dotfiles

Personal configuration files for an Arch-based Linux setup running i3wm. This repository is built around the idea that after a fresh format, a single make install should be enough to get back to a working state — no manual copying, no hunting for config files across the filesystem.

The approach is simple: the repo mirrors the home directory structure, and make install creates symlinks from the expected locations into the repo. Editing a config file in either place works the same way because they are the same file.

What is covered

Config	Location	make target	Notes
i3	~/.config/i3	install-i3	Includes i3blocks, keybindings, and all scripts
dunst	~/.config/dunst	install-dunst	Notification daemon
rofi	~/.config/rofi	install-rofi	Launcher and power menu themes
rofi themes	~/.local/share/rofi/themes	install-rofi-themes	Arc dark and Catppuccin palettes
xfce4-terminal	~/.config/xfce4/terminal	install-xfce4-terminal	Config and Catppuccin color schemes
vim	~/.vimrc	install-vim	vim-plug, auto-installs plugins on first launch

Install

Clone the repo and run make install. The Makefile expects to run from the repo root because it uses $(shell pwd) to resolve symlink targets — so make -C ~/dotfiles install also works if you prefer not to cd first.

git clone <repo-url> ~/dotfiles
cd ~/dotfiles
make install

If a config already exists at the target location, the Makefile backs it up with a .bak suffix before creating the symlink, so nothing gets silently overwritten.

Individual targets work too if you only want part of it:

make install-i3
make install-vim

Theming

Themes are switched with make theme or $mod+F2, which opens a rofi menu to pick from the available options. Switching applies to i3 (bar and window borders), dunst (notification background and frame), and rofi simultaneously, then reloads both.

Available themes:

• arc-dark — the EndeavourOS default, dark navy
• catppuccin-mocha — warm dark gray
• catppuccin-macchiato — cool dark blue-gray
• catppuccin-frappe — medium dark gray
• catppuccin-latte — light

Active theme selection is intentionally not committed — each machine manages its own independently. make install marks the relevant files with git update-index --skip-worktree so theme switches never show as dirty.

For xfce4-terminal, Catppuccin color schemes (mocha, macchiato, frappe, latte) are available under Edit → Preferences → Colors → Load Presets after install. The theme switcher does not touch the terminal.

Vim

The vim config uses vim-plug and bootstraps itself — if ~/.vim/autoload/plug.vim does not exist when you open vim for the first time, it downloads vim-plug and runs :PlugInstall automatically. You just need curl available, which it will be on any standard Arch install.

Plugins included:

• tpope/vim-fugitive — git integration
• ctrlpvim/ctrlp.vim — fuzzy file/buffer finder (<C-t>)
• vim-airline/vim-airline — status line
• easymotion/vim-easymotion — motion shortcuts
• airblade/vim-gitgutter — git diff in the sign column
• editorconfig/editorconfig-vim — respects .editorconfig files
• elixir-editors/vim-elixir — Elixir syntax and indentation
• HerringtonDarkholme/yats.vim — TypeScript syntax
• vim-ruby/vim-ruby + nelstrom/vim-textobj-rubyblock — Ruby support
• tpope/vim-markdown, kana/vim-textobj-user, kana/vim-textobj-lastpat

TypeScript and JavaScript files default to 2-space indentation. Everything else follows .editorconfig if one is present, or falls back to 4-space tabs. Colors inherit from the terminal palette rather than hardcoding 256-color values.

What is not covered yet

These files are committed but have no make install target and have not been reviewed:

• .zshrc, .bash_aliases — shell config, still the old version
• .xinitrc, .Xresources — X session startup
• bin/conky-i3bar — conky bar script
• .config/termite/ — termite is deprecated, probably not worth keeping
• .config/sublime-text-3/ — old Sublime Text 3 config
• pacman.txt — a package list snapshot, not wired into anything

There is no dependency install script yet. A few things the configs assume are present (autotiling, xbacklight, dunst, rofi, i3blocks, pactl) but are not verified or installed automatically. That is a known gap.

Structure

dotfiles/
├── .config/
│   ├── i3/                  # i3 config, i3blocks.conf, keybindings, scripts/, themes/
│   ├── dunst/               # dunstrc
│   ├── rofi/                # config.rasi, powermenu, power-profiles, rofidmenu, rofikeyhint
│   └── xfce4/terminal/      # terminalrc, accels.scm
├── .local/share/
│   ├── rofi/themes/         # arc_dark, Catppuccin palettes
│   └── xfce4/terminal/
│       └── colorschemes/    # Catppuccin .theme files
├── .vimrc
└── Makefile