To automatically synchronize dotfiles across my computers, I’ve written the following systemd unit:

[Unit]
Description=Update chezmoi managed dotfiles
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/usr/bin/chezmoi update --no-tty --force
RemainAfterExit=false

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

This unit pulls changes from upstream first and then applies the changes to the current computer after I’m logged in and a network connection is available. The --no-tty flag is required because there is no tty when systemd executes chezmoi. Likewise, the --force flag ensures that no interactive prompt will be displayed which we cannot answer since systemd is executing this unit without us being involved.