Profiles: ripeat.yaml

A profile is the list of tools you want. It says what, never how (that is the recipe's job, see Recipes).

version: 1
tools:
  - git
  - node@20
  - typescript

• version must be 1.
• Each entry is name or name@version. Without a version ripeat installs the latest. A pinned version is only installed if the tool is not already on the machine: an existing tool is never changed, and ripeat warns when the version it has is not the one you asked for (Risk and assess).
• Unknown keys are errors, so a typo such as tool: fails loudly instead of being ignored.
• An empty list is an error.

Which file is used

You run	ripeat uses
ripeat install	./ripeat.yaml, if it exists
ripeat install --file other.yaml	that file
ripeat install git	only git; ./ripeat.yaml is not read
ripeat install --file p.yaml git	the file's tools plus git

ripeat validate (Checking your files) also checks that every tool has a recipe.

If there are no tool names and no profile, install stops with an explanation.

Saved profiles: run a plan by name

A profile you keep using can be saved under a name, so you never have to pass a path.

ripeat profile create web git node ripgrep   # a new profile: opens your editor with these tools listed
ripeat profile edit web                       # change a saved profile in your editor
ripeat profile save web ripeat.yaml    # keep ./ripeat.yaml as "web" (the file defaults to ./ripeat.yaml)
ripeat profile list                    # the saved profiles and their tools
ripeat profile show web                # print one
ripeat profile remove web              # delete one
ripeat profile export web web.yaml     # write it to a file to share (without a file it prints it)
ripeat profile import web.yaml         # save a shared file as a profile (a file or an https:// address)

ripeat profile create web git node --no-edit  # save the listed tools straight away, no editor

ripeat install --profile web                      # run it
ripeat install --profile web --profile data       # run several together
ripeat plan --profile web                         # preview, as usual
ripeat assess --profile web                       # rate its risk ([Risk and `assess`](./assess))

• Writing one in your editor. ripeat profile create <name> [tool ...] opens a new profile in your editor ($VISUAL, then $EDITOR, then vi, or notepad on Windows; a value such as code --wait works, a path containing a space does not). The tools you list are already in it, with a short comment on the format; leave the editor to save. ripeat profile edit <name> opens a saved one. When you close the editor ripeat checks the text exactly as profile save does (a typo such as tool: is an error, not silently ignored). If it is not valid it shows the error and asks whether to open the editor again; if you say no, nothing is saved and your text stays in the temporary file it names. An edit that changes nothing saves nothing. create refuses a name that already exists and edit one that does not, and each says which command to use. Both need a terminal; without one, create <name> tool ... --no-edit saves the listed tools directly.
• Finding your next step: ripeat profile list shows saved profiles and their tools. After saving one, ripeat suggests assessing it before installation. ripeat profile show and export without a file still print the original YAML.
• Where: $RIPEAT_HOME/profiles/<name>.yaml, in exactly the format above, so you can also edit them by hand.
• Names: lower-case letters, digits, . _ -, up to 64 characters; never a path.
• Saving checks the file (the same rules as above) and refuses to replace an existing profile unless you add --force. It notes any tool that has no recipe yet, but still saves.
• Combining: --profile can be repeated and mixed with --file and tool names. A tool asked for twice is installed once. If two ask for different versions (node@20 and node@18) ripeat stops and says so; a pinned version wins over "latest".
• A profile only names tools, so it works on any system; each machine uses its own recipes.
• ripeat validate also checks every saved profile (Checking your files).

Sharing a profile

ripeat profile export web web.yaml                                   # you: write it out
ripeat profile import web.yaml                                       # a colleague: from the file
ripeat profile import https://example.com/team/backend.yaml          # or from an address
ripeat profile import https://example.com/ripeat.yaml backend        # a generic file name needs a name

• Need to share recipes too? Use a bundle.
• A profile carries no commands. It names tools and versions, nothing else, so importing one runs nothing and installs nothing. What it would do on your machine is decided by your own recipes, the plan, the risk rating and the confirmation question, exactly as for a profile you wrote yourself. Still run ripeat assess --profile <name> before installing a profile from someone else.
• The name comes from the file name (web.yaml becomes web); ripeat.yaml says nothing, so give a name. An existing profile is replaced only with --force, and an export refuses to overwrite a file without --force.
• Addresses must be https://. Plain http:// is refused, and so is a redirect to it. The download times out after 20 seconds and a file over 64 KB is refused.
• Checked on the way in: the file must be a valid profile (the rules above). After saving, ripeat lists the tools and marks those with no recipe on this machine; the profile can still be saved, but cannot run until ripeat add <name> provides one.
• Recipes are not shared. A recipe you added yourself stays on your machine, because a recipe can hold commands and should only come from someone you chose to trust. A teammate creates the same tool with ripeat add and reviews it themselves.