Dotfiles

My personal setup scripts for Mac and Linux machines. Clone the repo, run one command, and you're done.

Caution

This is my personal config. It makes lots of assumptions about how I like things set up. Feel free to browse and borrow ideas, but don't expect it to work for you out of the box.

What This Does

• Installs your preferred CLI tools and apps
• Sets up shell configs (Fish, Zsh, Bash)
• Manages dotfiles with GNU Stow
• Configures system settings
• Sets up SSH keys

Supported Systems

Platform	Version
macOS	10.15 (Catalina) or later
Linux	Debian-based (Ubuntu, Pop!_OS, etc.)

Quick Start

1. Install Prerequisites

macOS:

xcode-select --install

Linux:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y git curl

2. Download the Config File

macOS:

curl -o ~/.dotfilesrc https://raw.githubusercontent.com/steveclarke/dotfiles/master/.dotfilesrc.template

Linux:

wget -qO ~/.dotfilesrc https://raw.githubusercontent.com/steveclarke/dotfiles/master/.dotfilesrc.template

Edit ~/.dotfilesrc to match your preferences.

3. Clone and Install

git clone https://github.com/steveclarke/dotfiles.git ~/.local/share/dotfiles
cd ~/.local/share/dotfiles
bash install.sh

Note

The script detects your OS. It uses Homebrew on macOS and apt on Linux.

What Gets Installed

macOS:

1. Homebrew (if missing)
2. GNU Stow
3. CLI tools from Brewfile
4. GUI apps (if enabled)
5. SSH keys (if set up)
6. System settings
7. Shell configs

Linux:

1. Build tools
2. GNU Stow
3. CLI tools
4. GUI apps (if enabled)
5. SSH keys (if set up)
6. Shell configs

Directory Structure

Folder	What It Contains
ai/	AI prompts, skills, and agents. See AI README.
configs/	Stow packages for app configs. Fonts live here too.
docs/	Guides and reference docs.
fixes/	Scripts to fix issues. Run by hand when needed.
install/	Install scripts by category (see below).
setups/	Config scripts for things Stow can't handle.

Install Scripts

Folder	Purpose
install/prereq/	Tools needed by other scripts
install/cli/	Command line tools
install/apps/	GUI apps
install/desktop-entries/	.desktop files (web app wrappers)
install/optional/	Extra software. Run by hand.

Updating

Pull the latest changes:

git pull

Update configs and packages:

dotfiles stow    # Update symlinks
dotfiles brew    # Update Homebrew packages
dotfiles update  # Run both

Installing New Scripts

New install scripts don't run on their own. Run them by hand:

bash install/cli/some-tool.sh
bash install/optional/steam.sh

Configuration

The .dotfilesrc File

The ~/.dotfilesrc file holds your settings and secrets. Fish and Zsh load it on startup.

Important

This file is NOT tracked in git. It's safe for secrets and machine-specific settings.

Add secrets like this:

# API keys
export MY_API_KEY="your-secret-key"
export GITHUB_TOKEN="ghp_..."

# Database credentials
export DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:pass@host/db"

Documentation

Guide	Description
ZSH Shell Guide	Shell startup files, shell types, OS differences
AI Resources	Prompts, skills, and agents for AI coding tools

Requirements

• Repo goes in ~/.local/share/dotfiles (or set a custom path in .dotfilesrc)
• macOS: Xcode Command Line Tools
• Linux: Debian-based distro (apt package manager)