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Roost is a terminal-based dotfile manager that moves your application configuration files into a central directory (~/.roost/), organized by device-specific profiles, and creates symlinks back to their original locations. Optionally sync everything via Git for multi-device setups.

• Per-device profiles — different machines get different config sets
• Symlink-based — apps write to their standard locations, edits are reflected instantly
• Interactive TUI and CLI — browse and manage configs in a terminal interface, or script with subcommands
• Git sync — push/pull your entire dotfile store to a remote repository with conflict detection
• Safe rollback — selective git checkout preserves apps not present at the target commit
• Cross-profile sharing — link apps from one profile into another (zero-copy) or copy them independently
• Built-in diagnostics — roost doctor checks for broken symlinks, config inconsistencies, orphaned files
• Git history — diff, log, undo, and rollback commands for config change management
• Fuzzy search — quickly find apps and files in the TUI
• Confidence-scored app detection — automatically identifies 120+ known applications during setup
• Safety features — atomic config writes, path traversal validation, app name sanitization, and config validation on load
• Compatible with MacOS and Linux (Windows untested)

• Rust 1.85 or later (edition 2024)
• git CLI

From crates.io:

cargo install roost-dot

From source:

git clone https://github.com/mt-22/roost.git
cd roost
cargo install --path .

1. roost init — Interactive setup wizard: choose a profile name, set up git remote (optional), select apps to manage
2. After init, your configs are symlinked into ~/.roost/<profile>/
3. roost — Launch the TUI to browse apps, edit configs, manage profiles
4. roost sync — Push changes to your remote repository
5. On another device, roost init with the same remote, and your configs are available

~/.roost/ is the home of all managed configs.

• roost.toml — shared, git-tracked config (profiles, apps, ignore patterns, remote URL)
• local.toml — device-local, git-ignored (active profile, OS info, per-device link paths)
• Profile directories (~/.roost/<profile>/) hold the actual config files

During setup, the original config file is moved into ~/.roost/<profile>/ and a symlink is created at the original location pointing to the roost copy. Apps continue reading and writing to their standard paths — all changes are stored inside the roost directory.

~/.roost/
├── roost.toml          # Shared config (git-tracked)
├── local.toml          # Device-local config (git-ignored)
├── laptop/             # Profile directory
│   ├── nvim/           # App configs (directories)
│   │   └── init.lua
│   └── misc/           # Standalone files
│       └── .gitconfig
└── desktop/
    └── ...

Device A (desktop): Run roost init, create profile "shared" with common apps (zsh, git, tmux, nvim), set up git remote, roost sync.

Device B (laptop): Run roost init with the same git remote — pulls the shared profile. Create a new "laptop" profile for device-specific configs. Add the laptop's device-specific configs. Then use the TUI to share common apps:

• Link from profile (press f in the Apps panel): Select the "shared" profile, then pick an app (e.g., nvim). This creates a symlink chain so both profiles read from the same files:

  ~/.config/nvim → ~/.roost/laptop/nvim → ~/.roost/shared/nvim
  

  Edits from either device are visible everywhere — perfect for configs you want identical across machines.

• Paste into profile (press m in the Apps panel): Select the "shared" profile, then pick an app. This creates an independent copy so each profile can diverge. Ideal for apps that need device-specific tweaks.

Sync: On each device, roost sync pushes/pulls changes. The symlink chains are stored in config, so they work on any device after a pull.

                    ┌─ laptop/nvim → shared/nvim  (symlink, shared config)
~/.config/nvim ─────┤
                    └─ desktop/nvim (independent copy)

~/.config/zshrc ──── shared/misc/.zshrc  (linked from both profiles)

MIT — see LICENSE