Temporary Install

Installs everything into a single throwaway temp dir (${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/dotfiles-tmp) and drops you straight into a configured tmux. Nothing outside the temp dir is touched, and re-running detects the existing install instead of redoing it. Works on Linux and macOS, with zsh or bash.

source <(curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Michael-R-Dickinson/dotfiles/refs/heads/main/temporary_install.sh)

To make the install (and your tmux sessions) survive a temp-dir cleanup, point it at a persistent save dir with DOTFILES_SAVE_DIR. Both the install and the tmux-resurrect state live under it, so re-running restores your sessions.

DOTFILES_SAVE_DIR=~/.dotfiles-save source <(curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Michael-R-Dickinson/dotfiles/refs/heads/main/temporary_install.sh)

Inside tmux, install the tmux plugins with prefix + I (prefix is C-a).

Claude Code is isolated too: CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR points at the temp dir, so the repo's claude/CLAUDE.md and claude/skills/ are used and nothing under ~/.claude is touched. This is a fresh config, so Claude will need a login.

Set DOTFILES_NO_TMUX=1 to skip the auto-launch (just set up the shell), or DOTFILES_SRC=/path/to/repo to install from a local checkout instead of GitHub.

Permanant Install

sh -c "$(curl -fsLS https://get.chezmoi.io)" -- init --apply $GITHUB_USERNAME