anvil

Anvil is a command‑line tool that streamlines the setup of development environments on macOS. It can install individual applications or predefined groups of tools through Homebrew, and it synchronizes dotfiles and other configuration files across machines by pushing to and pulling from private GitHub repositories. The utility also includes a health‑checking command that diagnoses common setup problems and can automatically resolve them.

The tool is aimed at developers who need to maintain consistent toolchains and configurations on multiple workstations or fresh installations. By using a single command to initialize the environment, import shared group definitions, and sync settings, users can reduce manual setup time and avoid configuration drift.

Anvil distinguishes itself with features such as dry‑run mode, automatic backup of configurations, conflict detection when importing groups, and built‑in tracking that prevents duplicate installations. It operates out of the box with sensible defaults and requires only Go 1.17+ for building, while distribution is handled via a Homebrew tap or a simple install script.