dotfiles/docs/chezmoi/externals-and-ignore.mdx

---
title: Externals and ignore rules
description: The git repos chezmoi clones into $HOME and every rule in .chezmoiignore.tmpl, including the role gate for the Linux desktop layer.
---

## .chezmoiexternal.toml [#externals]

Externals are content chezmoi fetches instead of storing in the repo. Every entry is a `git-repo` external: chezmoi runs `git clone` when the target directory is missing. Because they are real git checkouts, they are never symlinked into the source tree.

```toml .chezmoiexternal.toml
[".config/nvim"]
    type = "git-repo"
    url = "https://github.com/prdlk/nvim.git"
    [".config/nvim".pull]
        args = ["--ff-only"]

[".config/bat/syntaxes/sublime-purescript-syntax"]
    type = "git-repo"
    url = "https://github.com/tellnobody1/sublime-purescript-syntax.git"
    [".config/bat/syntaxes/sublime-purescript-syntax".pull]
        args = ["--ff-only"]

[".config/tmux/plugins/tpm"]
    type = "git-repo"
    url = "https://github.com/tmux-plugins/tpm.git"
    [".config/tmux/plugins/tpm".pull]
        args = ["--ff-only"]
```

| Target | Repo | Used by |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `~/.config/nvim` | [prdlk/nvim](https://github.com/prdlk/nvim) | Neovim config, kept in its own repo |
| `~/.config/bat/syntaxes/sublime-purescript-syntax` | [tellnobody1/sublime-purescript-syntax](https://github.com/tellnobody1/sublime-purescript-syntax) | PureScript syntax for bat, compiled into bat's cache by the [bat cache scripts](/chezmoi/scripts#build-bat-cache) |
| `~/.config/tmux/plugins/tpm` | [tmux-plugins/tpm](https://github.com/tmux-plugins/tpm) | tmux plugin manager, run from the bottom of `tmux.conf` ([tmux](/terminal/tmux)). Cloned inside the tmux checkout, whose `.gitignore` excludes `plugins/` |

### No refreshPeriod

No entry in `.chezmoiexternal.toml` sets `refreshPeriod`, so it stays at chezmoi's default of never. chezmoi clones each repo on a fresh machine and otherwise leaves it alone: `chezmoi apply` and `chezmoi update` do not pull. The local nvim checkout always wins over the remote, so in-progress Neovim edits and unpushed commits are never disturbed by an apply.

To update explicitly, run `chezmoi apply --refresh-externals` (`-R`), which pulls with `git pull --ff-only`. `--ff-only` makes the pull fail instead of creating a merge commit when the local checkout has diverged.

## .chezmoiexternals/ [#app-externals]

Per-app config repos, one file each in `.chezmoiexternals/<app>.toml`. Each is a `git-repo` external with `refreshPeriod = "168h"` and `pull.args = ["--ff-only"]`, so `chezmoi apply` fast-forwards them at most once a week. The repos hold plain config files (no chezmoi prefixes) and are not part of `chezmoi managed` contents.

```toml .chezmoiexternals/tmux.toml
[".config/tmux"]
    type = "git-repo"
    url = "https://github.com/prdlk/tmux.git"
    refreshPeriod = "168h"
    [".config/tmux".pull]
        args = ["--ff-only"]
```

| File | Target | Repo |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `tmux.toml` | `~/.config/tmux` | [prdlk/tmux](https://github.com/prdlk/tmux) |
| `tmux-palette.toml` | `~/.config/tmux-palette` | [prdlk/tmux-palette](https://github.com/prdlk/tmux-palette) |
| `television.toml` | `~/.config/television` | [prdlk/television](https://github.com/prdlk/television) |
| `yazi.toml` | `~/.config/yazi` | [prdlk/yazi](https://github.com/prdlk/yazi) |

Edit these in place under `~/.config/<app>`, then commit and push from that checkout.

## Submodules [#submodules]

Three source directories are git submodules, listed in `.gitmodules`. They keep chezmoi source naming and are applied in symlink mode like the rest of the tree. `chezmoi init` clones them.

| Source | Target | Repo |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `dot_config/niri` | `~/.config/niri` | [prdlk/niri](https://github.com/prdlk/niri) |
| `dot_config/hypr` | `~/.config/hypr` | [prdlk/hypr](https://github.com/prdlk/hypr) |
| `dot_config/fish` | `~/.config/fish` | [prdlk/fish](https://github.com/prdlk/fish) |

Edit them inside the submodule in the chezmoi source, commit there, then commit the updated submodule pointer in the root repo.

## .chezmoiignore.tmpl [#chezmoiignore]

Patterns match target paths (relative to `$HOME`). Matching entries are neither written nor removed. The file is a template, so the desktop block appears only on machines where it applies. Source entries that start with `.` (`.github/`, `.claude/`, `.crush/`, `.gitignore`) are ignored by chezmoi without needing a rule.

### Repo docs

```txt
MIGRATION-NOTES.md
README.md
CLAUDE.md
AGENTS.md
docs
.blume
node_modules
blume.config.ts
package.json
bun.lock
public
dist
```

Files at the source root that would otherwise land in `$HOME` as `~/README.md`, `~/docs`, `~/package.json`, and so on. This covers the repo README and agent instruction files, plus this Blume docs site and its build output.

### Runtime and plugin state inside managed trees

| Pattern | Why |
| --- | --- |
| `.config/lazygit/.omc/**` | Tool state written inside the lazygit config dir |
| `.config/tmux/plugins/**`, except `!.config/tmux/plugins/tpm` | Plugins tpm installs with `prefix I`; tpm itself is the external above |
| `.config/fish/fish_variables` | fish universal variables, rewritten by fish at runtime |
| `.config/fish/conf.d/secrets.fish` | Plaintext credentials. Local-only, never in git (the fish repo's `.gitignore` also lists it) |
| `.config/nvim/lazy-lock.json` | lazy.nvim lockfile inside the nvim external |
| `.config/nvim/.git`, `.config/nvim/.git/**` | The external's git metadata |
| `.config/nvim/.omc/**`, `.config/nvim/.crush/**`, `.config/nvim/.understand-anything/**` | Agent tool state inside the nvim checkout |

`.gitignore` covers the source side of the same problem: `dot_config/lazygit/dot_omc` and `__pycache__/` never get committed even though symlink mode lets tools write into the source tree.

### mise

```txt
.config/mise
.config/mise/**
```

mise tool versions stay local to each machine and are not managed.

### Linux desktop layer (role-gated)

```txt .chezmoiignore.tmpl
{{ if or (ne .chezmoi.os "linux") (and (ne .role "desktop") (ne .role "laptop")) }}
.config/niri
.config/niri/**
.config/hypr
.config/hypr/**
.config/noctalia
.config/noctalia/**
.config/niri-dynamic-workspaces
.config/niri-dynamic-workspaces/**
.config/fontconfig
.config/fontconfig/**
.config/mimeapps.list
.config/systemd
.config/systemd/**
.local/bin/kitty-day-save
.local/bin/niri-launch
.config/fish/auto-Niri.fish
.local/bin/cp-appid
{{ end }}
```

The block is emitted, and these paths skipped, unless the OS is `linux` and the role is `desktop` or `laptop`. `mac` and `server` machines, and any non-Linux machine regardless of role, never receive the niri and Hyprland configs (`dot_config/niri/`, `dot_config/hypr/`), fontconfig (`dot_config/fontconfig/fonts.conf`), default-app associations (`dot_config/mimeapps.list`), the fish auto-start hook (`dot_config/fish/auto-Niri.fish`), the systemd user units (`dot_config/systemd/user/kitty-day-save.service`), or the `niri-launch`, `cp-appid` and `kitty-day-save` scripts. The `noctalia` and `niri-dynamic-workspaces` rules match nothing in the current source tree; they only take effect if those configs are added later.

| Machine | Desktop layer |
| --- | --- |
| Linux, `desktop` or `laptop` | Applied |
| Linux, `server` or `mac` | Ignored |
| macOS or other OS, any role | Ignored |

See [Desktop](/desktop/niri) for what the layer contains. Gaps in the gate: the block lists `niri-launch` but not its siblings (`niri-launch-ai`, `niri-launch-browser`, `niri-launch-terminal`, `niri-launch-webapp`), and the waybar config (`dot_config/waybar/`) is not gated at all, so it applies on every role. `dot_config/niri/scripts/` is covered by `.config/niri/**`.

### Secrets in runtime state

```txt
.config/noctalia/plugins
.config/noctalia/plugins/**
```

noctalia writes plugin state containing embedded tokens here. These paths are ignored on every machine so tokens are never pulled into the repo.

### Python byte-cache

```txt
.config/kitty/__pycache__
.config/kitty/__pycache__/**
```

kitty imports `tab_bar.py` and the other Python helpers in `~/.config/kitty`, and Python writes `__pycache__` next to them. In symlink mode that directory would otherwise appear in the source tree.