{"id":44998294,"url":"https://github.com/laoujin/perch","last_synced_at":"2026-02-18T22:02:46.122Z","repository":{"id":338472479,"uuid":"1157998084","full_name":"Laoujin/Perch","owner":"Laoujin","description":"Make yourself at home with Perch. Windows first dotfiles, app settings, packages, registry -- managed in git,  symlinked into place.","archived":false,"fork":false,"pushed_at":"2026-02-18T05:41:50.000Z","size":21751,"stargazers_count":1,"open_issues_count":0,"forks_count":0,"subscribers_count":0,"default_branch":"master","last_synced_at":"2026-02-18T07:13:44.605Z","etag":null,"topics":["dotfiles","dotfiles-windows"],"latest_commit_sha":null,"homepage":"","language":"C#","has_issues":true,"has_wiki":null,"has_pages":null,"mirror_url":null,"source_name":null,"license":null,"status":null,"scm":"git","pull_requests_enabled":true,"icon_url":"https://github.com/Laoujin.png","metadata":{"files":{"readme":"README.md","changelog":null,"contributing":null,"funding":null,"license":null,"code_of_conduct":null,"threat_model":null,"audit":null,"citation":null,"codeowners":null,"security":null,"support":null,"governance":null,"roadmap":null,"authors":null,"dei":null,"publiccode":null,"codemeta":null,"zenodo":null,"notice":null,"maintainers":null,"copyright":null,"agents":null,"dco":null,"cla":null}},"created_at":"2026-02-14T16:29:47.000Z","updated_at":"2026-02-18T05:41:53.000Z","dependencies_parsed_at":null,"dependency_job_id":null,"html_url":"https://github.com/Laoujin/Perch","commit_stats":null,"previous_names":["laoujin/perch-the-building","laoujin/perch"],"tags_count":null,"template":false,"template_full_name":null,"purl":"pkg:github/Laoujin/Perch","repository_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/Laoujin%2FPerch","tags_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/Laoujin%2FPerch/tags","releases_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/Laoujin%2FPerch/releases","manifests_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/Laoujin%2FPerch/manifests","owner_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/owners/Laoujin","download_url":"https://codeload.github.com/Laoujin/Perch/tar.gz/refs/heads/master","sbom_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/Laoujin%2FPerch/sbom","scorecard":null,"host":{"name":"GitHub","url":"https://github.com","kind":"github","repositories_count":286080680,"owners_count":29596332,"icon_url":"https://github.com/github.png","version":null,"created_at":"2022-05-30T11:31:42.601Z","updated_at":"2026-02-18T20:59:56.587Z","status":"ssl_error","status_checked_at":"2026-02-18T20:58:41.434Z","response_time":162,"last_error":"SSL_connect returned=1 errno=0 peeraddr=140.82.121.6:443 state=error: unexpected eof while reading","robots_txt_status":"success","robots_txt_updated_at":"2025-07-24T06:49:26.215Z","robots_txt_url":"https://github.com/robots.txt","online":false,"can_crawl_api":true,"host_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub","repositories_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories","repository_names_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repository_names","owners_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/owners"}},"keywords":["dotfiles","dotfiles-windows"],"created_at":"2026-02-18T22:02:45.405Z","updated_at":"2026-02-18T22:02:46.108Z","avatar_url":"https://github.com/Laoujin.png","language":"C#","funding_links":[],"categories":[],"sub_categories":[],"readme":"# Perch\n\nCross-platform dotfiles and application settings manager. Symlink-first -- change a setting in your editor, it's immediately tracked in git.\n\nPerch manages symlinks, registry entries, VS Code extensions, PowerShell modules, global npm packages, and system package installation across Windows, Linux, and macOS.\n\n## Quick Start\n\n```bash\n# Prerequisites: .NET 10 SDK\n\n# Build\ndotnet build\n\n# Run directly\ndotnet run --project src/Perch.Cli -- deploy --config-path /path/to/your/config-repo\n\n# Or install as a global tool\ndotnet pack src/Perch.Cli -c Release\ndotnet tool install --global --add-source src/Perch.Cli/bin/Release Perch.Cli\nperch deploy --config-path /path/to/your/config-repo\n```\n\nAfter the first run, the config path is saved so subsequent commands don't need `--config-path`.\n\n## Commands\n\n### `perch deploy`\n\nCreates symlinks, sets registry values, installs packages, extensions, and modules.\n\n```\nperch deploy [--config-path \u003cpath\u003e] [--dry-run] [--interactive] [--output Pretty|Json]\n```\n\n| Flag | Description |\n|------|-------------|\n| `--config-path` | Path to config repo (saved for future runs) |\n| `--dry-run` | Preview what would happen without making changes |\n| `--interactive`, `-i` | Prompt before each module (apply / skip / abort) |\n| `--output` | `Pretty` (default, live table) or `Json` |\n\nBefore deploying, Perch creates a snapshot of all target files so you can restore them later.\n\n### `perch status`\n\nShows drift between your config repo and the current system state.\n\n```\nperch status [--config-path \u003cpath\u003e] [--drift-only] [--output Pretty|Json]\n```\n\n| Flag | Description |\n|------|-------------|\n| `--drift-only` | Only show items that are missing, drifted, or errored |\n| `--output` | `Pretty` (default, grouped by category) or `Json` |\n\nChecks: symlinks, registry entries, global packages, VS Code extensions, PowerShell modules, and system packages.\n\n### `perch apps`\n\nShows installed applications and whether they match a known module.\n\n### `perch restore list` / `perch restore apply`\n\nList and restore from pre-deploy snapshots.\n\n### `perch diff start` / `perch diff stop`\n\nSnapshot the filesystem to detect changes made outside of Perch.\n\n### `perch git setup`\n\nRegister git clean filters defined in module manifests.\n\n### `perch completion`\n\nOutput a shell tab-completion script.\n\n## How It Works\n\nPerch reads a **config repo** -- a folder of modules, each with a `manifest.yaml` and the actual config files. On deploy, it symlinks those files to their expected locations on the system. Edit a config file in its usual location and the change is immediately reflected in the repo.\n\n```\nyour-config-repo/\n  git/\n    manifest.yaml\n    .gitconfig\n    .gitignore_global\n  vscode/\n    manifest.yaml\n    settings.json\n    keybindings.json\n    snippets/\n  powershell/\n    manifest.yaml\n    profiles/\n    scripts/\n  packages.yaml              # System packages to install\n  machines/                   # Optional per-machine overrides\n    base.yaml\n    DESKTOP-ABC.yaml\n```\n\n### Module Discovery\n\nPerch scans `*/manifest.yaml` one level deep in the config repo. Each subfolder with a `manifest.yaml` is a module.\n\n### Manifest Format\n\n```yaml\ndisplay-name: Git\nenabled: true                   # Optional, default true\nplatforms:                      # Optional, runs on all if omitted\n  - Windows\n  - Linux\n  - MacOS\n\nlinks:\n  - source: .gitconfig          # Relative to module folder\n    target:                     # Platform-specific targets\n      windows: \"%USERPROFILE%\\\\.gitconfig\"\n      linux: \"$HOME/.gitconfig\"\n      macos: \"$HOME/.gitconfig\"\n  - source: scripts\n    target: \"%USERPROFILE%\\\\scripts\"\n    link-type: junction         # 'symlink' (default) or 'junction'\n\nregistry:                       # Windows only\n  - key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\App\n    name: SettingName\n    value: 42\n    type: dword                 # dword, string, etc.\n\nglobal-packages:\n  manager: npm                  # npm or bun\n  packages:\n    - prettier\n    - eslint_d\n\nvscode-extensions:\n  - dbaeumer.vscode-eslint\n  - esbenp.prettier-vscode\n\nps-modules:\n  - Posh-Git\n  - PSReadLine\n\nhooks:\n  pre-deploy: setup.ps1         # Run before deploying this module\n  post-deploy: cleanup.ps1      # Run after deploying this module\n```\n\n**Target paths** support environment variables: `%USERPROFILE%`, `%APPDATA%`, `%LOCALAPPDATA%`, `$HOME`, `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME`, etc. Custom variables can be defined in machine profiles.\n\n### System Packages (`packages.yaml`)\n\nDeclare system-level packages in a `packages.yaml` at the config repo root:\n\n```yaml\npackages:\n  - name: Git.Git\n    manager: winget\n  - name: Mozilla.Firefox\n    manager: winget\n  - name: curl\n    manager: apt\n  - name: git\n    manager: brew\n```\n\nSupported managers: `winget`, `chocolatey`, `apt`, `brew`. Each is only applied on its matching platform.\n\nOn Windows, `winget` is recommended over `chocolatey` -- winget detects all installed software (including apps installed via choco, MSI, or manually) through the Windows ARP registry.\n\n### Machine Profiles\n\nPlace YAML files in a `machines/` folder to customize per-machine behavior:\n\n- `machines/base.yaml` -- defaults for all machines\n- `machines/HOSTNAME.yaml` -- overrides for a specific machine (matched by `$env:COMPUTERNAME`)\n\n```yaml\ninclude-modules:          # Only deploy these modules (whitelist)\n  - git\n  - vscode\nexclude-modules:          # Skip these modules (blacklist)\n  - cmder\nvariables:                # Custom variables for target path expansion\n  PROJECTS: \"D:\\\\Projects\"\n```\n\nHostname-specific values override base values. Variables are merged (hostname wins on conflict).\n\n## Project Structure\n\n```\nsrc/\n  Perch.Core/       # Engine: symlinks, registry, packages, status, deploy\n  Perch.Cli/        # CLI commands (Spectre.Console)\n  Perch.Desktop/    # Desktop GUI (first-run wizard)\ntests/\n  Perch.Core.Tests/ # Unit + integration tests\n```\n\n## Development\n\n```bash\ndotnet build     # Build (warnings as errors)\ndotnet test      # Run all tests\n```\n\n.NET 10, C# latest, NUnit 4, NSubstitute 5, Roslynator analyzers.\n","project_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Flaoujin%2Fperch","html_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/projects/github.com%2Flaoujin%2Fperch","lists_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Flaoujin%2Fperch/lists"}