Added "already" to title.

Would a --preserve-attributes flag be acceptable, since this is for use in a batch tool? That is chezmoi add --preserve-attributes /fd/myfile.cfg? It would be a no-op on adding new files, but when add acts like an individual-file re-add, it would automatically reuse the existing attributes.

I might've confused you a bit, apologies: by a batch tool I meant the re-add command itself in that it adds all the files as a single batch :) Otherwise this was me directly typing chezmoi add

A config would be preferable since then I wouldn't have to worry whether I'm calling an alias or chezmoi directly or doing something in a different shell (rare, but still)
But a flag would also work, I'll add it to my ch a alias

chezmoi add has the very specific task of making the entry in the source directory match the entry in the destination directory, overwriting the entry in the source directory if needed.

chezmoi re-add is a more appropriate fit here, as it preserves the encrypted_ attribute.

#3146 extends chezmoi re-add to accept an optional list of targets, which should solve the problem here.

Thank you, I liked the simplicity of a single command as I didn't find the add/re-add distinction useful (except for mass add which could potentially be done with a add -all), but think that switching to using re-add by default should be fine