Dotter Alternatives

Dotter is described as 'A dotfile manager and templater written in Rust' and is an app. There are nine alternatives to Dotter for a variety of platforms, including Mac, Linux, Windows, BSD and Flathub apps. The best Dotter alternative is chezmoi, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Dotter are Anvil for macOS, yadm, filetailor and Mackup.

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Dotter alternatives page was last updated Sep 11, 2025

chezmoi
9 likes
Dotfiles manager through a version control system.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (MIT)
Platforms
Windows
Linux
BSD
FreeBSD
OpenBSD
Mac
Is chezmoi a good alternative to Dotter?
chezmoi is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Dotter.
chezmoi is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Dotter.
chezmoi is Free and Open SourceDotter is also Free and Open Source
Anvil for macOS
1 like
End manual app setup on macOS. Batch install development tools, sync configurations via GitHub, and troubleshoot issues —no virtualization, just smart automation.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (Apache-2.0)
Origin
Canada
Platforms
Mac
Is Anvil for macOS a good alternative to Dotter?
yadm
4 likes
When you live in a command line, configurations are a deeply personal thing. They are often crafted over years of experience, battles lost, lessons learned, advice followed, and ingenuity rewarded. When you are away from your own configurations, you are an orphaned refugee in...
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-3.0)
Origin
United Kingdom
Platforms
Mac
Linux
Git
Is yadm a good alternative to Dotter?
filetailor
2 likes
filetailor is a peer-based configuration management utility for plain-text files (and directories) such as dotfiles. Files are backed up to a specified folder using filetailor, transferred to another device using tools such as Nextcloud or Syncthing, and then restored on other...
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-3.0)
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Is filetailor a good alternative to Dotter?
Mackup
3 likes
Keep your application settings in sync (OS X/Linux).
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Platforms
Mac
Is Mackup a good alternative to Dotter?
Workbench
2 likes
Workbench is an effective way to continuously and securely back up your “dotfiles” so they can be easily restored when you clean install macOS and sign back into your iCloud account.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Origin
United Kingdom
Platforms
Mac
Is Workbench a good alternative to Dotter?
Dotfiles Installer
Like
Take control of your dotfiles configurations with Dotfiles Installer, designed to make dotfile management seamless. You can install dotfiles easily, quickly, and securely with an intuitive installation wizard that guides you through every step.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-3.0)
Origin
Germany
EU
Platforms
Linux
Flathub
Flatpak
Is Dotfiles Installer a good alternative to Dotter?
Barrel App
Like
Your macOS development environment, perfectly preserved. Never lose your setup again.
Cost / License
Pay once
Proprietary
Platforms
Mac
Is Barrel App a good alternative to Dotter?
Barrel App is the most popular commercial alternative to Dotter.
Barrel App is Paid and ProprietaryDotter is Free and Open Source
lnk
Like
Lnk makes managing your dotfiles straightforward, no tedious setups, no complex configurations. Just tell Lnk what files you want tracked, and it’ll automatically move them into a tidy Git repository under ~/.config/lnk.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (MIT)
Origin
Latvia
EU
Platforms
Mac
Linux
Is lnk a good alternative to Dotter?