Getting Started

Install Rootbeer

sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://rootbeer.tale.me/rb.sh)"

This installs rb to ~/.rootbeer/bin. Follow the installer's instructions to add it to your shell's PATH.

Create your configuration

rb init
rb edit

Your configuration lives in ~/.config/rootbeer/. Edit init.lua to choose your tools and settings. For example, this installs ripgrep and sets up Zsh:

local rb = require("rootbeer")
local zsh = require("rootbeer.zsh")

rb.package("ripgrep")

zsh.config({
    sources = { rb.env_export("sh") },
    aliases = { g = "git" },
    history = { size = 10000 },
})

Find more packages or use modules to configure Git, SSH, and other tools. You can split your Lua config into files with require() as it grows.

rb init also enables autocomplete and type checking in editors configured with Lua Language Server.

Apply your configuration

Preview the changes, then apply them:

rb apply --dry-run
rb apply

Open a new terminal to load your shell settings. Run rg --version to check that ripgrep is available.

Keep your configuration in Git, including the generated rootbeer.lock file. It saves package versions so subsequent installs use the same ones. See the package guide for version selection and other shells.

Use an existing configuration

Pass a GitHub repository, Git URL, or local path to rb init:

rb init tale/dotfiles
rb init https://tangled.org/tale.me/dotfiles.git
rb init /path/to/local/repo

For a private GitHub repository, use rb init --ssh tale/dotfiles if your SSH keys are already set up. You can also clone over HTTPS and run rb remote ssh later, after setting up your keys.

Run rb cd to open a shell in your configuration directory, or rb edit to open it in your editor.

Update

rb update          # Update Rootbeer
rb apply --update  # Update your packages

Next steps

• Packages: install tools and choose versions.
• Modules: configure your shell, Git, SSH, and more.
• Profiles: use different settings on different machines.
• API reference: write files, create symlinks, and run commands.