dotfileswitcher

dotfileswitcher installs, updates, and switches complete Hyprland dotfile distributions side by side.

The design goal is not to merge themes. Each profile keeps its own upstream configuration, keybindings, scripts, bars, launchers, and shell processes. Switching is done by controlled symlinks, health checks, and rollback snapshots.

Commands

dotfileswitcher doctor
dotfileswitcher list
dotfileswitcher install all
dotfileswitcher update --check
dotfileswitcher update all
dotfileswitcher switch jakoolit
dotfileswitcher status
dotfileswitcher rollback

Use --dry-run before mutating commands to inspect planned external commands and link changes:

dotfileswitcher --dry-run install noctalia
dotfileswitcher --dry-run switch noctalia

State Layout

By default all managed data lives below:

~/.local/share/dotfileswitcher/
~/.local/state/dotfileswitcher/
~/.cache/dotfileswitcher/

The active profile is exposed through symlinks such as:

~/.config/hypr
~/.config/waybar
~/.config/rofi
~/.config/quickshell

Existing user paths are backed up before the first managed switch.

Safety Model

• no automatic $HOME mutation during package installation
• profile installs go into managed source directories
• updates happen in staging first
• switching uses a transaction directory
• previous targets are recorded for rollback
• commands are scoped to allow-listed paths under $HOME
• manifest link sources are rejected when they are absolute or escape the profile source tree
• each profile defines its own stop/start commands and health checks

start and stop manifest commands must be argv arrays. Health checks of type command are shell snippets and should only be used in trusted built-in or user-authored manifests.

Development

python -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/python -m pip install -e '.[dev]'
.venv/bin/python -m ruff check .
.venv/bin/python -m pytest -q
.venv/bin/python -m build --sdist --wheel

AUR

The AUR package should install only the CLI and built-in manifests. Users opt in explicitly:

dotfileswitcher init
dotfileswitcher install all