Cross-OS Configuration

Pact is designed to work seamlessly across macOS, Linux, and Windows.

OS Detection

Pact automatically detects your operating system:

OS	Key	Detection
macOS	`darwin`	`runtime.GOOS == "darwin"`
Linux	`linux`	`runtime.GOOS == "linux"`
Windows	`windows`	`runtime.GOOS == "windows"`

OS-Specific Entries

Define different configurations per OS:

{
  "shell": {
    "darwin": {
      "source": "./shell/darwin.zshrc",
      "target": "~/.zshrc"
    },
    "linux": {
      "source": "./shell/linux.zshrc",
      "target": "~/.zshrc"
    },
    "windows": {
      "source": "./shell/windows.ps1",
      "target": "~/Documents/PowerShell/profile.ps1"
    }
  }
}

When you run pact sync shell:

On macOS: Only darwin entry is applied
On Linux: Only linux entry is applied
On Windows: Only windows entry is applied

OS-Specific Targets

Same source, different target paths:

{
  "editor": {
    "neovim": {
      "source": "./editor/nvim/",
      "target": {
        "darwin": "~/.config/nvim",
        "linux": "~/.config/nvim",
        "windows": "~/AppData/Local/nvim"
      }
    }
  }
}

Common Target Paths

Shell Configuration

OS	Shell	Config Path
macOS	zsh	`~/.zshrc`
Linux	zsh	`~/.zshrc`
Linux	bash	`~/.bashrc`
Windows	PowerShell	`~/Documents/PowerShell/profile.ps1`

VS Code

OS	Settings Path
macOS	`~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/settings.json`
Linux	`~/.config/Code/User/settings.json`
Windows	`~/AppData/Roaming/Code/User/settings.json`

Neovim

OS	Config Path
macOS	`~/.config/nvim`
Linux	`~/.config/nvim`
Windows	`~/AppData/Local/nvim`

Git

OS	Config Path
All	`~/.gitconfig`

Shared Configurations

Some configurations work across all OSes:

{
  "git": {
    "config": {
      "source": "./git/.gitconfig",
      "target": "~/.gitconfig"
    }
  }
}

No OS-specific keys needed when the path is the same everywhere.

Partial OS Support

You don't need entries for every OS:

{
  "shell": {
    "darwin": {
      "source": "./shell/darwin.zshrc",
      "target": "~/.zshrc"
    },
    "linux": {
      "source": "./shell/linux.zshrc",
      "target": "~/.zshrc"
    }
    // No Windows entry - nothing synced on Windows
  }
}

If there's no entry for your current OS, that module is simply skipped during sync.

Strategy Per OS

Different OSes may need different strategies:

{
  "shell": {
    "darwin": {
      "source": "./shell/darwin.zshrc",
      "target": "~/.zshrc",
      "strategy": "symlink"
    },
    "windows": {
      "source": "./shell/windows.ps1",
      "target": "~/Documents/PowerShell/profile.ps1",
      "strategy": "copy"
    }
  }
}

Windows PowerShell often works better with copy due to execution policy restrictions on symlinks.

File Structure

Organize your pact repo by OS:

my-pact/
├── shell/
│   ├── darwin.zshrc
│   ├── linux.zshrc
│   ├── linux.bashrc
│   └── windows.ps1
├── editor/
│   └── nvim/           # Same config, different targets
├── terminal/
│   ├── ghostty.conf    # macOS/Linux
│   └── windows-terminal.json
└── pact.json

Shared Shell Code

Keep OS-specific parts minimal by sharing common code:

common.sh

# Shared aliases and functions
alias ll="ls -la"
alias g="git"
alias gs="git status"

# Shared functions
mkcd() {
  mkdir -p "$1" && cd "$1"
}

darwin.zshrc

# Source shared config
source ~/.pact/shell/common.sh

# macOS-specific
export HOMEBREW_PREFIX="/opt/homebrew"
eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

linux.zshrc

# Source shared config
source ~/.pact/shell/common.sh

# Linux-specific
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Testing Cross-OS

To verify your config works on all platforms:

Check syntax: Ensure JSON is valid
Check paths: Verify paths exist on target OS
Test sync: Run pact sync on each OS

# On macOS
pact sync shell
cat ~/.zshrc

# On Linux
pact sync shell
cat ~/.zshrc

# On Windows
pact sync shell
Get-Content ~/Documents/PowerShell/profile.ps1

Cross-OS Configuration

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