chezmoi/Target/State

• What does the Term target state mean in chezmoi? card

  • My Answer

    • The target state of a chezmoi/Target is the chezmoi-computed runtime value that answers: Given the value of the target file Declared in the dotfiles repo and the chezmoi configuration, what file contents should chezmoi write to the Home/Dir? It depends on chezmoi/.toml, EnvVars, etc.

    • Example

      • For the target state of the zsh/.zshrc, is the Declared representation of dot_zshrc.tmpl, including everything configured about chezmoi, such as aspects of chezmoi/.toml such as how to handle templates, what context variables there are, the values of environment variables, etc.

    • Why it matters

      • If the target state is different than the chezmoi/Destination/State for a chezmoi/Target, then the next chezmoi/apply of that target will change the destination file to match the Declared representation of that file.

    • It's a runtime construct or computational construct

      • Target State as a term exists in chezmoi because a core assumption of how chezmoi is that people want to use Templating to manage their dotfiles.
      • The target state of chezmoi/Target isn't just the contents of a particular file in the dotfiles repo. Well, technically, it could be, if it's literally just a file without any templating. But chezmoi has a runtime state that's influenced by its configuration files, environment variables, etc, and that runtime state potentially changes the interpretation of each target file.

  • Their Answer

    • The target state is the desired state of the chezmoi/Destination/Directory. It is computed from the source state, the chezmoi/.toml config file, and the chezmoi/Destination/State. The target state includes regular files and directories, and may also include symbolic links, scripts to be run, and targets to be removed.
  • My Notes
    • This is like Math/Projection
    • Confused because I just did the flashcard for chezmoi/Source/State and it seems like it's the same thing?