curator - A Home-Manager Like Tool for Fedora

A lightweight Python CLI (managed with uv) for Fedora that provides COPR repository management, dotfile management and package installation functionality through a centralized TOML configuration.

Overview

curator is a Python CLI that helps you manage your Fedora system configuration by:

• Managing COPR repositories (enable/disable automatically)
• Installing and managing system packages via dnf
• Managing dotfiles through symlinks to actual files
• Centralized configuration via a single inventory.toml file
• User-level configuration similar to home-manager/nixos
• Automatic backup of existing files before replacement

Installation

1. Clone or download this repository.
2. Install dependencies with uv (none beyond the standard library, but this sets up the venv):

   uv sync
   

3. Run with uv:

   uv run curator --help
   

4. Or use the local shim directly:

   ./curator --help
   

5. Optionally install globally via uv:

   uv tool install .
   

Quick Start

# Initialize the configuration structure
uv run curator init

# Edit the configuration file to add packages and dotfiles
nano ~/.config/curator/inventory.toml

# Apply configuration
uv run curator switch

# Check status
uv run curator status

You can swap uv run curator ... for ./curator ... if you prefer the local shim.

Commands

init

Initialize the configuration structure and create inventory.toml.

uv run curator init
# or ./curator init

Creates:

• ~/.config/curator/ - Main configuration directory
• ~/.config/curator/inventory.toml - Central configuration file

switch

Apply the current configuration (enable COPR, install packages, deploy dotfiles). Use --rollback to restore the previous inventory.toml snapshot before applying.

uv run curator switch
# or ./curator switch
# rollback to the previous inventory.toml and apply it
uv run curator switch --rollback

This command:

1. Enables all COPR repositories listed in inventory.toml
2. Disables COPR repositories that are no longer configured
3. Installs all packages listed in inventory.toml
4. Creates symlinks for all configured dotfiles
5. Creates backups of existing files before replacing them
6. Updates the last switch timestamp

status

Show current configuration status and information.

uv run curator status
# or ./curator status

Displays:

• Configuration directory paths
• Last switch timestamp
• List of configured COPR repositories, packages and dotfiles

help

Show help message with all available commands.

uv run curator help
# or ./curator help

Configuration

inventory.toml

The central configuration file located at ~/.config/curator/inventory.toml:

# curator Configuration File
# User-level configuration similar to home-manager/nixos

[curator]
version = "1.0"
last_switch = ""

[copr]
# copr.fedorainfracloud.org/username/repository
# copr.fedorainfracloud.org/anotheruser/anotherrepo

[dnf]
# git
# vim
# curl
# wget

[brew]
# wget
# coreutils

[flatpak]
# org.mozilla.firefox
# com.spotify.Client

[rpm-ostree]
# podman
# htop

[nix]
# nixpkgs#git   # or just "git" (curator will prefix nixpkgs#)
# nixpkgs#htop  # or just "htop"

[dotfiles]
# Dotfiles to manage with symlinks
# Format: "target_path" = "source_path"
# target_path: where the symlink should be created (relative to home directory)
# source_path: where the actual file is stored (relative to dotfiles directory)
".bashrc" = ".bashrc"
".config/vimrc" = "vimrc"
".config/alacritty/alacritty.yml" = "alacritty.yml"

[options]
# Additional options
backup = true
backup_dir = "backup"

Configuration Sections

[curator]

• version: Configuration file version
• last_switch: Timestamp of last switch operation (auto-updated)

[copr]

List of COPR repositories to enable via dnf copr enable. One repository per line—presence means enable, absence means don't enable.

Examples:

[copr]
copr.fedorainfracloud.org/username/repository
copr.fedorainfracloud.org/anotheruser/anotherrepo

To remove a COPR repository, simply delete the line containing the repository name. curator will automatically disable it during the next switch.

[dnf]

List of packages to install via dnf. One package per line—presence means install, absence means don't install.

Examples:

[dnf]
git
vim
curl
wget
nodejs
npm

To remove a package, simply delete the line containing the package name.

[brew]

List of packages to install via Homebrew. One package per line—presence means install.

[flatpak]

List of Flatpak refs to install. One ref per line—presence means install.

[dotfiles]

Dotfile mappings using symlinks:

• Key: Target path where symlink should be created (relative to home directory)
• Value: Source path where actual file is stored (relative to dotfiles directory)
• Note: Source path automatically prefixed with "dotfiles/" if not present

[options]

Additional configuration options:

• backup: Enable/disable backup of existing files (default: true)
• backup_dir: Directory name for backups (relative to curator directory)

File Structure

~/.config/curator/
├── inventory.toml          # Main configuration file
├── dotfiles/           # Your actual dotfiles (source files)
│   ├── .bashrc
│   ├── vimrc
│   └── alacritty.yml
└── backup/            # Backups of replaced files
    ├── .bashrc.20231121_143022.bak
    └── vimrc.20231121_143022.bak

How It Works

COPR Repository Management

COPR repositories are managed through the [copr] section in inventory.toml:

• Add COPR repo: Add the repository name on its own line
• Remove COPR repo: Remove the entry
• Automatic cleanup: curator automatically disables COPR repos that are removed from configuration
• No flags needed: Just presence/absence of the repository name matters
• curator stores the previous configuration at ~/.config/curator/inventory.toml.prev and compares it to the current file during switch; newly added repos are enabled, removed repos are disabled.

Package Management

Packages are managed through the [dnf] section in inventory.toml:

• Add package: Add the package name on its own line
• Remove package: Remove the entry
• No flags needed: Just presence/absence of the package name matters
• The previous configuration snapshot (inventory.toml.prev) is used to detect additions/removals on each switch; added packages are installed and removed packages are uninstalled.

Brew Management

Homebrew packages are managed through the [brew] section:

• Add package: Add the package name on its own line
• Remove package: Remove the entry
• Additions/removals are detected against inventory.toml.prev on switch; removed packages are uninstalled.

Flatpak Management

Flatpaks are managed through the [flatpak] section:

• Add ref: Add the ref on its own line
• Remove ref: Remove the entry
• Additions/removals are detected against inventory.toml.prev on switch; removed refs are uninstalled.

rpm-ostree Management

rpm-ostree packages are managed through the [rpm-ostree] section:

• Add package: Add the package name on its own line
• Remove package: Remove the entry
• Additions/removals are detected against inventory.toml.prev on switch; removed packages are uninstalled.

Nix Management

Nix packages are managed through the [nix] section (if nix is available on the system):

• Add package: Add the package name (e.g., nixpkgs#git or just git) on its own line
• Remove package: Remove the entry
• Additions/removals are detected against inventory.toml.prev on switch; installs/removals use nix profile and will prefix nixpkgs# if missing.

Dotfile Management

curator uses symlinks to manage dotfiles:

1. Your actual dotfiles are stored in ~/.config/curator/dotfiles/
2. Symlinks are created from your home directory to these files using relative paths
3. This allows you to version control your dotfiles in one place
4. Changes to the source files are immediately reflected in your home directory
5. Source paths are automatically prefixed with "dotfiles/" for convenience

Backup System

Before creating symlinks, curator:

1. Checks if the target file exists and is not a symlink
2. Creates a timestamped backup in the backup directory
3. Removes the original file
4. Creates the symlink to your managed dotfile

inventory.toml is also backed up before the last switch timestamp is updated.

The previously applied configuration is stored separately as ~/.config/curator/inventory.toml.prev to compute diffs for COPR and package changes.

Examples

Basic Setup

# Initialize curator
uv run curator init

# Edit inventory.toml to add COPR repos and packages
nano ~/.config/curator/inventory.toml

# Add to the sections:
# [copr]
# copr.fedorainfracloud.org/username/cool-repo
# [dnf]
# git
# vim
# curl
# [brew]
# wget
# [flatpak]
# org.mozilla.firefox
# [rpm-ostree]
# podman
# [nix]
# nixpkgs#git (or just "git")

# Create your dotfiles directory and add files
mkdir -p ~/.config/curator/dotfiles
echo "export EDITOR=vim" > ~/.config/curator/dotfiles/.bashrc

# Add to [dotfiles] section:
".bashrc" = ".bashrc"

# Apply configuration
uv run curator switch

Managing Application Configurations

# Add alacritty configuration
mkdir -p ~/.config/curator/dotfiles
cp ~/.config/alacritty/alacritty.yml ~/.config/curator/dotfiles/

# Edit inventory.toml
nano ~/.config/curator/inventory.toml

# Add to [dotfiles] section:
".config/alacritty/alacritty.yml" = "alacritty.yml"

# Apply changes
uv run curator switch

COPR Repository Management Examples

[copr]
# Development tools COPR
copr.fedorainfracloud.org/development/tools
copr.fedorainfracloud.org/user/neovim-nightly
# To remove a COPR repo, just delete the entry
# curator will automatically disable it during the next switch

Package Management Examples

[dnf]
# Development tools
git
vim
nodejs
npm

# System utilities
curl
wget
tree
htop
# To remove a package, just delete the entry

[brew]
# Utilities and tools
wget
coreutils

[flatpak]
org.mozilla.firefox
com.spotify.Client

[rpm-ostree]
podman
htop

Version Control Your Configuration

# Initialize git repository in curator directory
cd ~/.config/curator
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial configuration"

# Now you can version control your entire system configuration
git add inventory.toml dotfiles/
git commit -m "Updated vim configuration"

Environment Variables

• CURATOR_DIR: Override the default configuration directory (default: ~/.config/curator)

Dependencies

• Python 3.11+
• uv for environment and script management
• dnf - Fedora package manager
• dnf-plugins-core - For COPR repository management

Migration from Previous Version

If you were using the old version of curator with git = true or bare keys under [packages]/[copr]:

1. Your existing configuration will not be automatically migrated, but the CLI will still read the legacy format.
2. Run uv run curator init (or ./curator init) to create the new inventory.toml structure.
3. Convert to section-per-line format:

   # Old formats
   [dnf]
   git = true
   vim = true
   # or
   [dnf]
   git
   vim
   
   # New format
   [dnf]
   git
   vim
   [copr]
   copr.fedorainfracloud.org/username/repository
   

4. Move your existing dotfiles from the old directory to ~/.config/curator/dotfiles/

License

This project is open source. Feel free to contribute or report issues.