byte4cat's Dotfiles

This repository contains my personal configuration files (dotfiles) and a powerful, modular set of installation and synchronization scripts to automate the setup of a new development machine from scratch. The primary script is designed to be idempotent, meaning it can be run multiple times without causing issues.

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Features

• Modular Automation: Tasks are separated into specialized scripts (install_arch_pkgs, sync_dotfiles, sync_pkgs) and orchestrated by a single master script (install).
• Clean Symlinking: Uses stow to manage symbolic links cleanly from the stow/ directory, keeping the home directory tidy.
• Declarative Package Management: Package lists (pacman_list.txt, aur_list.txt) are managed externally in the requirements/ directory.
• Package Syncing: A dedicated script (sync_pkgs) allows you to automatically update your requirements lists from the current installed system.
• Arch Linux Focus: Optimized for Arch Linux and the yay AUR helper.
• Self-Contained: The repository structure follows a standard bin/, lib/, requirements/ layout for high maintainability.

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Installation

The complete environment setup is handled by the master script, path_to_repo/install.

Step 1: Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/byte4cat/dotfiles.git ~/.dotfiles
cd ~/.dotfiles

Step 2: Run the Master Setup Script

The install script will guide you through the process, prompting you to install packages and deploy configurations.

# Ensure the script has execution permission (it should, but good practice)
chmod +x ./install

# Run the full setup
./install

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Post-Installation Steps

After the script finishes, a few manual steps might be required:

1. Restart Your Terminal: For all changes (especially zsh and shell aliases) to take effect.
2. Re-login for Docker: On Linux, you need to log out and log back in for the Docker group permissions to apply.
3. Install Tmux Plugins: Open tmux and press prefix + I (capital I) to fetch the plugins defined in tmux.conf.

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Customization

Package Lists

The lists of packages to install are managed in separate files for simplicity:

• requirements/pacman_list.txt: Core packages installed via pacman.
• requirements/aur_list.txt: AUR packages installed via yay.

To add or remove packages, simply edit these two text files.

Deployments

Configuration files for deployment are located in the stow/ directory. Each subdirectory here is treated as a separate package by the deployment script.

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Structure

The configuration files are managed by stow from the stow/ directory.

stow creates symbolic links from these directories directly to your home directory (~).