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Record why we use chezmoi (ADR-0002) - #2

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ryanmagoon merged 1 commit into
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document-chezmoi-choice
Jun 16, 2026
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Record why we use chezmoi (ADR-0002)#2
ryanmagoon merged 1 commit into
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document-chezmoi-choice

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Documents the decision to keep chezmoi rather than switch to a bare git repo, symlinks/Stow, or a build script.

Came out of a "isn't chezmoi heavy?" question. The audit: the repo uses only the dot_ rename + includeTemplate fan-out — a small, stable slice. But that fan-out is the deciding requirement, and it's the one thing the lighter alternatives can't do well:

  • bare git / symlinks / Stow — can't fan out one source to many target files without duplication
  • build script — can fan out but leaves outputs untracked (no diff/dry-run/cleanup); we built and rejected this earlier
  • chezmoi — lightest option that does managed, auditable fan-out

ADR notes to revisit only if the fan-out requirement disappears (e.g. all tools converge on one shared AGENTS.md).

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

ADR-0002: capture the reasoning for keeping chezmoi despite using only a small
slice of it. The deciding factor is managed single-source fan-out — bare-git and
symlinks can't fan out, and a build script can but leaves the output untracked.
chezmoi is the lightest option that does fan-out and keeps it auditable.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings June 16, 2026 22:22

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Pull request overview

Adds ADR-0002 documenting why this dotfiles repo continues to use chezmoi (rather than a bare git repo, symlinks/Stow, or a custom build script), focusing on the requirement for managed single-source fan-out of shared AI instructions across multiple tool-specific target paths.

Changes:

  • Add ADR-0002 describing the “single-source fan-out” requirement and why alternatives were rejected.
  • Document operational/auditability reasons (diff/dry-run/preview/cleanup) that favor chezmoi over a build script.

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@ryanmagoon
ryanmagoon merged commit ae0ea8b into main Jun 16, 2026
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2 participants