Manage configurations

Conclusions

Etckeeper is a useful tool for managing configuration changes to the /etc directory. In automated mode, simply install Etckeeper and get started immediately. For more control, you can write changes to the repository manually, but remember that good comments help identify changes later on; automated commits only generate generic change logs.

Etckeeper has far more functions than I have mentioned in this article. For example, you can outsource the repository to a server or GitHub or redirect to other Git repositories. If you want to delve deeper into the subject, read the Etckeeper documentation by Joey Hess [4] or the Etckeeper man page.

Keep in mind that the /etc directory is home to several privileged files that usually require root access. If you export the repository, pay attention to protecting this data.

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