4. Complex Target

Dotter supports configuring targets of files using the following syntax:

[zsh.files]
zshrc = { target = "~/.zshrc", type = "symbolic" }
zprofile = { target = "~/.zshrc", type = "template" }

Use this to override Dotter's default detection behavior, where it checks whether the file contains {{ to see if it's a template or a symlink.

There is also an owner field - it can either be an integer for a UID or a string for a username. To set the owner on a unix system, Dotter will use sudo to request elevation.

When type = "template", Dotter also supports additional arguments:

[zsh.files]
zprofile = { target = "~/.zshrc", type = "template", append = "text to append", prepend = "text to prepend" }

This can be useful in certain cases in local.toml.

An alternative syntax for this is:

[zsh.files.zprofile]
target = "~/.zshrc"
type = "template"
append = """
I can use
multiline text
here!
"""

TOML actually sees those two as equivalent, the difference is purely cosmetic.

Conditional file

If you want to control whether a file is included based on the result of a helper or a variable, use the if field, like so:

[zsh.files.zprofile]
target = "~/.zshrc"
type = "symbolic"
if = "bash"
# This expression is evaluated just like the argument of an {{#if}}
if = "(eq shell 'bash')"