---
title: Troubleshooting personalization options for GitHub Codespaces
allowTitleToDifferFromFilename: true
intro: Troubleshooting steps for common issues with dotfiles and Settings Sync.
versions:
  fpt: '*'
  ghec: '*'
type: reference
topics:
  - Codespaces
shortTitle: Personalization
redirect_from:
  - /codespaces/troubleshooting/troubleshooting-dotfiles-for-codespaces
---

You can personalize {% data variables.product.prodname_github_codespaces %} by using a `dotfiles` repository on {% data variables.product.github %} or by using Settings Sync. For more information, see [AUTOTITLE](/codespaces/setting-your-user-preferences/personalizing-github-codespaces-for-your-account).

## Troubleshooting dotfiles

If your codespace fails to pick up configuration settings from dotfiles, you should work through the following debugging steps.

1. Enable dotfiles by selecting **Automatically install dotfiles** in [your personal {% data variables.product.prodname_github_codespaces %} settings](https://github.com/settings/codespaces).

   ![Screenshot of the "Dotfiles" section of the codespace settings, with the "Automatically install dotfiles" option cleared.](/assets/images/help/codespaces/install-custom-dotfiles.png)

1. Check `/workspaces/.codespaces/.persistedshare/dotfiles` to see if your dotfiles were cloned.
   * If your dotfiles were cloned, try manually re-running your install script to verify that it is executable.
   * If your dotfiles were not cloned, check `/workspaces/.codespaces/.persistedshare/EnvironmentLog.txt` to see if there was a problem cloning them.
1. Check `/workspaces/.codespaces/.persistedshare/creation.log` for possible issues. For more information, see [Creation logs](/codespaces/troubleshooting/github-codespaces-logs#creation-logs).

If the configuration from your dotfiles is correctly picked up, but part of the configuration is incompatible with codespaces, use the `$CODESPACES` environment variable to add conditional logic for codespace-specific configuration settings. For more information about configuration that may be incompatible with codespaces, see:
* [AUTOTITLE](/codespaces/troubleshooting/troubleshooting-authentication-to-a-repository#problems-with-the-repository-from-which-you-created-the-codespace)
* [AUTOTITLE](/codespaces/troubleshooting/troubleshooting-gpg-verification-for-github-codespaces#errors-caused-by-conflicting-configuration)

## Troubleshooting Settings Sync

{% data reusables.codespaces.disabling-settings-sync %}