Bootstrap a New Machine

This is the payoff. Everything you've built across lessons 1–9 — templates, scripts, externals, secrets — gets deployed to a brand-new machine with a single command. No manual setup. No forgotten steps. One line and you're home.

The One-Liner

On a fresh machine with nothing installed, run:

sh -c "$(curl -fsLS get.chezmoi.io)" -- init --apply YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME

That's it. This single command:

1. Downloads and installs the chezmoi binary
2. Clones your dotfiles repo from github.com/YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME/dotfiles
3. Prompts you for any config values (like machine type)
4. Runs your run_once_ and run_onchange_ scripts
5. Applies all templates with the new machine's config

If your repo is named something other than dotfiles, pass the full URL instead:

sh -c "$(curl -fsLS get.chezmoi.io)" -- init --apply --source=https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/my-dotfiles.git

The Full Bootstrap Flow

The Prompt step is powered by your .chezmoi.toml.tmpl file. This template generates the chezmoi config file on first run, asking the user (you) for values that templates depend on — like which machine type this is.

The Init Config Template

When chezmoi runs init and finds a file named .chezmoi.toml.tmpl in your source state root, it executes that template to generate ~/.config/chezmoi/chezmoi.toml. This is where you prompt for machine-specific values.

Here's how it works with promptChoice:

{{- $machineType := promptChoiceOnce "machine_type" "Machine type" (list "home" "client" "work") -}}

[data]
    machine_type = {{ $machineType | quote }}

On first init, chezmoi will display:

Machine type? [home, client, work]:

The answer gets written into chezmoi.toml and becomes available as .chezmoi.config.data.machine_type in all your templates. Every conditional, every script, every external — they all key off this single prompt.

Exercise: Create your init config template

Step 1: Create .chezmoi.toml.tmpl

In your source state root, create the config template:

chezmoi cd
cat > .chezmoi.toml.tmpl << 'EOF'
{{- $machineType := promptChoiceOnce "machine_type" "Machine type" (list "home" "client" "work") -}}
{{- $email := promptStringOnce "email" "Git email address" -}}

[data]
    machine_type = {{ $machineType | quote }}
    email = {{ $email | quote }}
EOF
exit

Step 2: Test it locally

Re-initialize to trigger the prompts:

chezmoi init

You'll see the prompts appear. Answer them, then verify the generated config:

cat ~/.config/chezmoi/chezmoi.toml

You should see your answers stored as TOML data. Every template in your repo now has access to these values.

Step 3: Commit the template

chezmoi cd
git add .chezmoi.toml.tmpl
git commit -m "feat: add init config template with machine type prompt"
git push
exit

How Everything Connects

When that one-liner runs on a new machine, here's what each lesson contributes:

One command. Fully configured machine. Every tool installed, every secret in place, every config tuned for this specific machine type.

Tips for a Smooth Bootstrap

Knowledge check

Where to go from here

You've covered the full chezmoi workflow. From here, it's about refining your setup over time:

• Add more files as you discover configs worth managing
• Refine your templates as you notice machine differences
• Add scripts for new tools you adopt
• Test your bootstrap periodically in a clean environment