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Overview

macOS Ubuntu WSL RHEL

My macOS / Ubuntu / WSL 2 / RHEL dotfiles.

Forked from https://github.com/runesto/dotfiles

About this project​

I finally decided that I wanted to be able to execute a single command to "bootstrap" a new system to pull down all of my dotfiles and configs, as well as install all the tools I commonly use. In addition, I wanted to be able to re-execute that command at any time to synchronize anything that might have changed. Finally, I wanted to make it easy to re-integrate changes back in, so that other machines could be updated.

That command is dotfiles, and this is my "dotfiles" Git repo.

How the "dotfiles" command works​

When dotfiles is run for the first time, it does a few things:

  1. Git is installed if necessary (via APT on Ubuntu, already present on macOS).
  2. This repo is cloned into your user directory, under ~/.dotfiles.
  3. Files in /copy are copied into ~/. (read more)
  4. Files in /link are symlinked into ~/. (read more)
  5. You are prompted to choose scripts in /init to be executed. The installer auto-selects scripts based on OS (e.g., _macos_ scripts are only selected on macOS). Scripts with _personal_ in the filename are default unchecked.
  6. Your chosen init scripts are executed (in alphanumeric order, hence the funky names). (read more)

On subsequent runs, step 1 is skipped, step 2 just updates the already-existing repo, and step 5 remembers what you selected the last time. The other steps are the same.

Other subdirectories​

  • The /backups directory gets created when necessary. Any files in ~/ that would have been overwritten by files in /copy or /link get backed up there.
  • The /bin directory contains executable shell scripts (including the dotfiles script) and symlinks to executable shell scripts. This directory is added to the path.
  • The /caches directory contains cached files, used by some scripts or functions.
  • The /conf directory stores app configuration files (Sublime Text, IntelliJ) that are linked into app-specific locations by dedicated init scripts.
  • The /hooks directory contains git hooks that are symlinked into .git/hooks/ by init/12_git_hooks.sh.
  • The /source directory contains files that are sourced whenever a new shell is opened (in alphanumeric order, hence the funky names).
  • The /test directory contains unit tests for especially complicated bash functions.
  • The /vendor directory contains third-party libraries (zsh plugins as git submodules).
  • The /website directory is a Docusaurus site that renders the README, TIPS.md, and tips/ files for GitHub Pages. Built and deployed by .github/workflows/deploy-docs.yml. Run cd website && npm install && npm start to develop locally.

The "copy" step​

Any file in the /copy subdirectory will be copied into ~/. Sensitive information is managed via git-secrets, but files that may need local edits (like copy/.gitconfig) should be copied rather than linked as a second line of defense. Because the file you'll be editing is no longer in ~/.dotfiles, it's less likely to be accidentally committed into your public dotfiles repo.

Any file in the /link subdirectory gets symlinked into ~/ with ln -s. Edit one or the other, and you change the file in both places. Don't link files containing sensitive data, or you might accidentally commit that data! If you're linking a directory that might contain sensitive data (like ~/.ssh) add the sensitive files to your .gitignore file!

The "init" step​

Scripts in the /init subdirectory will be executed. A whole bunch of things will be installed, but only if they aren't already.

macOS​

Linux / WSL​

All platforms​

Hacking my dotfiles​

Because the dotfiles script is completely self-contained, you should be able to delete everything else from your dotfiles repo fork, and it will still work. The only thing it really cares about are the /copy, /link and /init subdirectories, which will be ignored if they are empty or don't exist.

If you modify things and notice a bug or an improvement, file an issue or a pull request and let me know.

Also, before installing, be sure to read my gently-worded note.

Installation​

macOS Notes​

You need to have XCode or, at the very minimum, the XCode Command Line Tools, which are available as a much smaller download.

The easiest way to install the XCode Command Line Tools is to open up a terminal, type xcode-select --install and follow the prompts.

Ubuntu / WSL Notes​

You should at least update/upgrade APT with sudo apt-get -qq update && sudo apt-get -qq dist-upgrade first.

Heed this critically important warning before you install​

If you're not me, please do not install dotfiles directly from this repo!

Why? Because I often completely break this repo while updating. Which means that if I do that and you run the dotfiles command, your home directory will burst into flames, and you'll have to go buy a new computer. No, not really, but it will be very messy.

Actual installation​

  1. Read my gently-worded note
  2. Fork this repo
  3. Open a terminal/shell and do this (change andrelin and main as appropriate):

Ubuntu / WSL​

export DOTFILES_GH_USER=andrelin
export DOTFILES_GH_BRANCH=main
bash -c "$(wget -qO- https://raw.github.com/$DOTFILES_GH_USER/dotfiles/$DOTFILES_GH_BRANCH/bin/dotfiles)" && source ~/.zshrc

macOS​

export DOTFILES_GH_USER=andrelin
export DOTFILES_GH_BRANCH=main
bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/$DOTFILES_GH_USER/dotfiles/$DOTFILES_GH_BRANCH/bin/dotfiles)" && source ~/.zshrc

Since you'll be using the dotfiles command on subsequent runs, you'll only have to set the DOTFILES_GH_USER variable for the initial install, but if you have a custom branch, you will need to export DOTFILES_GH_BRANCH for subsequent runs.

There's a lot of stuff that requires admin access via sudo, so be warned that you might need to enter your password here or there.

Actual installation (for me)​

Ubuntu / WSL​

bash -c "$(wget -qO- https://raw.github.com/andrelin/dotfiles/main/bin/dotfiles)" && source ~/.zshrc

macOS​

bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/andrelin/dotfiles/main/bin/dotfiles)" && source ~/.zshrc

Aliases and Functions​

To keep things easy, the ~/.zshrc and ~/.bashrc files are very simple, and should never need to be modified. Instead, add your aliases, functions, settings, etc into one of the files in the source subdirectory, or add a new file. They're all automatically sourced when a new shell is opened. Take a look, I have a lot of aliases and functions.

Scripts​

The /bin directory is added to $PATH and contains:

  • dotfiles - (re)initialize dotfiles. It might ask for your password (for sudo).
  • eachdir - run one or more commands in one or more directories.
  • isip - list bound IP addresses, or check if a specific IP is bound.
  • sync-claude-deny - sync git-secret paths into Claude Code deny rules. Use --check to verify without modifying.
  • sort-claude-settings - sort arrays in Claude Code settings files for deterministic output.

The src function (defined in .zshrc and .bashrc) re-sources all files in /source, useful after making changes without opening a new shell.

Tips​

A growing index of terminal tricks, repo features, and bundled-tool basics lives in TIPS.md, with one file per category under tips/. Run tips in a shell to print them all, tips <FILE> (e.g. tips 22) for one section, tips <FILE>.<N> (e.g. tips 22.3) for a single tip, tips <D>x for a whole decade, tips -l to list titles, or tips -h for usage.

License​

Copyright (c) 2021-2026 Andreas Lind-Johansen Licensed under the MIT license.