research: investigate chezmoi for dotfiles management

[tctibbs]

Investigate chezmoi as a dotfiles manager to replace/enhance current manual symlink approach.

chezmoi

• https://github.com/twpayne/chezmoi
• 17.4k+ stars, most capable dotfiles manager
• Go templates for machine-specific configurations
• Password manager integration: 1Password, Bitwarden, LastPass, pass
• Encryption via age or gpg
• Script hooks for automation
• Single-binary distribution

Current Setup

• Manual symlinks via install.sh scripts
• No templating for machine-specific configs
• No secrets management

Potential Benefits

• Template different configs per machine (work vs personal)
• Secure secrets handling
• Better cross-platform support
• Declarative dotfiles state

Tasks

• Install and test chezmoi
• Evaluate migration effort
• Test templating for machine-specific configs
• Evaluate secrets management
• Decide: migrate, partial adopt, or skip