when:
      os: [linux]
    description: "Enable GNOME dark mode"

Config fields:

Field	Description
`name`	Display name for the setting (required)
`backend`	Config backend: `macosDefaults`, `gsettings` (auto-detected if empty)
`domain`	Domain/schema (e.g., `com.apple.dock`, `org.gnome.desktop.interface`)
`key`	Configuration key (e.g., `autohide`, `color-scheme`)
`value`	Value to set (bool, int, float, string)
`type`	Value type: `bool`, `int`, `float`, `string` (inferred if empty)
`restart`	Commands to run after setting (e.g., `["killall Dock"]`)
`when.os`	Only apply on specified OS: `macos`, `linux`
`description`	Human-readable description

Templating

Dotfiles with action: template support Go's text/template syntax.

Built-in Variables

Variable	Description
`.OS`	Operating system: `macos`, `linux`
`.Arch`	Architecture: `amd64`, `arm64`
`.Home`	Home directory path
`.Username`	Current username
`.Hostname`	Machine hostname

Plus all variables defined in vars: section of your config.

Template Functions

String functions: lower, upper, title, trimSpace, replace, contains, hasPrefix, hasSuffix, split, join

Path functions: joinPath, dirName, baseName, extName, cleanPath

Environment: env, envOr, expandEnv

Conditionals: default, coalesce, isSet

Example Template

# ~/.config/devstrap/dotfiles/.gitconfig.tmpl

[user]
    name = {{.git_name}}
    email = {{.git_email}}

[core]
    editor = {{.editor}}
{{- if eq .OS "macos"}}
    ignorecase = false

[credential]
    helper = osxkeychain
{{- end}}

[alias]
    co = checkout
    br = branch
    st = status
    lg = log --oneline --graph

Complete Example

Here's a full configuration for a typical development setup:

devstrap.yaml:

version: "1"

include:
  - tools.yaml
  - directories.yaml
  - profiles.yaml
  - configs.yaml

vars:
  git_name: "Jane Developer"
  git_email: "jane@example.com"
  editor: "code --wait"
  github_user: "janedev"

tools.yaml:

tools:
  # Essentials
  - name: git
  - name: curl
  - name: wget
  - name: jq
  - name: ripgrep
  - name: fd
    package:
      ubuntu: fd-find
  - name: fzf
  - name: tmux
  - name: neovim
    package:
      macos: neovim
      ubuntu: neovim
      arch: neovim
      fedora: neovim

  # Development
  - name: go
    post_install:
      - go install golang.org/x/tools/gopls@latest

  - name: node
    check: "node --version"

  # macOS apps
  - name: iterm2
    method: cask
    when:
      os: [macos]

  - name: docker
    method: cask
    when:
      os: [macos]

directories.yaml:

directories:
  - path: ~/Developer
  - path: ~/Developer/personal
  - path: ~/Developer/work
  - path: ~/bin
    add_to_path: true

profiles.yaml:

profiles:
  - name: gitconfig
    source: ~/.config/devstrap/dotfiles/.gitconfig.tmpl
    target: ~/.gitconfig
    action: template

  - name: zshrc
    source: ~/.config/devstrap/dotfiles/.zshrc
    target: ~/.zshrc
    action: symlink

  - name: tmux
    source: ~/.config/devstrap/dotfiles/.tmux.conf
    target: ~/.tmux.conf
    action: symlink

configs.yaml:

configs:
  - name: dock-autohide
    domain: com.apple.dock
    key: autohide
    value: true
    restart: ["killall Dock"]
    when:
      os: [macos]

  - name: finder-show-extensions
    domain: NSGlobalDomain
    key: AppleShowAllExtensions
    value: true
    restart: ["killall Finder"]
    when:
      os: [macos]

Supported Package Managers

Package Manager	Platforms	Notes
Homebrew	macOS, Linux	Also supports casks on macOS
APT	Debian, Ubuntu
Pacman	Arch Linux
DNF	Fedora, RHEL

License

MIT License - See LICENSE for details.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 1 Commit
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
cmd		cmd
examples		examples
internal		internal
scripts		scripts
.gitignore		.gitignore
Makefile		Makefile
README.md		README.md
go.mod		go.mod
go.sum		go.sum
install.sh		install.sh
main.go		main.go

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Repository files navigation

Devstrap

Features

Installation

One-liner (recommended)

Go Install

Build from Source

Quick Start

Commands

`devstrap init`

`devstrap apply`

`devstrap status`

`devstrap os`

Configuration

File Structure

Main Config (`devstrap.yaml`)

Tools (`tools.yaml`)

Directories (`directories.yaml`)

Profiles (`profiles.yaml`)

System Configs (`configs.yaml`)

Templating

Built-in Variables

Template Functions

Example Template

Complete Example

Supported Package Managers

License

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Devstrap

Features

Installation

One-liner (recommended)

Go Install

Build from Source

Quick Start

Commands

devstrap init

devstrap apply

devstrap status

devstrap os

Configuration

File Structure

Main Config (devstrap.yaml)

Tools (tools.yaml)

Directories (directories.yaml)

Profiles (profiles.yaml)

System Configs (configs.yaml)

Templating

Built-in Variables

Template Functions

Example Template

Complete Example

Supported Package Managers

License

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Uh oh!

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`devstrap init`

`devstrap apply`

`devstrap status`

`devstrap os`

Main Config (`devstrap.yaml`)

Tools (`tools.yaml`)

Directories (`directories.yaml`)

Profiles (`profiles.yaml`)

System Configs (`configs.yaml`)

Packages