Dotfiles

Personal dotfiles for cross-platform environment setup (WSL2 Ubuntu & macOS).

Managed with GNU Stow.

Structure

dotfiles/
├── install.sh              # Stow wrapper script
├── shell/                  # Shell configurations (stow package)
│   ├── .bashrc             # Bash configuration
│   ├── .zshrc              # Zsh configuration
│   └── .aliases            # Shell aliases
├── git/                    # Git configurations (stow package)
│   ├── .gitconfig          # Git config
│   └── gitconfig.local     # Machine-specific git settings (not stowed)
└── tmux/                   # Tmux configurations (stow package)
    └── .tmux.conf          # Tmux config

Each subdirectory is a Stow "package". Files inside mirror the structure of $HOME -- running stow shell creates ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, and ~/.aliases as symlinks back into this repo.

Prerequisites

• GNU Stow

  # Ubuntu/Debian
  sudo apt install stow
  
  # macOS
  brew install stow

Installation

First Time Setup

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone <repository-url> ~/git/dotfiles
   cd ~/git/dotfiles

2. Run the installation script (stows all packages):

   ./install.sh

   Or stow packages individually:

   stow --target="$HOME" shell
   stow --target="$HOME" git
   stow --target="$HOME" tmux

3. Restart your shell or source your configuration:

   source ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc

Uninstalling

Remove symlinks for all packages:

stow -D --target="$HOME" shell git tmux

Safety

• Conflict detection: Stow will refuse to overwrite existing files that are not symlinks it manages. Back up or remove conflicting files first.
• Idempotent: Safe to run multiple times.
• Non-destructive: Only creates symlinks, never deletes your files.

Maintenance

1. Edit files directly in the repository -- changes take effect immediately since they are symlinked:

   cd ~/git/dotfiles
   vim shell/.bashrc

2. Commit your changes:

   git add .
   git commit -m "Update bashrc"
   git push

3. On other machines, pull and re-stow:

   cd ~/git/dotfiles
   git pull
   ./install.sh

Adding New Dotfiles

1. Place the file in the appropriate package directory with the target name (including the leading dot):

   # Example: add a new .vimrc managed by a "vim" package
   mkdir -p vim
   cp ~/.vimrc vim/.vimrc

2. Stow the package:

   stow --target="$HOME" vim

   Or add it to the PACKAGES array in install.sh for automatic stowing.

Platform Support

• WSL2 Ubuntu
• macOS
• Linux

Excluded Files

Sensitive files are intentionally excluded:

• .ssh/ - SSH keys
• .aws/ - AWS credentials
• .env - Environment variables with secrets
• History files