update.sh

Synchronize Config-Sway dotfiles to your home directory

Overview

The update.sh script synchronizes your local configuration files from the Config-Sway repository to your home directory. It intelligently manages dotfiles in both ~/.config and ~ directories, creating backups before applying changes and tracking which files are managed by the repository.

This script uses rsync --delete which will remove files in your config directories that are not present in the repository. Backups are created by default.

Location

./update.sh

Located in the root directory of the Config-Sway repository.

Usage

./update.sh [OPTIONS]

Options

--no-backup · flag

Skip creating backup directories before synchronization. Use with caution.

What It Does

Step-by-Step Execution

1. Pre-flight Checks

   • Verifies .config directory exists in the repository
   • Checks that rsync is installed
   • Validates command-line options

2. Backup Creation (unless --no-backup is specified)

   • Creates timestamped backup: ~/.config.bak-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS
   • Creates home dotfiles backup: ~/home-dots.bak-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS
   • Backups are made before any changes are applied

3. ~/.config Synchronization

   • Reads top-level directories/files from repository’s .config
   • Uses rsync -a --delete to sync each managed directory
   • Creates tracking file: ~/.config/.config-sway-managed
   • Removes directories that were deleted from the repository

4. Home Directory Synchronization (if home/ exists)

   • Syncs dotfiles from repository’s home/ directory to ~
   • Creates tracking file: ~/.home-dots-managed
   • Only affects files listed in the tracking file

5. Service Reloads

   • Restarts xdg-desktop-portal and xdg-desktop-portal-wlr
   • Reloads Sway configuration with swaymsg reload
   • Restarts Waybar with the new configuration

Synchronization Behavior

The script uses rsync -a --delete which means:

• Archive mode (-a): Preserves permissions, timestamps, symlinks, etc.
• Delete mode (--delete): Removes files in destination not present in source
• Scoped deletion: Only deletes within managed directories tracked by the script

Options Reference

—no-backup

Skips the creation of backup directories. This makes the script run faster but removes the safety net.

./update.sh --no-backup

Use with caution! Without backups, you cannot easily revert changes if something goes wrong.

Managed Files Tracking

The script maintains two tracking files:

~/.config/.config-sway-managed

Lists all top-level directories/files in ~/.config managed by Config-Sway:

kitty
rofi
sway
waybar
...

~/.home-dots-managed

Lists all dotfiles in ~ managed by Config-Sway:

.bashrc
.zshrc
...

Only files listed in these tracking files will be modified or deleted by the script.

Error Handling

Missing .config Directory

Error: No existe: /path/to/repo/.config

The repository’s .config directory is required.

rsync Not Found

Error: Falta rsync. Instálalo (o ejecuta ./install.sh en Arch).

Install rsync or run install.sh on Arch Linux.

Unknown Option

Error: Opción desconocida: --invalid

Only --no-backup is supported.

Exit Codes

• 0: Success (all files synchronized)
• 1: Error (missing dependencies, invalid options, or synchronization failure)

Examples

Standard Update with Backup

cd ~/Config-Sway
./update.sh

Output:

Backup: /home/user/.config -> /home/user/.config.bak-20260305-143022
Sincronizando ~/.config (solo lo gestionado por el repo)...
Backup de dotfiles de /home/user en: /home/user/home-dots.bak-20260305-143022
Sincronizando dotfiles en ~ (solo lo gestionado por home/)...
Update listo.

Update Without Backup

./update.sh --no-backup

Output:

Sincronizando ~/.config (solo lo gestionado por el repo)...
Sincronizando dotfiles en ~ (solo lo gestionado por home/)...
Update listo.

Restore from Backup

If you need to restore from a backup:

# List available backups
ls -ld ~/.config.bak-*

# Restore from specific backup
cp -a ~/.config.bak-20260305-143022 ~/.config

Repository Structure

The script expects this repository structure:

Config-Sway/
├── .config/          # Config files to sync to ~/.config
│   ├── sway/
│   ├── waybar/
│   ├── kitty/
│   └── ...
├── home/             # Optional: dotfiles to sync to ~
│   ├── .bashrc
│   ├── .zshrc
│   └── ...
├── install.sh
└── update.sh

Synchronized Directories

Typically synchronized directories include:

• ~/.config/sway - Sway window manager configuration
• ~/.config/waybar - Waybar status bar configuration
• ~/.config/kitty - Kitty terminal configuration
• ~/.config/rofi - Rofi launcher configuration
• ~/.config/mako - Mako notification daemon configuration
• ~/.config/ranger - Ranger file manager configuration
• ~/.config/scripts - Custom utility scripts
• ~/.config/themes - Theme definitions
• ~/.config/wallpapers - Wallpaper collection

Service Reloads

After synchronization, the script automatically reloads:

XDG Desktop Portals

systemctl --user restart xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-wlr

Sway Window Manager

swaymsg reload

Waybar Status Bar

killall waybar
waybar -c ~/.config/waybar/config.jsonc &

Related Scripts

• install.sh - Install dependencies and run update.sh
• theme-switcher.sh - Apply theme configurations

Safety Features

1. Automatic Backups: Creates timestamped backups before making changes
2. Scoped Deletion: Only removes files explicitly managed by the repository
3. Tracking Files: Maintains lists of managed files to prevent accidental deletion
4. Strict Error Handling: Uses set -euo pipefail to catch errors early

Notes

• The script can be run multiple times safely - it’s idempotent
• Backup directories accumulate over time; clean old backups manually
• Only top-level directories in .config are synchronized individually
• Files in home/ must be at the first level (not nested)
• The script automatically detects its location and can be run from any directory

Source Code

View the full source: update.sh (141 lines)

Author: Fravelz