I've found that a simple dot_files directory that is sync'd via a public git repository [0] works well for me. When I'm on a new machine all I need to do is clone the repository and run `ln -s ~/dot_files/bash/bashrc ~/.bashrc`. The bashrc file then takes care of everything else.

It might not work for every program out there, but it does for the small number that I use.

[0] https://github.com/andypea/dot_files