Dotfiles Management

Easily manage and sync your personal configuration files across machines using this dotfiles repository.

---

Included Dotfiles

This repository currently includes:

Most user-facing configuration files live under the home/ directory and are intended to be installed into your real $HOME as symlinks. For example the repo file home/.zshrc should be linked to ~/.zshrc on your machine.

Common files included (examples — check git ls-files for the authoritative list):

• home/bin/genmsg — Smart commit message generator for dotfiles (used by df-diff, dotpush)
• home/funcs/klogs.sh — Kubernetes pod log and container info shell functions
• home/.aliases — Shell aliases and helper functions (sourced by .zshrc/.bash_profile)
• home/.zshrc — Zsh shell configuration (with plugins, aliases, etc.)
• home/.zprofile — Zsh profile script (login-time environment variables)
• home/.bash_profile — Bash profile script (for Bash compatibility)
• home/.npmrc — npm configuration
• home/.yarnrc — Yarn configuration
• home/.gitconfig — Git configuration (user info, aliases, etc.)
• .gitignore — Repo-level ignore (not installed into $HOME)
• Brewfile — Homebrew/cask/tap/extensions list for easy setup (generated with brew bundle dump)

Note: some repo-owned helper files (like README.md, scripts, and the Brewfile) stay at the repo root and are not intended to be symlinked into your home.

Example Directory Structure

dotfiles/
├── home/
│   ├── .aliases
│   ├── .gitconfig
│   ├── .zshrc
│   ├── .zprofile
│   ├── .bash_profile
│   ├── .npmrc
│   ├── .yarnrc
│   └── .gitconfig
├── scripts/
│   └── check_dotfiles_symlinks.sh
├── bin/
│   └── genmsg
├── funcs/
│   └── klogs.sh
├── Brewfile
└── README.md

Quick Setup

Clone this repo and use the included helper to install the home/ files into your $HOME safely.

git clone https://gitlab.com/<yourusername>/dotfiles.git ~/dotfiles

# preview changes (dry-run)
bash ~/dotfiles/scripts/check_dotfiles_symlinks.sh --dry-run

# apply: creates timestamped backups of existing files and replaces them with
# symlinks pointing at files under ~/dotfiles/home
bash ~/dotfiles/scripts/check_dotfiles_symlinks.sh --apply

DF_DIR environment variable

Some helper scripts and aliases in this repo expect the DF_DIR environment variable to point to the root of your cloned dotfiles repository. Set it to wherever you cloned the repo, for example:

export DF_DIR="$HOME/dotfiles"

This variable is referenced by home/.aliases, home/.zshrc, and helper commands like dotpush and brewupdate so they can operate regardless of your current working directory.

If you prefer to manage a single file manually, point the symlink at the corresponding path under home/, for example:

ln -sf ~/dotfiles/home/.zshrc ~/.zshrc

Tip: run the --dry-run first to confirm what will change.

OS Notes

• These dotfiles are tailored for macOS, but most settings are portable to Linux.
• Some paths (e.g., Homebrew, nvm, VS Code integration) are macOS-specific. Adjust as needed for Linux.

Troubleshooting

• Existing config files: If you already have dot files, back them up before symlinking.
• Symlink issues: Use ls -l ~/.<filename> to verify the symlink points to the right file.
• Permissions: Ensure you have the correct permissions for your home directory and dotfiles.

Customization & Contributions

• Fork or clone and add your own dotfiles.
• PRs and suggestions are welcome!

Homebrew, Casks, and VS Code Extensions Management

This repository includes a Brewfile that lists all Homebrew packages, casks (macOS apps), and VS Code extensions used in this setup.
You can use this file to quickly set up a new machine or restore your environment.

To generate/update the Brewfile with your current setup

brew bundle dump --file=~/dotfiles/Brewfile --force

To install everything from the Brewfile

brew bundle --file=~/dotfiles/Brewfile

This will:

• Install all Homebrew packages (brew)
• Install all casks (cask)
• Add all taps (tap)
• Install all listed VS Code extensions (vscode)

Note:

• Make sure you have Homebrew installed: https://brew.sh
• For VS Code extensions, you need the code command available in your PATH.

Keeping Homebrew Up to Date

To update Homebrew itself (the package manager and its formulae/casks list):

brew update

To upgrade all installed packages and casks to their latest versions:

brew upgrade

You can also upgrade a specific package or cask:

brew upgrade <formula-or-cask>

Run these regularly to keep your system and Brewfile dependencies current.

For more details, see the Homebrew Bundle documentation.