install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install dotbot

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#dotbot

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/do/dotbot/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Tool that bootstraps your dotfiles

Project links

Commands and aliases

dotbot

history

Project history and usage

Dotbot is a lightweight dotfiles bootstrapper that lets a dotfiles repository install itself with a small YAML or JSON task list. Its identity is intentionally narrow: version control stores the files, and Dotbot links, creates, cleans, and runs shell commands.

Project history

The README explains the name as a dotfiles bootstrapper and emphasizes a deliberately minimal design: self-contained, no external dependencies, no required installation, and VCS-agnostic operation. Users can vendor it as a Git submodule or subrepo, or install it as a standalone command-line program.

Public GitHub release metadata shows active tagged releases through the 2020s, including the v1.22-v1.24 series in 2025.

Adoption history

Dotbot spread through personal dotfiles repositories because it fits the common bootstrap pattern: clone a dotfiles repo, enter it, and run ./install on a fresh machine. The README also notes package availability through Homebrew and Arch Linux, while source facts list Homebrew and Nix.

A plugin ecosystem grew around the core, including plugins for secrets management, package managers, OS/application configuration, and other setup tasks.

How it is used

A typical Dotbot setup keeps install.conf.yaml or install.conf.json in the dotfiles repository and runs tasks such as linking files into the home directory, creating directories, cleaning broken symlinks, and executing shell commands.

The project is useful when users want a small, repeatable bootstrap without adopting a full configuration-management system.

Why package nerds care

Dotbot is package-nerd significant because it captures the Git-submodule era of dotfiles tooling: tiny tool, vendored into the repo, runnable on a fresh system, and intentionally not a full manager for the dotfiles themselves.

For Homebrew users, packaging Dotbot as a CLI offers the same workflow without vendoring, using dotbot -c to point at a configuration file.

Timeline

2014: The official README links an Anish Athalye blog post about managing dotfiles as background for Dotbot-style organization.
2025: GitHub release metadata shows v1.22.0, v1.23.x, and v1.24.0 releases.
2020s: Dotbot supports both vendored submodule/subrepo workflows and standalone CLI installation.

Related projects

Dotbot is related to dotfiles_template, init-dotfiles, its wiki/tutorial ecosystem, and community plugins such as dotbot-age, dotbot-gitcrypt, dotbot-brew, dotbot-apt, dotbot-yum, crontab-dotbot, and dotbot-firefox.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Installs with 2 runtime dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: install.conf.yamlinstall.conf.json

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`dotbot`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version1.24.1

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/anishathalye/dotbot

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/anishathalye/dotbotnone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:dotbot
Version	1.24.1
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/dotbot
Homepage	https://github.com/anishathalye/dotbot
Repository	https://github.com/anishathalye/dotbot
Upstream docs	https://github.com/anishathalye/dotbot#readme
License	MIT
Source archive	https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/ce/99/905f34404698d54de29fbc1dcbb9fdc4b1bbd4b5b30207750ff5ad5b5c69/dotbot-1.24.1.tar.gz
Dependencies	libyaml, python@3.14
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	dotbot
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

dotbot

nix profile install nixpkgs#dotbot

normalized package name match
Matched by: Dotbot

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/do/dotbot/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/dotbot.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install dotbot with Homebrew, Nix