shmcgrath/dotfiles

Repo of my personal dotfiles, configs, etc.

Dotfiles

This is a collection of my dotfiles. I am just starting to build them up in March of 2017. I am currently running an Arch Linux pseudo-server and am using an Apple laptop. I sync the dotfiles with Dropbox. I use git for version control and keep non-sensitive dotfiles in this public GitHub repo.

I will update this README with more links, tips, and information as I grow my dotfiles.

Dotfile Management with GNU Stow and GitHub

I use GNU Stow to manage my dotfiles. This allows me to easily create symlinks on any *nix-based system I am using. I chose Stow because it is easily and universally available on *nix machines. I do use Windows boxes, but I don't see myself needing the majority of my dotfiles on those machines. One tool I found when looking for Windows alternatives is stow-lite but I have not used it yet. I also chose stow because I would be able to use it to manage config files that are not in ~/. In the future, I can use stow to deploy centralized config files across my system(s).

GNU Stow and .DS_Store Files

I ran into a bit of an issue when creating the symlinks on Sierra. I kept getting an error message referencing .DS_Store files. After some Googling, I found that if you run Stow with an --ignore flag for .DS_Store, that error will not pop.

$ stow -v --ignore ".DS_Store" -t ~/ folder

You can also create a .stow-global-ignore file in your home directory and add .DS_Store to that file.

When stowing grub, run as sudo with -Rv flags and --target of /

$ sudo stow -Rv -t / grub

Useful Links for Dotfile Management and Creation

These are some of the links that I found useful when figuring out how to manage dotfiles and when setting up the programs they configure.

Dotfiles

• Arch Linux Wiki on dotfiles
• GitHub Dotfiles
• Hacker News - Using GNU Stow to manage your dotfiles
• Hacker News - What do you use to manage dotfiles?
• Hacker News - Managing dotfiles with GNU Stow

GNU Stow

• Using GNU Stow to manage your dotfiles
• Managing Dotfiles with GNU Stow
• Stow Your Dotfiles - GNW Stow for Managing Symlinks
• Stow
• Using GNU Stow to Manage Your Dotfiles

Bash

• Nathaniel Landau's Bash Profile Gist

Vim

• A Good Vimrc
• Learn Vimscript the Hard Way
• Best of My Vimrc

My Config Notes:

• Current iTerm colorscheme: base16 tomorrownight dark 256
• When bootstraping a new machine, change the $HOME in .stowrc to the actual home path of the machine
• Make sure to mark stowrc and newsblur-pass as assume-unchnaged
• Add .scripts to the windows path
• Link to the vim desert theme
• Materia GTK Theme
• Papirus Icon Theme

Fonts to Install

Install the following fonts:

• gnu-free-fonts
• ttf-liberation
• adobe-source-code-pro-fonts
• noto-fonts-emoji
• NerdFont in Repo
• to "install" nerd font from repo, stow it then "fc-cache -f -v"
• gtk font picker: gtk2fontsel
• other gtk settings: lxappearance