Multi-Device Workflow

The complete flow from initial setup to daily syncing across machines.

This guide walks through the entire lifecycle of using dotweave — from setting up your first machine to keeping multiple devices in sync every day.

Initial setup on Machine A

Initialize dotweave
```
dotweave init ~/dotfiles
```
This creates a Git-backed sync directory at ~/dotfiles.

Track your files

dotweave track ~/.gitconfig
dotweave track ~/.config/starship.toml
dotweave track ~/.ssh/config --secret

Each command adds an entry to manifest.jsonc inside the sync directory.

Push local files into the sync directory
```
dotweave push
```

Commit and push to a remote

dotweave never creates Git commits for you — you stay in full control:

dotweave cd   # opens a shell inside the sync directory
git add -A && git commit -m "initial sync"
git remote add origin git@github.com:you/dotfiles.git
git push -u origin main
exit

Setting up Machine B

Initialize from the remote URL

dotweave init ~/dotfiles --url git@github.com:you/dotfiles.git

Pull files to their local paths
```
dotweave pull
```
dotweave reads manifest.jsonc, resolves platform-specific paths, decrypts any secrets, and writes every file to the correct location.

Daily workflow

Once both machines are set up, the day-to-day flow is short and predictable.

On the machine where you made changes:

dotweave push
dotweave cd
git add -A && git commit -m "update shell aliases"
git push
exit

On the other machine:

dotweave cd
git pull
exit
dotweave pull

Handling conflicts

The sync directory is a regular Git repository, so conflicts are resolved the usual way:

dotweave cd
git pull            # may report merge conflicts
# resolve conflicts in the affected files
git add -A && git commit -m "resolve merge conflict"
git push
exit
dotweave pull        # apply the resolved state locally

Checking health

dotweave doctor

This verifies the sync directory exists, Git is configured, encryption keys are in place, and tracked paths are accessible.

Adding more machines

Adding a third (or fourth, or fifth) machine follows the same steps as Machine B — dotweave init with the remote URL, then dotweave pull. From there the daily push/pull cycle is identical on every device.

Quick reference

Task	Commands
Preview changes	`dotweave status`
Send local edits upstream	`dotweave push` → `git add -A && git commit` → `git push`
Receive upstream edits	`git pull` → `dotweave pull`
Resolve conflicts	`dotweave cd` → fix files → `git commit` → `git push`
Check setup health	`dotweave doctor`