dotbot alternative: Dotfiles Pro

dotbot bootstraps your dotfiles from a YAML config: it creates symlinks and runs shell commands, with a small plugin ecosystem. It's a capable installer, but it's imperative glue, it runs your setup rather than applying to a declared state. Dotfiles Pro is an idempotent Ansible run that owns the whole machine: packages, system config, repositories, and dotfiles.

dotbot vs Dotfiles Pro

• Model: dotbot runs symlink + shell directives top to bottom; Dotfiles Pro applies idempotently, so a re-run only changes what drifted.
• Machine state: dotbot's shell directive and plugins can reach packages, but as imperative steps; Dotfiles Pro installs packages and configures the system declaratively.
• Per-machine config: dotbot has no templating; Dotfiles Pro renders config from host_vars / group_vars with Jinja.
• Preview: Dotfiles Pro shows the diff before applying (--diff); dotbot just runs.

When dotbot is the better choice

• You want a tiny, fast bootstrapper and your "everything else" is a few shell lines.
• You don't need idempotence or drift repair.

When to choose Dotfiles Pro

• Your shell directives have grown into an unmanaged setup.sh.
• Packages and system state should be declared, not scripted.
• You want idempotent re-runs and per-machine config from one repository.

Migrating from dotbot

Symlink directives become dotfiles_list entries for the dotfiles role, which links them the same way; shell directives become proper role tasks (apt installs, command/copy/template). Move one piece at a time and run both until the playbook owns everything, the bootstrap-repo migration guide walks the same shape.

See the full alternatives comparison for the scored tables.