Provision a new workstation from a public dotfiles repository through
the sebastienrousseau/dotfiles harness.
This skill is for Claude Code to invoke dot init <user> on the user's behalf — most useful when the user says "set me up like Alice" or "bootstrap a fresh laptop using my GitHub dotfiles."
What this skill does
When invoked, it:
Verifies the target argument is one of:
a GitHub username (e.g. alice → expands to github.com/alice/dotfiles)
an owner/repo pair (e.g. alice/configs)
a full HTTPS or git@host:path clone URL
Refuses plain http:// URLs (no transit integrity).
Reads the user's current agent profile from $DOT_AGENT_PROFILE (defaults to ask):
ask → run dot init <user> --dry-run (read-only preview)
plan → run dot init <user> --dry-run and explain the plan
apply → run dot init <user> (full apply with chezmoi apply)
audit → run dot init <user> --no-apply (clone only, no chezmoi apply)
Surfaces the trust prompt warnings before any clone runs — the target repo's scripts execute with the user's privileges.
Reports the outcome (success / failed / aborted-by-trust-prompt) so the user can decide next steps.
Show the plan; ask the user before running for real.
plan
--dry-run
Same plan, augmented with chezmoi diff if available.
apply
(no flags)
Full apply; interactive trust prompt remains.
audit
--no-apply
Clone the source; let the user inspect before apply.
Failure modes the skill surfaces
chezmoi not installed → instruct user to run install.sh first
URL refuses HTTPS check → ask user for explicit confirmation if SSH
Target chezmoi source dir already exists → ask user about --force
Trust prompt aborted → return cleanly, no state mutation
chezmoi init non-zero exit → surface the chezmoi stderr to the user
Why this skill exists
Closes the round-1 audit's adoption gap "bootstrap a foreign dotfiles repo through this framework's harness." Without the skill, a Claude Code session has to remember the right flag set for the user's current trust posture; with the skill, the profile dictates the safe default.
1---2name: sebastienrousseau-dotfiles-dotfiles3description: dotfiles-bootstrap4---56# dotfiles-bootstrap78Provision a new workstation from a public dotfiles repository through9the [`sebastienrousseau/dotfiles`](https://github.com/sebastienrousseau/dotfiles) harness.1011This skill is for Claude Code to invoke `dot init <user>` on the user's behalf — most useful when the user says "set me up like Alice" or "bootstrap a fresh laptop using my GitHub dotfiles."1213## What this skill does1415When invoked, it:16171. **Verifies** the target argument is one of:18 - a GitHub username (e.g. `alice` → expands to `github.com/alice/dotfiles`)19 - an `owner/repo` pair (e.g. `alice/configs`)20 - a full HTTPS or `git@host:path` clone URL212. **Refuses** plain `http://` URLs (no transit integrity).223. **Reads** the user's current agent profile from `$DOT_AGENT_PROFILE` (defaults to `ask`):23 - `ask` → run `dot init <user> --dry-run` (read-only preview)24 - `plan` → run `dot init <user> --dry-run` and explain the plan25 - `apply` → run `dot init <user>` (full apply with `chezmoi apply`)26 - `audit` → run `dot init <user> --no-apply` (clone only, no chezmoi apply)274. **Surfaces** the trust prompt warnings before any clone runs — the target repo's scripts execute with the user's privileges.285. **Reports** the outcome (success / failed / aborted-by-trust-prompt) so the user can decide next steps.2930## Invocation pattern3132```bash33# canonical34dot init <user> # github.com/<user>/dotfiles35dot init <owner>/<repo> # github.com/<owner>/<repo>36dot init <https-or-ssh-url> # explicit URL3738# safety flags39dot init <user> --dry-run # preview only40dot init <user> --no-apply # clone, skip chezmoi apply41dot init <user> --force # overwrite existing chezmoi source dir42```4344## Profile-aware defaults4546| Profile | Default flag set | Notes |47|----------|------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|48| `ask` | `--dry-run` | Show the plan; ask the user before running for real. |49| `plan` | `--dry-run` | Same plan, augmented with chezmoi diff if available. |50| `apply` | (no flags) | Full apply; interactive trust prompt remains. |51| `audit` | `--no-apply` | Clone the source; let the user inspect before apply. |5253## Failure modes the skill surfaces5455- `chezmoi` not installed → instruct user to run `install.sh` first56- URL refuses HTTPS check → ask user for explicit confirmation if SSH57- Target chezmoi source dir already exists → ask user about `--force`58- Trust prompt aborted → return cleanly, no state mutation59- `chezmoi init` non-zero exit → surface the chezmoi stderr to the user6061## Why this skill exists6263Closes the round-1 audit's adoption gap "bootstrap a foreign dotfiles repo through this framework's harness." Without the skill, a Claude Code session has to remember the right flag set for the user's current trust posture; with the skill, the profile dictates the safe default.6465## References6667- `dot init` source: [`scripts/dot/commands/init.sh`](https://github.com/sebastienrousseau/dotfiles/blob/master/scripts/dot/commands/init.sh)68- Roadmap entry: [ROADMAP_2026 §B2](https://github.com/sebastienrousseau/dotfiles/blob/master/docs/operations/ROADMAP_2026.md)69- AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md sync: `dot agents render`7071---72> Source: [sebastienrousseau/dotfiles](https://github.com/sebastienrousseau/dotfiles) — distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io).73<!-- tomevault:4.0:skill_md:2026-06-17 -->
Run npx get-skill add tomevault-io/sebastienrousseau-dotfiles-dotfiles in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.
dotfiles-bootstrap It is listed under Coding & Dev Tools on SkillMD.
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tomevault-io (@tomevault-io) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.
