refresh-dotfiles
Full sync of personal (yadm) and work (yadm-work) dotfiles. Pulls remote changes, commits and pushes local changes, and audits for untracked files that should be tracked. Use when the user says 'refresh yadm', 'sync dotfiles', 'dotfiles sync', or 'update dotfiles'.
Best use case
refresh-dotfiles is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.
Full sync of personal (yadm) and work (yadm-work) dotfiles. Pulls remote changes, commits and pushes local changes, and audits for untracked files that should be tracked. Use when the user says 'refresh yadm', 'sync dotfiles', 'dotfiles sync', or 'update dotfiles'.
Teams using refresh-dotfiles should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.
When to use this skill
- You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.
When not to use this skill
- You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
- You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.
Installation
Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Manual Installation
- Download SKILL.md from GitHub
- Place it in
.claude/skills/refresh-dotfiles/SKILL.mdinside your project - Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill
How refresh-dotfiles Compares
| Feature / Agent | refresh-dotfiles | Standard Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Support | Not specified | Limited / Varies |
| Context Awareness | High | Baseline |
| Installation Complexity | Unknown | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this skill do?
Full sync of personal (yadm) and work (yadm-work) dotfiles. Pulls remote changes, commits and pushes local changes, and audits for untracked files that should be tracked. Use when the user says 'refresh yadm', 'sync dotfiles', 'dotfiles sync', or 'update dotfiles'.
Where can I find the source code?
You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.
SKILL.md Source
# Refresh Dotfiles
Full sync of both dotfile repositories. Run all steps in order.
## Definitions
```bash
# yadm-work is a fish function; in bash use this:
yadm-work() { git --git-dir="$HOME/.local/share/yadm-work/repo.git" --work-tree="$HOME" "$@"; }
```
- **yadm** — personal dotfiles (public GitHub)
- **yadm-work** — work dotfiles (private, employer Git host)
## Step 1: Pull both repos
```bash
yadm pull --rebase
yadm-work pull --rebase # use the bash function above
```
If either pull has conflicts, stop and resolve them before continuing. Show the user conflicted files and help resolve.
## Step 2: Check status of both repos
```bash
yadm status
yadm-work status
```
Report:
- Modified tracked files (unstaged)
- Staged but uncommitted changes
- Commits ahead of remote (unpushed)
## Step 3: Commit and push local changes
For each repo that has uncommitted changes:
1. Show the diff to understand what changed
2. Stage modified tracked files: `yadm add -u` / `yadm-work add -u`
3. Commit with a descriptive message
4. Push to remote
Do NOT auto-add untracked files — those go through the audit in step 4.
## Step 4: Audit for untracked files
Check for dotfiles and configs that exist but aren't tracked by either repo. Focus on:
```bash
# Common locations to check
for f in \
.claude/CLAUDE.md .claude/settings.json .claude/settings.local.json \
.config/fish/*.fish .config/gh/config.yml .config/gh/hosts.yml \
.gitconfig .gitconfig-work .gitconfig.local \
.ssh/config .npmrc .ideavimrc \
; do
[ -e "$HOME/$f" ] || continue
in_yadm=$(cd ~ && yadm ls-files "$f" 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
in_work=$(cd ~ && yadm-work ls-files "$f" 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
if [ "$in_yadm" = "0" ] && [ "$in_work" = "0" ]; then
echo "UNTRACKED: $f"
fi
done
```
Also check for untracked skills:
```bash
cd ~ && ls -d .claude/skills/*/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null | while read f; do
in_yadm=$(yadm ls-files "$f" 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
in_work=$(yadm-work ls-files "$f" 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
[ "$in_yadm" = "0" ] && [ "$in_work" = "0" ] && echo "UNTRACKED SKILL: $f"
done
```
If untracked files are found, use AskUserQuestion to ask the user where each should go:
- **yadm** — personal, public
- **yadm-work** — work-specific, private
- **Skip** — don't track
- **Delete** — remove the file
## Step 5: Final report
Show a summary:
- What was pulled (any new commits from remote?)
- What was committed and pushed
- Any new files now tracked
- Any remaining issues
## Classification guide
When deciding yadm vs yadm-work for a file:
| Signal | Repo |
|--------|------|
| References employer-specific tools, services, or internal platforms | yadm-work |
| General-purpose tool config (vim, git, fish, terminal) | yadm |
| Home network, personal projects, personal tools | yadm |
| MCP permissions for work services | yadm-work |
| Claude skills for work-specific workflows | yadm-work |
## Important
- Always run commands from `$HOME` (`cd ~`) — yadm's work tree is `$HOME` and commands behave differently from subdirectories.
- Never track files containing secrets (.env, tokens, credentials, .ssh/id_*).
- The global `.gitignore` may block some files from being added to yadm-work — use `yadm-work add -f` to force-add ignored files.
- Don't credit yourself in commits or add coauthor headers.Related Skills
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