.dotfiles

Setup & Installation

Automated installation system for dotfiles across macOS and Linux.

Quick Start

# Full installation (15-30 min)
./src/setup/install.sh

# Core tools only (5-10 min)
./src/setup/install.sh --core

# Symlinks only (30 sec)
./src/setup/symlinks.sh

Installation Modes

Mode	Command	Description	Use Case
Full	./install.sh	Complete environment	New machines
Core	./install.sh --core	Essential tools	Minimal setups
Symlinks	./install.sh --symlinks	Links only	Config updates

Scripts

install.sh

Main installation script with platform detection.

Options:

• --core - Essential packages only
• --symlinks - Create symlinks only
• --skip-brew - Skip Homebrew (work machines)
• --force-brew - Force Homebrew install
• --verbose - Detailed output

Platforms:

• macOS (Intel & Apple Silicon)
• Ubuntu/Debian (apt)
• Fedora/RHEL (dnf/yum)
• Arch Linux (pacman)

symlinks.sh

Creates dotfile symlinks with automatic backups.

Key Mappings:

src/zsh/zshrc → ~/.zshrc
src/git/gitconfig → ~/.gitconfig
src/neovim → ~/.config/nvim
src/kitty → ~/.config/kitty
src/language/*.toml → ~/.*

Packages Installed

Core Tools

• Git, curl, wget, tree, jq
• ripgrep, fd, fzf, eza
• tmux, tmuxinator
• Neovim
• Starship prompt

Development

• Node.js, Python 3, Rust, Go
• Docker, kubectl
• GitHub CLI
• Language servers via Mason
• LaTeX tools (latexindent with Perl dependencies)

macOS Specific

• Homebrew package manager
• Alacritty, WezTerm, Kitty
• Rectangle window manager
• JetBrains Mono Nerd Font

Work Machine Detection

Automatically detects work environments and adjusts:

• Skips Homebrew if on managed systems
• Loads work-specific configs from .dotfiles.private
• Preserves existing tool installations

Safety Features

• Automatic backups to ~/.dotfiles-backup/
• Dry run mode with --dry-run
• Rollback support on failure
• Non-destructive symlink creation
• Comprehensive logging

Troubleshooting

Homebrew fails on macOS: Ensure Xcode Command Line Tools installed:

xcode-select --install

Permission errors: Don’t use sudo, script handles permissions

Work machine issues: Use --skip-brew flag

Symlink conflicts: Check ~/.dotfiles-backup/ for originals

Lessons Learned

• Never use sudo for dotfiles installation
• Always backup before symlinking
• Work detection via hostname prevents package conflicts
• Platform-specific package lists prevent errors
• Atomic operations prevent partial installations

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