dotfiles

Collection of various configuration files used by Adam Whitlock.

Installation

1. Clone the dotfiles repository

   git clone https://github.com/alloydwhitlock/dotfiles.git ~/.config/dotfiles
   

2. Install GNU Stow

   On Mac OS X, using Homebrew to install GNU Stow is probably the easiest option

   brew install stow
   

3. Run stow commands to create symlinks for each of the folders containing dotfiles

GNU Stow Example

$ cd ~/.config/dotfiles
$ stow -t ~ -vv tmux
LINK: .tmux.conf => .config/dotfiles/tmux/.tmux.conf

Stowing Everything

cd ~/.config/dotfiles
stow -t ~ bash git tmux vim zsh alacritty ssh vscode

Or just stow everything at once:

stow -t ~ */

Repository Structure

Each directory is a "stow package" containing related dotfiles:

~/.config/dotfiles/
├── alacritty/     # Terminal emulator config
├── bash/          # Bash shell (.bashrc, .bash_profile)
├── git/           # Git configuration
├── ssh/           # SSH keys and config
├── tmux/          # Tmux configuration
├── vim/           # Vim configuration
├── vscode/        # VSCodium/VS Code settings
└── zsh/           # Zsh shell configuration

Usage

Adding New Dotfiles

1. Create a directory for the program
2. Move your dotfile into it (preserving path from $HOME)
3. Stow it

Example:

mkdir -p ~/.config/dotfiles/newprogram
mv ~/.newprogramrc ~/.config/dotfiles/newprogram/.newprogramrc
cd ~/.config/dotfiles
stow -t ~ newprogram

Removing Stowed Configurations

cd ~/.config/dotfiles
stow -t ~ -D vim  # Unstow vim

Updating Configurations

Just edit the files directly—they're symlinked:

vim ~/.vimrc  # Edits ~/.config/dotfiles/vim/.vimrc

Machine-Specific Settings

For settings that shouldn't be in version control:

• Bash: Create ~/.bashrc_local
• Zsh: Create ~/.zshrc_local

These files are automatically sourced if they exist.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch: git checkout -b my-new-feature
3. Commit your changes: git commit -am 'Add some feature'
4. Push to the branch: git push origin my-new-feature
5. Submit a pull request

History

• 2025.11.16 - Migrated back to GNU Stow from home-manager
• 2024.11.29 - Massive rewrite, removed all original configuration files, pushed into using Home Manager (Nix)
• 2021.01.18 - Added .bashrc options for modernizing (Pop!_OS compatability), .vimrc cleanup. Removed unused Molokai theme, added Alacritty config
• 2018.04.22 - Removed Vundle plugin support from dotfiles, added show/hide status for .tmux.conf, notes for using GNU Stow (thanks to Kyle Reid for the inspiration)
• 2017.03.28 - Fixed .tmux.conf to support newer tmux directives for mouse & UDF
• 2017.03.27 - Added Vundle plugin support, .vimrc improvements for Python development
• 2016.11.04 - Added history options, .bash_profile, .gitconfig
• 2016.09.08 - Modified Bash prompt to include relative directory path
• 2016.08.10 - Added Molokai theme for Vim
• 2016.07.17 - Creation and initial commit of basic dotfiles

License

GNU General Public License v3 (GPLv3)