How it compares
homebot leads on the remembering. It keeps one list of what needs you, saves and syncs on its own once you let it, asks once about each new file, and comes to you instead of waiting to be run. On the rest, the others are older and broader, and the tables below say where.
homebot is not released yet
Its column describes what is built today, read from its code.
The rows under The remembering , and Nothing new to learn , are ours. Every other row comes from chezmoi’s comparison table , which chezmoi’s maker keeps, as it stood on 14 October 2026. Where a tool’s own docs say more, the cell adds it: yadm runs under Git Bash or Cygwin, and dotbot also installs from PyPI and has plugins for encryption. With effort stands for chezmoi’s “possible with significant manual effort”.
homebot
chezmoi yadm dotbot rcm vcsh bare git
One list of what needs you, each item with its fix
Yes: homebot
No
No
No
No
No
No
Commits and pushes without you running anything
Yes, hourly or daily, once you turn it on
Only when you run a chezmoi command (autoCommit)
With the AutoYADM add-on
No
No
No
No
Asks once about new files and remembers the answer
Yes: homebot triage
Lists them when you run unmanaged; remembers nothing
No
No
No
No
No
Comes to you: shell line, prompt count, notification
Yes, in zsh
No
No
No
No
No
No
homebot
chezmoi yadm dotbot rcm vcsh bare git
Distribution
Single binary
Single binary
Single script
Python package
Multiple files
Single script or package
—
Install method
One-line script, Homebrew cask, Debian or Fedora package, or go install
Many
Many
git submodule, or PyPI
Many
Many
Manual
Non-root install on a bare system
Yes; the apt steps use sudo
Yes
Yes
With effort
Yes
Yes
Yes
Windows support (not WSL)
No: macOS and Linux
Yes
Under Git Bash or Cygwin
Yes, if your account may make symlinks
No
No
Yes
Bootstrap requirements
git and bash; gitleaks to save
None
git
Python, git
Bash
sh, git
git
Implementation language
Go
Go
Bash
Python
Bash
POSIX shell
C
Nothing new to learn
No: its folder rules and commands
No: its file-name prefixes, templates and commands
Yes: it is git, run on your home folder
No: its YAML file
No: its commands and folder rules
Almost: git, one repo per topic
Yes: it is git
homebot
chezmoi yadm dotbot rcm vcsh bare git
Source repos
Single
Single
Single
Single
Multiple
Multiple
Single
Dotfiles are…
Symlinks Files
Files
Symlinks
Symlinks
Files
Files
Config file
Required: homebot.yml
Optional
Optional
Required
Optional
None
Optional
Private files
Yes: files 0600, folders 0700
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Show differences without applying
The link changes, with link --dry-run
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
Executable files
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Directory creation
Only as parents of links
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
File removal
Only stale links it made
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
Manage partial files
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
With effort
With effort
File creation with initial contents
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
No
Externals
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Archive import
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Archive export
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
homebot
chezmoi yadm dotbot rcm vcsh bare git
Machine-to-machine file differences
A folder per OS and a profile per host Templates
Templates, plus files per OS, class or host
Links made only if a shell test passes
Files per host or tag
A branch per machine
Branches, by hand
Custom variables in templates
No: there are no templates
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Machine-to-machine symlink differences
Per OS only
Yes
Yes
No
No
With effort
With effort
homebot
chezmoi yadm dotbot rcm vcsh bare git
Whole file encryption
Yes: age , built in
Yes
Yes: gpg or openssl
Through plugins (age, git-crypt)
No
No
No
Password manager integration
No
Yes: 1Password, Bitwarden, pass and more
No
No
No
No
No
homebot
chezmoi yadm dotbot rcm vcsh bare git
Run scripts
Yes: profile steps and your own scripts
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Run once scripts
No: every step runs each time, so steps must be safe to rerun
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
Shell completion
zsh, bash and fish complete homebot; only zsh also completes a set command name
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes