chezmoi/Script/run_once_

• run_once_ scripts in chezmoi

  • A script prefixed run_once_ executes once per unique rendered-content version. chezmoi stores the SHA256 hash of each run in its state database; a script with previously-seen content is silently skipped, even if the filename changes.

  • State management

    • To force a re-run, clear the recorded state: chezmoi state delete-bucket --bucket=scriptState
    • For chezmoi/Template scripts, the content is hashed after template execution, so changing template data (e.g. .chezmoidata) that alters the rendered output counts as new content and triggers a re-run.

  • Timing variants

    • run_once_before_ — runs before chezmoi updates target files; common for bootstrapping (e.g. installing a password manager before reading secrets)
    • run_once_after_ — runs after chezmoi updates target files

  • Trade-off vs run_onchange_

    • run_once_ is appropriate for one-time setup where re-running on every content change is undesirable.
    • If you want automatic re-execution whenever a plugin list or config file changes, use chezmoi/Script/run_onchange_ instead.
  • See chezmoi/Script for full naming conventions and the .chezmoiscripts/ directory.