Dotfiles and machine configuration

Everything¹ is under version control in GitHub and have done so to be able to install other machines in a reproducible way.

The software I need is typically installed via Homebrew, so it is quite MacOS oriented. Installing from Apple Store could benefit from mas but I haven't tried yet.

I store the instructions to do set my machines up in various files/scripts similarly to what Mathias Bynens did.

Dotfiles' Repo Setup

I use the detached work tree approach whereby I keep my GIT repo away from my HOME directory.

ignoring, the global setup

The following is expecially needed for a dotfiles repo

• setup what to ignore:

  $ cd $HOME
  $ cat <<EOF
  # specific ignores
  .DS_Store
  *.pyc
  node_modules
  # do not ignore:
  !bin/
  EOF > $HOME/.gitignore_global

• and add it to the global git config in $HOME

  $ git config --global core.excludesfile $HOME/.gitignore_global

Initial Setup: put your dotfiles under git

I got inspired by this post (no more reacheable) and this is how I did it:

• create your git repo

  $ cd $HOME
  $ mkdir -p $HOME/.dotfiles

• make an alias, home, to manage this special repo

  $ echo "alias home='git --git-dir=$HOME/.dotfiles/ --work-tree=$HOME'" >> $HOME/.zshrc
  $ source $HOME/.zshrc

• init the repo and start adding dotfiles

  $ home init
  $ home add $HOME/.bash_profile $HOME/.bashrc $HOME/.bash_aliases
  $ home commit -m 'Initial commit'
  $ home remote add origin git@github.com:espinielli/.dotfiles
  $ home push origin master

set it up on a second/third/... machine

Now to use (and contribute) from a different machine

• backup your existing dot files
• clone the repo

  $ cd $HOME
  $ git clone https://github.com/espinielli/dotfiles.git /tmp/dotfiles.git

• move git repo configuration info in $HOME/.dotfiles/

  $ mv /tmp/dotfiles.git/.git $HOME/.dotfiles/

• enable dotglob and copy the dot files to $HOME

  $ setopt -s dotglob # in bash
  $ setopt globdots # in zsh
  $ mv -i /tmp/dotfiles.git/* $HOME

Finally properly configure what to ignore, see the 'ignoring' section above.

Use home ls-files to list the version controlled dotfiles.

Install applications

Execute

$HOME/.github/brew.sh

Shell configuration

See .zsh-config.

References

1. Detached work tree approach.
2. I got inspired from this, this and this as well.

Footnotes

1. well almost, I am not yet decided on how to manage secrets...separate private repo? Then what about framework data/privacy leaks? What about personal mistakes? ↩