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Dotfiles Backup and Sync

Back up, restore, and sync shell and editor dotfiles to a private GitHub repo with secret scanning

Source Download skill
Repository
danielmiessler/LifeOS
Stars
19,682
Licence
MIT
Files
9 files

What it does

This skill teaches an AI agent to manage your personal configuration files (like ~/.zshrc and chosen ~/.config folders) against a private GitHub repository. It can push local settings up, pull them down on a new machine, compare them, make timestamped local backups, and restore from them. Before any push it checks that the GitHub repo is private and runs a gitleaks scan to block secrets such as tokens or .env files.

Great for

  • Developers who want their shell and editor setup versioned and recoverable across machines
  • People setting up a new computer who want to pull their existing dotfiles from a private repo
  • Users who want a safe local backup of selected config directories before making changes

Skip it if

  • Users who do not already have a private GitHub repo and gitleaks installed, since the skill stops without them
  • Anyone expecting it to manage app configs unrelated to shell, editor or terminal, which the skill itself excludes
  • Restore on a live machine without reviewing the backup first, because Restore overwrites local files after a timestamped backup and user confirmation

Try asking

  • “Push my dotfiles to my private repo”
  • “Check the status of my dotfiles compared to the repo”
  • “Restore my .zshrc from the last backup”
  • “Set up my dotfiles on this new machine”
Step-by-step guide: how to use Dotfiles Backup and SyncInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 9 original files, the MIT licence and an attribution note.

    Dotfiles.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip Dotfiles.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip Dotfiles.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Complete Setup.md first and list only the config directories you want managed in Config.md
  • Confirm the repo is private on GitHub yourself, and review the diff the skill shows before accepting a push or restore
  • Run Status or Backup before Restore so you have a current local copy to fall back on

What's inside

  • Intents/Backup.md
  • Intents/Pull.md
  • Intents/Push.md
  • Intents/Restore.md
  • Intents/Status.md
  • Intents/Sync.md
  • Setup.md
  • SKILL.md
  • Tools/Config.ts

Redistributed unmodified from danielmiessler/LifeOS under the MIT licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.