Schalentier 🦐

German: Schalentier [ˈʃaːlənˌtiːɐ̯] — "shellfish", literally "shell animal"

Your tools. Your configs. Every machine. One file.

Define your entire environment in a single TOML file — tools to install, configs to patch, shell customizations — then sync it across all your machines with Git.

# ~/.config/schalentier/schalentier.toml

[tools]
ripgrep = {}
bat = { provider = "cargo" }
python = { provider = "conda", version = "3.12" }

[dotfiles."~/.gitconfig".user]
name = "Ada Lovelace"
email = "ada@example.com"

[dotfiles."~/.config/micro/settings.json"]
colorscheme = "dracula"
tabsize = 4

# New laptop? One command.
$ schalentier sync --remote git@github.com:ada/dotfiles.git --pull

⠋ Pulling from git@github.com:ada/dotfiles.git...
✓ Pull completed
✓ Installed 'ripgrep' v14.1.1 via binary
✓ Installed 'bat' v0.24.0 via cargo
✓ Installed 'python' v3.12 via conda
✓ Applied 2 config patches
✓ Sync complete!

No more "works on my machine." No more 47-step setup guides.

Why Another Tool?

chezmoi and yadm are great for dotfiles, but they won't install your tools. mise and aqua install tools, but won't manage your configs. Schalentier does both — one file, one binary, done.

Quick Start

Install

# Install via Cargo (requires Rust toolchain)
cargo install schalentier

# One-liner install script (Linux/macOS)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cosinusalpha/schalentier/main/install.sh | bash

# Or download the binary directly
# Linux (static musl binary - works everywhere)
curl -LO https://github.com/cosinusalpha/schalentier/releases/latest/download/schalentier-linux-x86_64
chmod +x schalentier-linux-x86_64 && sudo mv schalentier-linux-x86_64 /usr/local/bin/schalentier

Initialize

$ schalentier init

Welcome to schalentier!

? Which package managers should be bootstrapped?
> [x] uv - Fast Python package installer
  [x] Miniforge/Conda - Scientific packages

? Proceed with installation? Yes

✓ Initialization complete!

Add Your First Tool

# Install ripgrep (tries GitHub releases first, falls back to other providers)
$ schalentier add ripgrep

# Install from a specific provider
$ schalentier add python --provider conda

# Just add to config, don't install yet
$ schalentier add neovim --no-install

Sync Across Machines

# First machine: push your setup
$ schalentier sync --remote git@github.com:you/dotfiles.git --push

# Second machine: pull and install everything
$ schalentier sync --pull

Configuration

Schalentier uses a single TOML file: ~/.config/schalentier/schalentier.toml

Full Example

# =============================================================================
# SCHALENTIER CONFIGURATION
# =============================================================================

[settings]
# Provider priority (first available wins)
provider_priority = ["binary", "cargo", "brew", "conda", "uv", "system"]

# Auto-update tools on sync
auto_update = false

[sync]
# Git remote for syncing
remote = "git@github.com:yourname/dotfiles.git"

# Sync mode: manual, pull, push, bidirectional
mode = "manual"

# =============================================================================
# TOOLS
# =============================================================================
# Each tool can specify:
#   - provider: force a specific provider (optional)
#   - version: version constraint (optional)
#   - options: provider-specific options (optional)

[tools.ripgrep]
# No config = use provider priority, latest version

[tools.fd]
provider = "cargo"  # Force install via cargo

[tools.bat]
version = "0.24.0"  # Pin to specific version

[tools.python]
provider = "conda"
version = "3.12"

[tools.ruff]
provider = "uv"  # Python linter via uv tool

[tools.jq]
provider = "binary"  # GitHub releases

[tools.htop]
provider = "system"  # apt/pacman/dnf

# =============================================================================
# DOTFILES (Config Patching)
# =============================================================================
# Schalentier intelligently merges your settings into existing config files.
# It detects the format from the file extension and preserves existing values.
#
# Supported formats:
#   - JSON (.json) - deep merge
#   - TOML (.toml) - deep merge
#   - YAML (.yaml, .yml) - deep merge
#   - INI (.ini, .gitconfig, .cfg) - section-aware merge
#   - KeyValue (.env, KEY=VALUE style) - key-aware merge
#   - Unknown - replace mode (use _content key)

[dotfiles]

# --- JSON Example: micro editor ---
[dotfiles."~/.config/micro/settings.json"]
colorscheme = "dracula"
tabsize = 4
tabstospaces = true
autoclose = true
# These get merged into the JSON file, preserving any other settings you have

# --- TOML Example: starship prompt ---
[dotfiles."~/.config/starship.toml"]
add_newline = false

[dotfiles."~/.config/starship.toml".character]
success_symbol = "[➜](bold green)"
error_symbol = "[✗](bold red)"

[dotfiles."~/.config/starship.toml".git_branch]
symbol = "🌱 "

# --- INI Example: git config ---
[dotfiles."~/.gitconfig"]
[dotfiles."~/.gitconfig".user]
name = "Your Name"
email = "you@example.com"

[dotfiles."~/.gitconfig".core]
editor = "micro"
autocrlf = "input"

[dotfiles."~/.gitconfig".alias]
co = "checkout"
br = "branch"
st = "status"
lg = "log --oneline --graph"

# --- KeyValue Example: environment ---
[dotfiles."~/.config/schalentier/env.local"]
EDITOR = "micro"
PAGER = "less -R"
MANPAGER = "sh -c 'col -bx | bat -l man -p'"

# --- Unknown Format: use _content for complete replacement ---
[dotfiles."~/.vimrc"]
_content = """
set number
set relativenumber
set tabstop=4
set shiftwidth=4
set expandtab
set autoindent
syntax on
colorscheme desert
"""

Commands Reference

Core Commands

schalentier init [--yes] [--force]    # Initialize schalentier
schalentier add <tool> [--provider X] # Add and install a tool
schalentier remove <tool>             # Remove a tool
schalentier list [--detailed]         # List managed tools
schalentier search <query>            # Search across all providers
schalentier update [tool] [--dry-run] # Check/apply updates
schalentier doctor [--fix]            # Diagnose issues

Sync Commands

schalentier sync                      # Bidirectional sync
schalentier sync --push               # Push local changes
schalentier sync --pull               # Pull and install
schalentier sync --prune              # Remove orphaned tools
schalentier sync --remote <url>       # Set/use specific remote

Config Patching

schalentier config list               # Show configured dotfiles
schalentier config diff               # Preview changes
schalentier config apply              # Apply all patches
schalentier config reset <file>       # Restore from backup

Shell Integration

schalentier alias 'll=ls -la'         # Create alias
schalentier alias --list              # List aliases
schalentier alias --remove ll         # Remove alias

schalentier snippet add yazi          # Add shell snippet
schalentier snippet list              # List snippets
schalentier snippet remove yazi       # Remove snippet

Providers

Schalentier searches multiple sources to install your tools:

Provider Fallback

If your preferred provider fails, schalentier automatically tries the next one:

$ schalentier add some-tool --provider cargo
# If cargo fails (not installed, build error, etc.):
ℹ Note: Preferred provider Cargo unavailable, used Binary instead
✓ Installed 'some-tool' v1.0.0 via binary

Search Results

Search aggregates results from all providers and clusters by package:

$ schalentier search ripgrep

Found 3 unique packages:

  ripgrep
    Available from: Binary v14.1.1, Cargo v14.1.1, Conda v14.1.0
    A fast line-oriented search tool

  ripgrep-all
    Available from: Cargo v1.0.0
    ripgrep, but also search in PDFs, E-Books, Office documents...

Dotfile Patching Deep Dive

Unlike tools that replace entire files, schalentier merges your settings:

Before (your existing config)

{
  "colorscheme": "default",
  "font_size": 14,
  "custom_setting": "preserved"
}

Your schalentier.toml

[dotfiles."~/.config/app/settings.json"]
colorscheme = "dracula"
tabsize = 4

After schalentier config apply

{
  "colorscheme": "dracula",
  "font_size": 14,
  "custom_setting": "preserved",
  "tabsize": 4
}

Your font_size and custom_setting are preserved. Only the specified keys are updated.

Backup & Recovery

Before the first modification, schalentier creates a backup:

~/.config/app/settings.json.schalentier-backup

Restore anytime:

$ schalentier config reset "~/.config/app/settings.json"
✓ Restored from backup

Shell Setup

After init, add to your shell config:

Bash (~/.bashrc)

if [ -f "$HOME/.schalentier/env.sh" ]; then
    source "$HOME/.schalentier/env.sh"
fi

Zsh (~/.zshrc)

if [ -f "$HOME/.schalentier/env.sh" ]; then
    source "$HOME/.schalentier/env.sh"
fi

Fish (~/.config/fish/config.fish)

if test -f "$HOME/.schalentier/env.fish"
    source "$HOME/.schalentier/env.fish"
end

PowerShell ($PROFILE)

if (Test-Path "$HOME\.schalentier\env.ps1") {
    . "$HOME\.schalentier\env.ps1"
}

Comparison Table

Philosophy

1. One file to rule them all — Your entire setup in schalentier.toml
2. Graceful degradation — If one provider fails, try another
3. Non-destructive — Merge configs, don't replace them
4. Adopt, don't fight — Detect existing tools instead of reinstalling
5. Static binary — No Python, no Ruby, no Node. Just works.

Building from Source

# Clone
git clone https://github.com/cosinusalpha/schalentier.git
cd schalentier

# Build (requires Rust)
cargo build --release

# Static musl build (Linux, fully portable)
./build-musl.sh

Contributing

PRs welcome! Please run the tests:

cargo test                    # Unit tests
./tests/smoke/run.sh          # Integration tests (requires podman/docker)

License

MIT

Stop yak-shaving your dev environment. Start building.